Windbreak

by Derek Alan Siddoway

  Eva looked at Tahl and Soot then the others. “We’ve got to keep moving. We’re going to finish this. For Sigrid… for everyone who has died because of Ogunn and his Smelterborn.”

  The days blended together in a wash of grief. When at last they reached the coast, Eva stared out over the empty horizon but felt no joy. Burdened with guilt, she wanted nothing more than to destroy the First Forge — any thought of what might come after that evaded her. Home? Sigrid and Sven would never go home.

  Soot joined her on the beach while the others set up camp. Together, they listened to the sound of the slate-colored waves crashing into the shore.

  “Never thought I’d see this damn ocean again,” he said. A long pause ensued.

  “It’s hard,” he continued, “to live with all those thoughts and feelings after the people attached to them are gone. I used to curse the day we came to this storming place, but then you know what I realized?”

  Eva shook her head, throat tight, unable to speak even if she had known what to say.

  “I realized,” Soot said in a thick voice. “That if I’d never come here, I’d never have been able to raise you. And that…that alone makes it all worth it, Eva.”

  Unable to stem the tide, Eva burst into tears. She wrapped herself around Soot and buried her face in his broad chest. Eventually, his reassuring pats calmed her.

  “I know things look awful grim right now, but we’ll get through it,” Soot assured her. “You know what they say about the strongest steel?”

  Eva lifted her face to look at her foster father. It was a line he’d repeated hundreds of times to her growing up. She knew it by heart:

  “It comes from the heaviest hammer blows and hottest fires.”

  They took turns scouting in pairs up the coast, flying only a couple hours away at a time to ensure the path ahead was clear. The weather grew warmer and a haze settled over the area, obscuring everything beyond a half-mile or so. Eva worried they would get lost in the hot, sweltering smog that smelled of hot iron and ash, or come across a band of Smelterborn with no warning.

  Their scant luck held out until, one day, the winds picked up and blew the haze out to sea. And there is was: hardly more than a smudge to the north, a collection of white ridges sticking out above the ocean.

  “There you have it,” Soot said. “We’re still a couple days away from the closest point to the shore, but that’s Palantis.”

  They soon spotted a number of Smelterborn patrols and were forced into a hiding place in the ruins of some building that Eva guessed had once been a dock warehouse of some kind. Although the roof had fallen in, the walls looked to be strong and it was large enough to fit them and the gryphons with room to spare. Most of the other ruins around them were little more than rubble and random blocks of stone, giving them a good view of their surroundings so that the Smelterborn couldn’t catch them unawares.

  At first and last light, two riders flew out, soaring high above and searching for any sign of Ogunn and his Smelterborn returning with Seppo. Eva volunteered for the duty as often as she could. Alone with Fury, high in the sky, her problems, grief, and worries seemed distant. Each time they landed, however, it all came rushing back.

  Smoke rose from Palantis day and night, spreading its murk out across the ocean and often obscuring the island until a sea breeze blew it away. It seemed to Eva that the land itself was trying in vain to erase all memory of the Palantines.

  When Ogunn and Seppo failed to appear in the next few days they agreed to make for the island and wait there.

  “The island is about ten miles long and three wide,” Soot said. “The main citadel, or what we guessed was the palace, is on the highest hill to the east. The city is ringed by a series of walls separating each district as you move uphill toward the palace. There are four in all. The first is a seawall — not much left of it. The next separates what was probably farmland from the third level, which had the largest number of ruins. We found Seppo inside a cavern within the third wall. The First Forge, if I had to guess, is somewhere within the third ring of the city as well.”

  “Where is the best place to land?” Tahl asked.

  Soot tapped on the right side of his rough map representing the eastern beach, behind the palace. “Here, definitely,” he said. “There’s a narrow gap at low tide between the farmlands and the cliffs still above water. I’m guessing it will be the least guarded spot on the island, at least until Ogunn returns.”

  Eva studied the map, running over the plan in her mind. The full moon was only a couple days away, meaning they’d have enough light to fly after dark, depending on the winds and smog.

