by Kay L. Ling
Beside him, Greg examined his own transformation with equal excitement, and Jordy had to admit his friend looked darn good despite that awful red hair. Greg never got zits—almost never, anyway. And honestly, his nose didn’t look all that big. It was amazing what being a rat for a year could do to your point of view.
“There. Just as you were when you arrived,” Sheamathan said coldly, “although I see very little improvement in your appearances. Now hurry; bring me the knife. You will become rats by sundown tomorrow unless you return with the knife.”
He and Greg raced from the room, nearly knocking over the guards by the door.
“I still don’t like this,” Greg said as they ran down a flight of stairs.
“Me neither. I happen to like Lana even though I give her a hard time. And I like Raenihel, too. But we have to do this, Greg. We just have to.”
“I know. Just don’t expect me to feel good about it.”
They headed toward the castle’s rear doors.
Chapter 20
“They’re gone. I’m not sure whether to be sad or relieved,” Lana said. She owed her unusual rescuers a debt of gratitude, but rats, especially giant rats, creeped her out.
Raenihel slid off a pile of grain sacks and dusted himself off. “If it hadn’t been for them, I’d probably still be looking for you.” His voice was tense. “We should leave. If Sheamathan turned a gem master as powerful as the Challenger into a dog, she’s more powerful than I thought. I shouldn’t have brought you here.”
“Your Challenger is my nightmare beast.” She hadn’t gotten used to the idea herself. Sheamathan had defeated the gnomes’ hero. Worse, turned him into a dog. Yes, Raenihel had good reason to be depressed, and afraid. How could they defeat someone with that kind of power? “I know you were afraid to come here, Raenihel. Thank you for not abandoning me.” She could picture herself as a giant rat, living here in this basement with Greg and Jordy. The mental image made her shudder.
“It was the right thing to do. Thinking about you and the knife gave me strength and helped me fight her control.”
He looked so haggard. This ordeal had taken a lot out of him, and it wasn’t over yet. She stood and made sure the Challenger’s blade was safely hidden under her shirt. In a tone more cheerful than she felt, she said, “All right, I’m ready to go.”
“Just a moment.” Raenihel reached for the leather cord around his neck and pulled out his skin of fialazza. “Leaving the castle may be a lot harder than getting in.” He took a drink and offered her some.
He was right. A couple gulps to boost her courage couldn’t hurt. She drank and handed it back, appreciating the way it settled her nerves. “Security is bound to be tighter once Sheamathan finds out I’m gone. If she raises the drawbridge, we’ll be trapped on this side of the moat.”
“My thought exactly. We need to get away before she knows you’re missing.”
They ducked through the low opening, and she followed Raenihel through the basement until they came to the storeroom with the small door. “It’s still open,” she whispered, taking the lead. This time she didn’t crack her head on the ceiling and she didn’t need the knife to light the way.
After peeking outside, she turned to Raenihel. “I don’t see any guards. Let’s go.” They slipped through, and walking single-file they proceeded cautiously along the castle wall.
The afternoon sun shone fitfully through drifting bands of clouds. Swirling particles of dirt carried on the wind quickly covered them with a film of grit. Lana swept back wayward strands of hair and kept her head down enough to keep the dirt out of her eyes.
Raenihel’s plan to threaten Sheamathan had been hopelessly naïve, she thought once again with a touch of annoyance. How would it have looked if Sheamathan had let Lana deliver the gnomes’ ultimatum and then just walk away? Weak, no doubt about it, and Sheamathan would never allow herself to look weak.
Glancing over her shoulder to make sure Raenihel was keeping up, Lana discovered that he was disturbingly far behind. “Hurry up,” she mouthed. He nodded. His face looked deceptively calm but she knew he was scared, and he had every right to be. He risked being sent to a work camp.
