by Jenny McKane
“A guardian found you,” said the woman. “You were unconscious. He brought you down here, where you have been resting. I was sent for, and I have tended your wound. Tell me, how are you feeling? Has the fever left you?”
Everard nodded. “Yes, it is gone. Thank you. You saved my life.”
Sister Elna smiled. “It is my duty,” she said. “I tend all the Jarle in the district. The mayor has come in, a few times, to see how you are. He wishes to speak with you.”
She stood up and left the room. Everard could hear voices speaking, outside, and then, the door opened again. A short man, with bushy blonde hair and a matching long beard walked into the room. He stared at Everard.
“You are better, I hear,” he said in a gruff voice. “Praise Agnor.”
“Yes,” said Everard. “Thank you for taking me in and treating my wound. You are the mayor?”
“I am.” The man stared at him. “I am Terje Flom, the Mayor of Kig Hill. We had to take your bag and check who you are. There were some odd things in there. I am afraid that I have sent word to Vyheim Castle. We need to check your identity.”
Everard nodded. “Commander Kallio can verify who I am,” he said. “Tell me, have you heard anything of a woman, who may have been found in the mountains? She was my companion, and we got separated. I fear for her safety.”
Flom stared at him, scratching his beard. “There have been rumors,” he replied slowly. “That a young woman was taken by the rebels. If so, I must tell you the bitter truth. She is probably no longer alive. The rebels are ruthless, and if you are guardians as I believe you to be, they will show her no mercy.”
Everard’s heart sank. He had been hoping, somehow, that she had escaped them and made it back to Vyheim Castle.
It looked now like that had not happened. He felt a wave of sadness wash over him, quickly followed by an intense anger.
No, he thought. She must be alive. She was a survivor. He would find her, he vowed. He would find Avalon, and when he did, he would kill the rebels who had taken her, one by one.
Chapter Nine
They sailed out into the open waters, the settlement disappearing. The sky had turned an ominous grey; dark clouds had gathered overhead. Avalon could hear rumbling far away, and far off on the horizon, flashes of lightning speared into the water from the sky.
Sondre turned to Skyresh. “A storm is approaching,” he said. He squinted into the distance. “Hopefully, we may be able to outsail it.”
Skyresh nodded. “We can only do our best,” he said. “How far, until we get to Stianfjord? I do not want to sail into the main docking area. Can we navigate to land at a place where we can anchor the boat without being seen?”
Sondre thought for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, there is a place I know,” he replied.
“Good.” Skyresh gazed at the sky. “Let’s try to get there as fast as we can.”
Avalon felt a stab of unease, as she stared at the sky. Would they make it before the storm unleashed its fury? She turned to look at the water, seeing ice floating amongst it. It would be below freezing in there. As part of her training at the Academy, she had to swim in very cold water, but nothing as cold as these waters would be.
Sondre and Brunn opened the sails, and they started moving faster across the waters. Wind whipped against Avalon’s face, causing the hood of her cloak to fall away. She put it back up quickly, shivering. Not much longer now. Soon, all of this would be over.
After an hour of sailing, Sondre was turning the boat back toward the land when the storm suddenly hit. Rain lashed down so furiously that Avalon could barely see her hand in front of her. Forks of lightning stabbed the water, causing flashes of light through the torrent of rain.
One minute, she was clutching the edge of the boat, fighting desperately to keep her balance. Then the next, she was flying, plunging into the water.
It was like a million needles piercing her skin. She held her breath as the force of the impact plunged her under. She reached out an arm, desperately clawing through the water to the surface. She could see it, so clearly, above her. She had to get there, or else she would die. The water was so cold, she could already feel her muscles seizing. Ice floated around her.
A little bit more. She was almost there, but her body was tensing so severely with the cold, she could barely move it. It was betraying her; she could feel her strength failing. The surface seemed further and further away, and she was slipping downwards, into the murky depths…
Suddenly, she could feel arms around her, gripping her tightly. It was Skyresh – she could see his hair, floating around him, and those piercing blue eyes, staring at her face. He kicked out, catapulting them to the surface. Finally, they broke through. She gasped, deeply, as her lungs drew their first breath.
Hands were reaching over the side of the boat, pulling them up. As rain continued lashing down on them, they both collapsed onto the bottom of the boat, panting heavily. Avalon turned to her side, retching.
When the impulse had passed, she slowly turned back, staring at the man lying beside her. He had saved her life.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
His blue eyes gazed into her face. “I couldn’t let you drown,” he said slowly. “It would be a wasted trip, wouldn’t it?”
She started shivering, so violently her teeth chattered in her head.
“We need to get to land,” Skyresh shouted. “Quickly!”
Avalon kept staring at him, as the chills overtook her body. She needed to get warm, as fast as possible. They all did.
***
Avalon felt woozy, staring into the flames of the fire. She reached closer toward it, but she still wasn’t warm enough.
“Don’t do that,” said Skyresh in a low voice, sitting beside her. “You will get chilblains, and believe me, they hurt.”