  “We’ll go tonight and check it out,” she said. Wynn opened her mouth, no doubt to ask who ‘we’ would be, but Eva cut her off. “All of us, together.”

  “Sounds like a plan to me,” Soot said. “Better rest up. Once we’re on the island, we’re in for it whether we like it or not.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Several restless hours passed by until the sun finally fell over the hills and trees to the west. The lack of any distinguishable landmarks left Eva anxious, almost as much as she had been crossing the Endless. She longed for the sight of the Gyr and the Windswepts towering into the sky, their steep slopes a familiar guide.

  When night fell completely, they ventured out. Finding the coast clear, they mounted the gryphons and Eva felt a sharp pang from the all-too-familiar absence of Sven and Sigrid. Pushing these feelings aside in an attempt to focus on the task at hand, Eva clicked her tongue and Fury leaped into the air, scattering beach pebbles and sand in his wake.

  The night remained mild, but as they climbed higher and higher to stay out of sight, Eva felt a chill in the air. She took a deep breath, glad to be free of the smoke and haze where everything felt cleaner and fresher.

  They reached Palantis faster than Eva expected. It was the first time for everyone but Soot to see it up close. Even amidst the decay and destruction, the ruined glory that had once been the capital city of all Altaris could still be imagined. Now, however, the home of the wisest, wealthiest and most powerful people of an empire was but a sad skeleton of its former majesty and glory. Only one tower still stood at full height — a stubborn, ancient, and weathered lord scowling down on the pathetic remnants of his subjects.

  A waterfall sprang from the rock just below the palace gates and ran in a straight line down through each of the city’s rings until it emptied into the ocean. Just as Soot said, Eva saw the skeletons of the walls, crumbling into mounds. Even so, they formed almost perfect circles an equal distance apart all the way around the island. Eva couldn’t help but admire the craftsmanship that had gone into building the city.

  But no matter how skilled its master builders might have been, Palantis still bowed before all-powerful time. The city’s once-magnificent structures were reduced to piles of stone, cracked and overgrown with vines and moss. The outer, undeveloped land sported overgrown, tangled orchards and weed-choked fields. Eva noticed the trees were barren, black and gray as if they’d been burnt and never recovered. Even the fields, separated into square parcels by low, stone walls, only grew clumps of faded, gray-brown grass. Palantis, it seemed, had poisoned itself.

  As expected, Smelterborn filled the ruins. Many stood almost motionless and Eva mistook the first few for statues. Others were hard at work, clearing aside the rubble to fill in the many gaps and fallen parts of the inner wall. For all their might as war machines, the Smelterborn’s building prowess left much to be desired. In many places, Eva saw the golems’ primitive patch jobs had already collapsed. It seemed fitting that such instruments of death and destruction would be incapable of creating.

  The First Forge sat in the middle of the ruined palace courtyard, a monstrous furnace crafted from the same hue as the Smelterborns’ armor. Harsh runes circled the domed top and ran down the side, glowing orange and red. Eva shuddered, thinking of the death and destruction the structure had caused in its lifetime. The smelter bur
ned so hot she could feel the heatwaves in the air, like an updraft in the middle of summer. Eva’s Wonder pulsed and vibrated, offering no comfort for the darkness seeping over her spirit. She looked away but knew the sight would be burned in her mind forever.

  Just as Soot predicted, the small beach below the eastern cliffs was empty. After two passes to be sure, Eva directed Fury into his descent.

  On the ground, Eva patted her faithful gryphon, taking note of the sweat marks darkening Fury’s fur from the arduous flight. Fury opened his beak and panted. Carroc and Lucia were in a similar state. Eva’s heart went out to the proud creatures as she noticed again the toll the journey had taken on them.

  “Have a rest, boy,” she said, scratching Fury behind the ears. “You’ve earned it.”

  Crossing the pale, slate-colored sand, the thought crossed Eva’s mind that, one way or the other, this was it. All the heartbreaking miles and battles came down to one thing: destroying the First Forge or dying in the attempt. One look at Soot, Ivan, Chel, Wynn, and Tahl told her they all harbored similar thoughts.