The next time she looked back he had fallen even further behind and she muttered irritably under her breath, “What is the matter with him? He can walk a lot faster than this. I’ve seen how fast he can walk.” In fact, at times she’d had trouble keeping up with him. She motioned impatiently. His lined face looked unusually pale. He leaned forward as if fighting a strong wind and finally closed the distance between them.
“What’s wrong?” she demanded. He answered, “I’m all right,” but his eyes had a blank, distant look that troubled her and his hands were trembling. No, he was definitely not all right.
Every moment they delayed increased their risks. Even if they got safely past the castle walls it was still a long way to the portal. Sheamathan might send breghlin after them—or worse—pythanium. Lana wet suddenly dry lips, wishing she hadn’t thought of that. How did you outrun something that could fly? Her hand instinctively moved to the Challenger’s knife. Its solid form under her shirt felt comforting. In the dungeon she’d spent hours theorizing about how Fair Lands gems worked in Shadow, and how the Challenger’s knife worked. If she and Raenihel made it safely to the portal, they might have her theories to thank for it. She’d explain everything to him later, but she couldn’t expect him to know whether or not she was on the right track.
Most Fair Lands gems had multiple abilities. Three, at least, and some as many as six. The way she saw it, without input from the user a gem produced each one equally. But what if a skilled user could direct all the stones’ strength into only one or two abilities? That ought to amplify the selected powers. Combining gemstones with similar properties should also have an effect, the way combining drums, a guitar, and a keyboard created similar but more complex music than each alone.
An aspect of her theory, based solely on instinct, was that combining gemstones with different abilities resulted in new powers. Their interaction would alter them, she reasoned, creating a phase transition into something different. The possibilities were mind-boggling. But until she could find and read Elias’s writings, all she had were theories.
She drew the knife from its sheath and took Raenihel’s arm. The blade glowed briefly and then went dark.
“Now we head straight for the drawbridge,” she whispered to Raenihel. “Don’t stop unless I tell you to.”
The Greeks believed that topaz could make the wearer invisible. Invisibility seemed pretty hard to believe, but what if people looked at you and your presence simply didn’t register? Maybe that’s what invisibility really was. If not, it would be just as effective. She focused on that concept and held the knife tightly. Raenihel’s form wavered and became insubstantial. She could see through him. He looked at her and then down at himself, and let out a cry of distress. She tightened her grip on his arm. “I’m trying to make us invisible. I don’t know if it’s working properly, but something is happening. Hurry. I don’t know how long I can keep this up.”
Maybe onlookers couldn’t see them at all, and they could only see each other in this ghostlike form because they were aware of the others’ presence. She had no idea, and there was no way to test her theory at the moment.
They walked the remaining length of the side wall. When they rounded the corner, she was relieved to see that the drawbridge was still down.
As they neared the drawbridge, Raenihel’s steps began to falter and his breathing grew labored as she tugged him along. All at once she understood. The woodspirit’s presence, like gravity, was trying to hold him here. Well, it wasn’t going to work, she thought angrily. They’d fight it together.
Dragging him along was like towing a concrete pillar. With every step he felt heavier, and the effort of pulling him while trying to maintain invisibility was making her dizzy. This would never do. She had to forget about invisibility for now and focus all her attention on d
rawing strength and stamina from the knife.
Letting her mind go blank, she drew several deep breaths and then refocused her mind. She pictured energy running from the knife through her whole body, pooling in her hand, and then flowing into the gnome’s arm.
Energy streamed through her and she let out a startled gasp. Every nerve in her body was on fire! Raenihel became no heavier than a rag doll. After a few minutes she discovered she didn’t need to pull him. He had stopped panting and was walking normally beside her. The burning sensation dampened to a tingle, which was good, because feeling like she was on fire was a bit disturbing.
They crossed the drawbridge and kept walking. “How do you feel now?” she asked.
“Better. Much better.”
She believed him. The distant, blank look was gone. He seemed more relaxed. Still, she didn’t let go. Holding his arm as they passed through the groves of dead trees, she steered him toward the opening in the castle’s outer wall. The fallen bricks from the formerly bricked-up doorway still lay on the ground where they’d dropped. She climbed through the opening with Raenihel right behind her, and they scanned the surrounding land. Nothing moved across the bleak landscape.