They had finally found the cove and come ashore, battling through the rain. Skyresh had found a small cave and had built a fire, where they were now all huddling around. Avalon wearily raised her head, listening.
“The rain has stopped,” she said.
He had saved her life. Actually, he had saved it twice; when Minna had been about to kill her, and this time, he had risked his own, plunging into the freezing water to retrieve her. The knowledge sat uncomfortably upon her. Yes, he had done so for his own reasons, but still, she felt a debt. She was leading all these people, including him, into capture. How could she do it?
And he had chosen to let her live, in the Outlying Zone, when he could have killed her easily. Why? Why was he putting his own people at risk, on her word? She wouldn’t have done so in his position. She would have been like Minna – it was black and white. The enemy had to be killed.
She turned her head, looking at Minna. The woman sat across from her, on the other side of the fire. She was sharpening a branch with her knife, frowning.
Minna raised her head, feeling Avalon’s eyes on her. Her eyes narrowed. Avalon could tell what she was thinking. She wished that Skyresh had let her drown, and that the whole group could be done with her, but she was wise enough not to say so.
“We should get going,” Minna said, turning to Skyresh. “We are wasting time, sitting here.”
Skyresh nodded. “I think we are almost dried out,” he said. He turned to Avalon, watching her keenly. “How are you feeling?”
“I am better,” she replied. And she was surprised to find that she was. Her shivering had ceased and her muscles had unknotted, thanks to the warmth of the fire. She felt her clothes – almost dry.
Skyresh nodded again. He stood up. “Time to lead us where we need to go, Avalon.”
She gazed up at him. He had called her by her name. Minna noticed, too. She stared hard at Skyresh, frowning.
He doused the fire, and they crawled out of the cave, walking toward the bank. The boat was moored just inside the cove, bobbing gently on the water. Avalon stared around her. The sky had cleared; the storm was gone. She tilted her head, higher, staring at the mounta
ins around her. In the very far distance, perched precariously atop an overhanging ledge, she could see a large building, its towers jutting into the sky. She stared at it. Although white, it had golden eaves, glinting in the sun that had just emerged.
She could suddenly hear Commander Kallio’s voice rush into her mind.
You will recognize the safe house by its golden eaves.
The house on the ledge was the safe house. Excitement started stirring within her. She had found it! Her fellow guardians were within its walls. She was so, so close.
Skyresh had walked up beside her and followed her gaze. “That’s it, isn’t it?” he said, turning to her. “That is the base.”
She nodded. “That is it.”
“Well, let us set off for it, then.” But he continued gazing at her. “Do not try anything. I am watching you, never forget. If you are leading my people into a trap, I will be merciless.”
Avalon gulped. Now that it was upon her, doubts clouded her mind, jostling the excitement aside.
Could she do this? Lead them to the safe house, knowing that their capture was eminent? She thought of everything he had told her about the Jarle and how they ruled. About the Outlying Zone and the animals, imprisoned there. The vision she had at the temple ruins and her recurring dream.
What if he was speaking the truth and she worked for a merciless regime that had conquered the land and woven a web of lies to rule? A regime that treated people callously, all the while pretending to be benevolent? She thought of Minna’s comment about the famine and how the Jarle had let the people starve.
If she did what she was about to do, then she was as bad as any of them. She was complicit in their evil. And these people would die.
“I understand,” she said, looking at Skyresh. He stared at her a moment longer, his blue eyes lingering on her face. Then he turned to the others, who were waiting.
“We head to the house on the ledge,” he said, pointing upwards. “When we get close, we will confer on what is the best plan of attack. Let’s go.”
They set off, leaving the boat softly bobbing on the water behind them.
***
Commander Kallio stared hard at Everard. “You say that they followed her, into the Outlying Zone?”
Everard nodded. “We were under attack by arrows and got separated,” he said. “I saw her run toward it, to take cover in the forest, I assume. And then, I lost sight of her.”
They were in the basement room at Vyheim Castle. Two guardians had travelled to get Everard, bringing him back from where had had been recuperating in the mayor’s house at Kig Hill. He had been brought straight here, where Commander Kallio was waiting.
The commander stared at him, now. “I received word from one of my spies, a day ago,” he said. “He saw a group of people, in the remote settlement of Farric, exchanging coin for use of a boat to sail into Stianfjord. There was a woman among them who did not speak at all, and she matches the description of Guardian Lund.”
Everard’s eyes widened. “You think this is a group of rebels, and they have Avalon?”
The commander nodded. “There is a strong possibility,” he said. He stood up and started pacing the room. “The question is why they are travelling there. The safe house is located near Stianfjord, so I have alerted them to be on the lookout for this group. If Guardian Lund is among them, she must be leading them there.”
“Why would she do that?” Everard frowned.
“Perhaps she has gained their confidence,” he said. “We simply do not know, nor are we sure, of course, that it is her at all, but we are watching. I have given instructions for the group to be observed, for now.”
A slow smile broke over Everard’s face, as relief flooded through him. She was alive! He knew that the sighting wasn’t one hundred percent positive, but he felt it so strongly. He knew it was her. She was a survivor. And whatever reason she was with this group, in such a remote location, he knew she had a plan. Avalon was resourceful. She would never give up, until her mission was completed.
