“Barius!” I cried. “What are those?”
“Dire wolves,” he said heavily. “Beasts claimed by Chaos. They are somewhere between physical and Shadow.”
“We have to stop them!” I said.
“We must not cross the barrier, my Lady.”
The creatures were getting closer and closer. As I watched, the child finally looked up and saw one.
“I’m not just going to sit here!” I said, spurring closer to the barrier.
“Lady Raven!” Barius said. “It’s too dangerous!”
It stopped dead in its tracks, then turned to face another one creeping up from behind. As the child turned again, I saw a face.
I gasped, then screamed until my throat went raw.
The little boy’s face was a dead ringer for Emery.
“My Lady?” Barius asked in confusion.
“My brother!” I screamed, thinking for a moment that it actually was Emery. But of course that was ridiculous; Emery was safe in his bed back on Earth. And besides, this boy I was looking at now was years older. He looked to be at least six. But my terrified mind took too long to put the pieces together.
Barius’ head was now swinging back and forth, confused. “Your…brother?”
Without thinking, I pulled the whip from my belt with my right hand. “I’m going through,” I said tersely.
“Lady Raven, you can’t — ”
Before Barius could finish, I stretched out my left hand. Crackling bolts of electricity shot from my fingertips in a great ball. The ball slammed into the barrier, and the blue energy faded away for a moment in a perfect arch.
“Come or not!” I shouted at Barius. “But I’m going through!” And I kicked my heels into the horse’s ribs, sending it flying through the shifting energy. Behind me I heard sudden hoofbeats as Barius followed — much to my relief, I had to admit.
I was outside the barrier for the first time since the moment we’d raised it, the day we first came to Midrealm. Now on the same side as they were, I could hear the snarling of the dire wolves as they slunk forward. I could also hear the weak, plaintive cries of the boy. None of them had looked up to see us yet.
There was a sharp crackle and snap. Turning, I saw the blue energy of the barrier reseal itself behind us.
The dire wolves heard it too.
With sharp yelps and barks they turned to face us, shapeless lips drawing back over shining white teeth as they snarled. Their reaction, their recognition, was immediate. As one they turned from the boy, drawing together in a pack before fanning out once more, trying to surround us.
“Lady Raven!” Barius barked. “Get behind me!” He moved his mount forward to get between me and the wolves, and the air rang with the hiss of steel as he drew his sword.
But Barius underestimated me. Yes, we were all still learning about our powers, but I wasn’t some helpless girl who needed to be protected.
My whip was still coiled in my right hand. I transferred the reins to it, then reached out with my left. Thunder slammed into my eardrums as a bolt of lightning shot forth, slamming straight into the chest of one of the dire wolves. It didn’t even yelp as electricity engulfed its body, disintegrating it into a puff of black smoke. Before the creatures could react I threw another, and again the sharp crack of lightning was followed by a puff of smoke as another wolf died.
Howling, the dire wolves charged. My horse whinnied in fright, but its training was excellent; it held firm beneath me, hardly swaying as they ran toward us.
I loosed another bolt, but this time it went wide, slamming into the ground beside one of the wolves as it ran at me. It leapt to the side, snarling in hatred. There were six of them left, and I knew I couldn’t get them all before they reached us.
With a roar, Barius charged. His sword swept down from above, slicing one of the wolves in two. But there was no gore, just another faint whisper as the two halves of the creature disintegrated. Two of the remaining wolves circled around to harry the flanks of Barius’ mount, while the remaining three stayed their course and ran right at me.
I didn’t know if I could use my whip on horseback, but I was about to find out. I let go the length of the leather and kicked my heels hard into the charger’s sides, sending it dashing forward. We met the first wolf head on, but ten feet away I lashed out with the whip. Just as I did, I unleashed the magic within me, and a crackle of electricity lanced its way down the whip. The leather end slammed into the wolf’s eyes, and a blinding blast was followed by the crack of thunder as the wolf disappeared. My charger wheeled at my command, rearing up for a moment on its rear legs as the other two wolves circled me warily, now aware of my threat and growing cautious.
But they were still too close.
I struck again. This time my aim was off, and the whip struck dirt three feet in front of one of the creatures. It snarled and fell back. I took advantage of its distraction to press my horse forward again, cracking the whip once more.