“Well, we made it this far. I hope our luck holds,” she said.
They set out toward the embankment where Raenihel had camped after she left. The rush of adrenalin had worn off. She felt tired and jittery and was tempted to stop for a while but they really couldn’t afford to. Not here in the open. They had to keep moving.
When they reached the base of the embankment she asked, “Can you keep going, or are you too tired?” Raenihel had kept up remarkably well, especially considering his age, but she didn’t want to push him too hard.
“Let’s keep going. I feel quite well.” She studied him quickly. He was breathing hard, but so was she. He could probably make it to the top and then they could rest.
They scrambled up the steep hill and kept walking. “I can make it to our campsite,” Raenihel said. It wasn’t much farther, but her legs ached from climbing the hill. Still, if he could make it, she could.
When they reached the site, Raenihel coughed several times, clearing his lungs, and gave a shaky laugh. “What a relief to be back. I think we’re safe here.”
She bent, bracing her hands on her thighs while she caught her breath. It seemed like days ago she had left Raenihel here and set out for the castle alone. When her heart rate slowed, she and Raenihel crouched down to scan the land between themselves and the castle. No sign of anyone following them. Maybe they were safe for the moment.
“We should rest and have something to eat,” he said. “And I need some fialazza to settle my nerves.”
She brightened. Yes, a meal and a few swigs of fialazza would do both of them worlds of good.
Raenihel led her to the crevice where he had hidden the backpacks. She sank gratefully to the ground while he pulled up the backpacks and took out some dried venison. Plenty left. Good, because suddenly she was starving. After handing her a wrapped portion, he pulled out his wineskin and helped himself to the first drink. No such thing as ladies before gentlemen today, she thought with amusement. Not after what he’d just been through, and she didn’t blame him.
After a minute he sat down beside her, slipped the leather cord over his head and handed her the wineskin. She shook it gently to hear the liquid slosh. About a third left. She took two big gulps, enjoying the unique flavor. Amazing stuff. She loved the way it refreshed and calmed her. Paper crinkled as they unwrapped their venison and ate silently, lost in private thoughts.
They still had a long way to go and they couldn’t afford to let down their guard. Shadow was a dangerous, inhospitable world. Even if Sheamathan didn’t come after them, any number of horrors could waylay them between here and the portal. Lana especially dreaded the weed-covered hills. She could still picture the pythanium rising up behind the boulder.
“I always feel more cheerful after a meal,” Raenihel said, interrupting her uncomfortable thoughts. “We’ll hike to the portal and wait until nightfall when it’s easier to cross.”
Reluctantly she stood and put on her backpack. Considering all they’d just been through together, she felt comfortable speaking her mind. “On the way here, I worried about getting separated. If something happened to you, how would I get home?”
“You could find your way back to the portal, especially by daylight. It’s not that far away.”
“Right, but then what? Without you, how would I get across?”
Raenihel slipped his pack over his shoulders. “Other gnomes would come along. They’d take you home.”
She refused to let it drop. “Before or after the mutant bugs attacked me? I’m sorry, but I don’t like the idea of depending on you, or anyone else, to get home.”
He waved her fears away. “Then you must learn to go through the portal on your own and I will teach you.”
“It looked easy enough when we came here. Is it?”
“When the barrier is weak, it is. That’s why we cross at night when the portal’s energy field is weakest. You simply attune your mind and body to the energy field and step through.”
Atune yourself? What kind of mumbo-jumbo was that? “Attune your mind and body and step through,” she repeated. Why did she not feel reassured?
Raenihel shrugged. “It becomes second nature after a few tries. Let’s go. We should keep moving.”
They walked across the dead land, shielding their faces when the wind picked up and pelted them with red dirt. What a miserable place. Long ago, trees and grass had probably covered the ground. It was hard to picture that now.