She would lead these people to their doom.
How wrong he had been about her. So, so wrong. She had proved to him her worth, and now she was completing her duty, even without him by her side. Alone, and under threat.
Fear for her jostled alongside pride. And something else; a feeling so strong, Everard was bowled over by it. It came upon him so suddenly, he almost gasped.
He loved her.
He really did. The thought of her being hurt filled him with rage. He longed to see her again and tell her how he felt, but could a woman such as Avalon ever look at a man like him in that way? She was from a very high-born Jarle family, and he was…well, his background was complicated. Something that he had worked hard to leave behind him.
His heart filled with fear at the thought of it being discovered. Of her discovering it. She would definitely not entertain any notion of loving him, if she knew.
And his career would be over before it had even really started. He would have nothing to offer her.
They were still so young. She wasn’t even twenty, and he had just turned twenty-one. They had their whole lives ahead of them. He knew that people would counsel not to be so rash, to declare undying love for her. Things could change, and it was never wise to commit when so young.
But he found that he simply didn’t care about any of that. The vision of Avalon by his side, the two of them fighting the enemy for the rest of their lives, was just too intoxicating.
“Sir,” he said, turning to the commander. “Could I request to be sent to Farric? She is my partner. If she is at risk, I want to be there to help her, if I can.”
The commander gazed back at him, considering.
***
The man stood on the edge of the cliff, gazing down at the group on the embankment. His eyes flickered to the boat. They had been outrunning the storm, but still, they had chosen to moor here, where the boat could be hidden rather than sailing straight into Stianfjord.
He watched one of the men converse with a woman, and then they turned, heading up the embankment on foot. A group of five – three men and two women. He studied them carefully. He thought he could pick out the woman who was supposed to be a guardian. Commander Kallio had been detailed in his description of her, and anyway, there was something in her posture and bearing. Something that separated her from the others. She wasn’t Stromel; he would bet his life on it.
Where were they heading? Watching them, he saw them veer to the right. Yes. He thought so. They were heading toward the safe house, planning to approach it from the rear. Wind up through the old mountain trails, and then observe.
Was the woman who was a guardian leading them to it? The man pondered. There could be only two reasons, if that were the case. Either she was leading them into a trap, or she had been converted and was on their side, intending to fight alongside them. It wasn’t impossible; he had heard of guardians who had been converted before, usually because they were forced to do so – switch sides or be killed.
But he didn’t think so in this case. The safe house held no strategic importance; if she really had turned sides, she could have led them to any number of more important bases. Perhaps she had convinced them that it was more important than what it was.
The man absentmindedly touched his sword. He could send word and have them surrounded now, if he wished. Drag them away and have them interrogated. But he was curious as to what they would do, so they would continue to observe them at a distance.
He whistled softly. Two more men came out from behind trees, approaching him.
“Follow them,” he said. “But keep your distance. I want to see what their plan is.”
The men nodded, then silently skirted down the ledge, melting like shadows into the forest.
***
Avalon trudged up the old mountain trail, grabbing overhanging branches to aid her climb. It was tough going.
She glanced back quickly. Skyresh was right behind her, as always, his b
reathing even. Her shadow. He leapt up the track, barely sweating. She knew that he was used to these treks through the mountainous regions. It annoyed her slightly to see him so at ease when she was struggling to find her footing, and her heart pounded from the effort. She was fit, wasn’t she? As fit as he was.
“Don’t give yourself such a hard time,” he said, smiling at her, as if he had read her thoughts. “Even an experienced mountaineer would struggle in these conditions. You are very competitive, aren’t you?”
She glared at him, panting. “I just like to do my best,” she breathed.
“It is not a race,” he said, smiling up at her. “What do you have to prove?”
She turned her head away from him. If only he knew. She had been trying to prove herself ever since she could remember. Prove that she could fight, as good as any boy. Prove that she was a true warrior. Prove that she deserved a life better than the one her family had planned for her; one that didn’t involve marriage and babies to the first eligible man.
But Skyresh was right. There wasn’t anything to prove out here. No one was going to look at her admiringly for being the fastest trekker in the group, or anything else.
She thought of Everard. He would have been the same as her, if he was in her shoes. He always felt he had something to prove, as well. It was why they had clashed, back at the Academy. Always trying to outdo each other.
Was he still alive? She had heard nothing of him since they had left the rebel’s headquarters. She glanced back again at Skyresh.
“Did you ever find my companion?” she asked.
Skyresh stared at her, hard. “Your fellow guardian of the realm?” he said mockingly. “Hopefully, he is dead in a ditch somewhere. No, we never found him.”
Avalon breathed outwards in relief. Yes, it was true that Everard could be dead, but it was equally possible that he had escaped and made it back to Vyheim Castle. He might have alerted them.
Once again, she was amazed at the conflict she felt at that thought. She knew that Everard, if he were in her shoes, would not hesitate—for even a second—to do his duty. He would be counting on her to do the same, and if he was dead somewhere, he would want her to do it in his memory.