  They made camp at the base of the cliffs, picking their way through giant slabs of fallen rock until they found a bit of high ground large enough for the gryphons to lie down. Unable to light a fire for fear of being seen, they shared a dinner of cold, stale rations. Eva realized they would be hard-pressed to avoid starvation if they had to make a return journey. She told herself to worry about one thing at a time.

  “What do we do now?” Chel asked.

  Soot and Eva shared a look. “You’re the one who’s been here before,” Eva said. “How do we find the First Forge?”

  “And how do we destroy it?” Wynn asked.

  Soot jerked a thumb at Ivan. “That’s a question for the Scrawl.”

  They all turned expectantly to Ivan.

  “How in the tempest would I know?” he said, throwing his tattooed hands in the air. When they continued to stare, he rolled his eyes and paused, gathering his thoughts. “Well…this is only a guess, mind you — but I would guess Ogunn will wait for the full moon before he tries to work the magic. The runes and kennings are more potent at certain times of year: full moons, new moons, solstices, changing season — you get the idea. Plus he still needs the two stones.”

  “The full moon is tomorrow night,” Chel said, pointing to the waxing moon overhead.

  “And I’ll wager it won’t take long for the Smelterborn to figure out the stones are on the island,” Soot added. “Ogunn will turn every golem out to find us.”

  “So we’ve got one night to figure out how to save all of Altaris,” Wynn said.

  “If that,” Tahl said.

  Ivan gave a dry laugh and shook his head. “Well, if that’s all, it shouldn’t be too hard.”

  Chel, seemingly sensing Eva’s distress, leaned forward and clasped Eva’s arm. Her calm, reassuring grip gave Eva strength. “We will do this, Eva-lyn.”

  “Together,” Tahl said.

  Wynn nodded. “For Sigrid.”

  “For Seppo,” Soot said.

  In spite of all they’d been through, Eva managed a smile. “Let’s get to work, then.”

  Over the course of the next hour, they concocted a plan. Given that Eva and Ivan possessed the only means of destroying the Smelterborn between Ivan’s magic and Eva’s Wonder and sword, the plan hinged on them distracting the golems while the others freed Seppo. Once the fight began, the gryphons would drop in overhead. Between daylight and the full moon, they had no chance of using Fury and the rest in any sort of sneak attack — the Smelterborn would see them long before they could strike unless the golems were already distracted.

  “It would sure help if that sky-cursed bucket head had told us how to destroy the First Forge before he went and got himself captured.”

  Although he acted gruff and perturbed at the golem, Eva knew Soot worried about Seppo. No one had said it aloud, but they all had to have wondered: what would happen to Seppo when the First Forge was destroyed?

  The pale moonlight provided plenty of light to scout the surrounding beach while the gryphons rested. Dividing into groups of two, they spread out and were careful to remain at the base of the cliff, away from any searching eyes overhead.

  “Hey!” Wynn said in a loud whisper, rushing to gather the others a few minutes into their search. “You’ve…gotta….see this!”

  They followed her and Ivan to a small cave opening, tall enough for the humans to enter — Soot would have to bend over a bit — but definitely too small for the gryphons unless they crawled in. Eva peered inside but couldn’t make out anything past the line of moonlight at the cavern’s edge.

  “Where do you think it goes?” Ivan wondered aloud.

  “You know anything about this?” Eva asked Soot.

  “Hmm,” Eva’s foster father rubbed the scruff on his face. “There were a series of caverns beneath the palace. That’s where Celina found her gauntlet and Aleron that sword you’ve got. Might be this connects in with them. There were too many to explore, so it’s hard to say.”

  “Doesn’t that mean it will be watched?” Tahl asked. “If Ogunn can sense the stones won’t he try to set up an ambush?”

  “Still worth checking out,” Soot said. “If we can find a backdoor in — well, that’s better than rushing in, swords swinging at an army of Smelterborn. Besides, if I remember right, most of the tunnels were too small for golems.”