“Bad doggy,” I snarled.
This time my aim was true, and the last eight feet wrapped around the wolf’s torso. I jerked hard on the handle as I let loose with lightning, and the wolf evaporated as the whip sheared it in two.
The last creature snarled a final expression of hatred and turned to flee. I didn’t let it. I threw out a hand to loose a final bolt of lightning. It engulfed the dire wolf, enveloping it in crackling sparks. The sparks converged and flashed, and when they died away the wolf was gone, nothing but empty space where it had stood.
I turned to see Barius, now on foot, dispatch the last of his wolves with his sword. He pushed the creature off his blade with his boot, its body wisping away even as he pulled his blade free. He turned to face me, breathing hard as he gave me a quick once-over to make sure I was all right.
The adrenaline of the fight coursed through me as I came down off my high, and my hands started shaking. I smiled at Barius, my teeth beginning to chatter.
“Not bad,” I said, nodding to the whip in my hand. Swiftly I recoiled it and hooked it back to my belt. “I could get used to this.”
“I pray you don’t,” said Barius, still panting heavily. “Because if you go charging off at every sign of danger, I cannot hope to stay true to my vow to protect you.”
I chuckled. Then I realized that in the rush, I’d forgotten the child. I quickly scanned the area for him.
There. He was hiding behind a rock, his head barely poking out above it. His hair was disheveled, just like Emery’s. His eyes were wide and frightened. I nudged my horse forward, but as soon as I took one step he jerked away, seeming on the verge of fleeing.
“Whoah, hey!” I called out, reining my horse in again. I swung one leg over and leapt from the horse’s back, coming to an easy landing on the grass. “Hey, buddy,” I said gently, bending over to make myself seem smaller. “Are you okay?”
Wide eyes were my only answer.
Maybe the boy couldn’t speak?
“My name is Raven,” I told him, giving him a little wave. “Sorry that got so scary. We just wanted to make sure the wolves didn’t hurt you. They didn’t, did they?”
This time there was a little shake of his head. Okay. Progress.
“Good,” I said. “I’m gonna come over, okay? I just want to say hi.”
He didn’t move. Well, at least he wasn’t running.
I took one tentative step toward him, and then another after he didn’t turn and run. Step by cautious step, I made my way to the rock he was hiding behind. Once there, I knelt on my side of it, extending a hand.
“Can you come with me?” I asked.
He looked at my hand like it was a viper.
“I promise, I’m not going to hurt you,” I said soothingly. “You’re from Elladorn, right?”
There was a spark of recognition in his eyes. He nodded.
“Okay. I want to take you back there, if that’s all right. I want to bring you back to your parents. Are your parents in Elladorn?” I hoped they were. If the kid’
s parents were dead, I might have just upset him terribly. My mind was awash with relief as I saw him nod again.
“Okay. I’m going to take you back to them, all right? And I promise I’ll protect you. No more big bad wolves.” I smiled encouragingly, and his mouth twitched in response. “And you know how I know I can protect you?”
His eyes narrowed, and he shook his head.
I leaned forward to whisper, like we were sharing a secret. “Because I’m a Realm Keeper,” I announced.
That got his attention. His eyes went wide, and he emerged from behind the rock a little. “You are?” he said tentatively.
“I sure am,” I nodded. “Do you want to ride with me? You can be…a…” Well, this was stupid, but what the heck. “You can be a deputy Realm Keeper, at least until we reach town. Okay?”
His eyes were saucers now. He leapt up. “Okay,” he said importantly.
“What’s your name?”
“Martin,” he said.
“That’s a great name, Martin. Come on, take my hand.”
His tiny little hand clutched mine as I led him back to my horse, just the way my brother’s did when I took him on a walk to the park. Barius looked at both of us, a sour expression on his face.
“Of course, there’s no chance that you’ll reconsider this utterly foolish course of action, is there?” he asked with resignation.
“No chance at all,” I agreed.
He sighed. “Do you remember when I said that being paired with you would be fun? It is time to admit that I was gravely mistaken.”
RAVEN
THE HOLLOW ECHO OF MY mount’s hoofbeats ricocheted from the town’s walls as we approached. Martin sat in front of me in the saddle, my arms wrapped around him as I held the reins. His head lolled from side to side as he fought sleep. The wall had a single gate with a guardhouse, a torch guttering in its mount on the outside wall. Barius approached first and pounded on the rickety wooden surface with his fist.