From time to time she and Raenihel looked back to make sure no one was following. A sense of foreboding that she couldn’t shake dogged her steps.
At last they left the barren plain and entered the dreaded “stinking hills.” She realized now, after more thought, that the odor came from decaying carcasses, like that horrid skeleton she had tripped over. She shuddered. What better place for a pythanium feeding ground than weed-covered hills scattered with boulders? Fortunately, pythanium hunted at night. But where did they go during the day? Maybe they slept right here in the weeds, behind these boulders. It wasn’t a comforting thought.
When they reached the dry streambed and crossed into the flat lowlands, she scanned the terrain ahead and started to relax. Pythanium couldn’t hide here. There was nothing for cover except a few thorny bushes.
Raenihel looked over his shoulder. “We have come a long way with no sign of pursuit.”
“We had a head start,” she reminded him, using her sleeve to wipe sweat from her face. “We shouldn’t get over-confident.”
“Or let down our guard,” he agreed. “We will be much safer in the forest. We can hide there until dark.”
She glanced at the darkening sky. The sun was already going down, so they wouldn’t have long to wait. The horizon had an orange tint like autumn leaves. As sunset approached, the temperature would drop quickly. Already it was growing colder, but right now she welcomed the cool breeze.
Ahead rose the familiar steep embankment, and at the top stood the forest where they had first arrived. Her heart felt lighter just thinking about the portal. She could hardly wait to get home. She’d gotten away from Sheamathan without being tortured, enslaved, or turned into a giant talking rat. In a couple hours she’d climb into her safe, comfortable bed. At the moment, she couldn’t think of anything more appealing. Nothing would keep her away, nothing—not even swarms of mutant insects. Tomorrow she’d drink coffee and eat normal food. Best of all, Elias’s hidden safe awaited her, and she would find it.
“What’s that?” Raenihel asked sharply, jerking her back to the present.
In the distance, two forms walked across the lowlands. For now, anyone she and Raenihel met posed a threat. “They look human,” she said. “Too tall for breghlin or gnomes.”
“Humans near the portal, yes, that’s possible,” Raenihel conceded, but he loo
ked troubled by the idea.
“How would they get here? Wouldn’t someone have to bring them through? Gnomes? Breghlin?”
“Breghlin, no doubt. Gnomes seldom bring a human across. Lately, the breghlin haven’t spent much time on your side of the portal, though, so it does seem strange.”
“Whoever they are, maybe they’ve been here a while, hiding in the forest.”
The gnome’s brow creased. He shook his head. “Not likely. If they escaped the breghlin and tried to live in the forest—well, the insects we saw there are carnivorous scavengers.”
“Oh, great,” she muttered.
“And then there’s the problem of what to eat. Many forest plants are poisonous, and as you can see, there’s nothing edible in these lowlands.”
“So, whoever these people are, we should be worried.”
Raenihel looked increasingly tense. “I’m afraid so. And they’re coming our way.”
“What should we do?” There was nowhere to hide. The embankment, a few minutes’ walk away, would take a while to climb.
“Just keep walking. If they don’t seem threatening we’ll stop and talk to them, and then decide.”
“I’d like to take out my knife, but I don’t want them to see it.”
“I agree. Keep it hidden unless we have to defend ourselves.”
“I have gems. And my bracelet.” She touched the malachite. The stone felt unusually warm and her sense of uneasiness grew the longer she touched it. She couldn’t hide her troubled expression.
Raenihel asked worriedly, “It warns you of trouble?”
She nodded. “I think so.”
The figures continued to walk directly toward them. Definitely human, men or boys. One of them lifted his arm and waved excitedly. Was it a greeting, or a plea for help? She needed more insights about them, preferably before they came much closer. Taking aquamarines and sapphires from her pouch, she whispered, “Foresight, telepathy, clairvoyance,” and held the stones tightly. These were new powers for her, ones she had never tried to use before. Could she do it now, under pressure?