  After ensuring the gryphons would stay once their riders disappeared into the cavern — it took some persuading to get Fury to calm down and accept being left behind — Eva took the lead. She held her Wonder cupped in her hands to illuminate the tunnel, shielding the light so they could barely see where they were going. Ivan followed close behind, a tiny ball of flame cupped in his hands. Soot brought up the rear after the others.

  The tunnel ran up at a moderate incline for a good distance, the walls square and perfectly cut, just like the halls and passages in the Gyr. Unlike the Gyr, however, there were no crystal lanterns — either lighted or broken — along the way. Even with the dimmed light of Eva’s Wonder and Ivan’s flame, they tripped and stumbled, stifling curses. Even the slightest sound carried down the tunnels.

  Eventually, the path leveled out and split into a chamber with four different exits, in addition to the one they’d entered from. Rune carvings marked the wall by each. Whereas the tunnel they’d just left had been cut with precision, the runes were jagged and chipped, as if someone had gouged them out of the rock with their bare hands, like digging into half-dried clay.

  “Which way?” Eva whispered to Ivan.

  The Scrawl walked up to each symbol and studied them in the flickering light of his rune fire. Eva saw his face darken upon the further examination.

  “These are foul characters,” he muttered. “Old blood magic, like we found in the depths of the Gyr.”

  “I’d say we’re on the right track then,” Soot said. “But which one do we take?”

  Ivan studied the runes for another moment before selecting the tunnel second to the right. “This is our safest bet. I don’t understand the two on the left, and I definitely don’t want to find out what’s down the far right path.”

  Recalling the series of traps in the bowels of the Gyr, Eva let Ivan lead the way to scan the walls for further markings and signs of snares and pitfalls they might set off. During the short journey she’d undertaken in the bottom of the Gyr with Tahl and Sigrid during her first year training to be a rider, they’d encountered collapsing floors, fake bridges, panels of spikes and a whole variety of ways to die in the mountain’s depths. One look at Tahl told Eva he was thinking the same thing.

  The walls on the path Ivan chose were rough and gouged from the stone in complete contrast to the craftsmanship on display in the previous tunnel. The air, growing hotter and thicker, was filled with the same foul smoke they’d watched billow off the island over the past few days. Soon they all dripped with sweat and Eva would have given anything for a breath of fres
h air.

  All of a sudden, Ivan held up his non-flaming hand, and Eva almost ran into it. Wynn cursed under her breath as she ran into Eva’s back. Ivan lifted a finger to his lips and then held his other fire-filled hand up to his face and whispered something to the flame. It shrank further, giving off only the faintest flicker of light. Eva took the hint and tucked her Wonder into her shirt, feeling the darkness press in around them as she did so.

  “There's something ahead,” Ivan said in a low voice. “Something moving.”

  Holding her breath, Eva strained to pick up any sounds of something approaching ahead of them. A Smelterborn, she knew, could never fit in these tunnels, nor move silently but who knew what else might be waiting down here in the dark?

  A strange, muffled whirring and clicking sound drifted toward them then went silent just as fast. They fell into complete silence listening for further noises. Eva felt her heart pounding in her ears, sensed her shallow breath hissing out of her, felt the beads of sweat trickling down her face. Silence reigned.

  Just as she was about to nudge Ivan onward, the sound started again, lasting this time for a few seconds more. Ivan looked at her and nodded down at the flame in his hand as if to ask if Eva wanted him to increase the light.

  Eva shook her head, although she wanted nothing more than to see farther than an arm's length in front of them. The clicking sounded again — a tapping noise against the rock. There was no doubting whatever it might be was getting louder and closer.

  Eva drew her sword, aware of its limited use in the tight space. As she did, Ivan hissed. Down the tunnel, dozens of tiny, yellow eyes stared back at them from the darkness.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The eyes disappeared.

  “Light now?” Ivan asked, a trace of panic in his voice. He stepped back and balled his other hand into a fist.

  “Not yet,” Eva said, heart pounding even faster. Her arms felt like willow branches and she squeezed her sword hilt tighter.