For a moment it was completely quiet, and I wondered if anyone was even on guard. Then I heard boot steps, and a small hatch opened in the gate at eye level.
“Who goes there?” called a voice.
“Barius Adair, of the Runegard of Morrowdust,” Barius said gruffly. “We’ve come on an errand from the city.”
“What’s a Runegard doing out this late at night?” the gate guard said.
“Stretching my bloody legs, that’s what,” Barius snapped. “Now open the gate.”
The guard grumbled, and the hatch slammed shut. There was the squeal of a much bigger, rusty latch, and then the left half of the gate slowly swung open. Barius and I dismounted and stepped forward.
“Thank you,” I said as I led my horse through.
The guard didn’t respond; he was staring at me in wide-eyed wonder.
“You’re a…” he finally stammered.
“Yes, she is,” Barius interrupted. “Now pick up your jaw and keep your mouth shut about it. We’ll be here less than an hour, and then we must return to the city.”
The guard looked back and forth between us in confusion. “But my Lady!” he said to me. “Aren’t you here to save the town?”
“I’m sorry,” I said reluctantly. “I’m not. I found this boy wandering in the fields. I’m only here to bring him home.”
“My Lady,” he pleaded. “Whatever this town has done to offend the Realm Keepers, we apologize. Please, speak with the mayor. I know he can convince you.”
“What? We’re not offended,” I said, astonished.
“Then why has the barrier left us?” he asked. “Chaos has ravaged our walls. Every few days they raid us, and every time there are fewer and fewer fighting men to hold them off. You are our only hope.” The man stepped forward and clutched at my arm desperately.
“Get off her!” barked Barius, leaping forward. He snatched the man’s hand and pulled it off of me, then shoved him backward.
“Barius, stop it!” I snapped, slapping at his arm. It had as much effect as a horsefly attacking a rhino, but my voice made him pause. I tried pushing him away; it was like struggling against a boulder. “It’s fine! Back off.”
He stepped back, eyeing the man angrily.
“We didn’t remove the barrier from you,” I explained to the gate guard. “It retracted because the presence of Chaos is in this town. If you remove it, the barrier will expand to protect your town again.”
The guard shook his head in denial. “No, my Lady. There is no Chaos here. I swear it. Elladorn has always been loyal to the crown, and the Realm Keepers.”
“The barrier is made of magic,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s not under our control. There’s something here holding it back.”
“I tell you, there isn’t!” the guard insisted.
I sighed. “What’s your name?”
He looked confused, then ashamed. “Terrence, my lady. I am sorry.”
My eyes widened. “Terrence?” I looked at Barius. “Isn’t that — ”
“The man from the Battle of the Circle,” he said shortly. “Yes.”
“I…I was named for him long ago,” the man stammered. “Before he turned.”
“Why would you be named after — ”
“That’s enough!” Barius said. “We’re not here to hear the tale of your birth.”
“Barius, chill,” I said before turning back to the guard. “All right. Terrence. I have to take this boy home, and then I have to go back to Morrowdust. But we’re going to come back. We’re going to strike out from the city and help the Free Kingdoms. We’re working on plans every day. We’ll come back.”
His wild eyes met mine. “Do you mean it?”
I spoke on instinct. “I swear it.”
Terrence’s eyes began to water, and he fell to his knees. He clutched at my boots. Barius sighed and grimaced in disgust.
“Thank you, my Lady,” said Terrence in a trembling voice. “Thank you! I will hold the faith. I will wait for the Realm Keepers’ return.”
“Um…okay,” I said, gingerly stepping away from him, carefully extricating my boots from his grasp. “I’m honored. We’ve got to go now.”
We walked away, Terrence looking after us hopefully.
“Well, that was awkward,” I said as soon as we’d gotten out of earshot. “All right, Martin. Where do you live?”
“This way,” he said, pointing. I let him get a few steps ahead, leading us through the streets.
“So can we get back through the barrier with the same trick, or will we have to ride to the barrier gate from the outside?” I asked.
Instead of answering, Barius growled, “You should not have given your word if you were not sure you could keep it.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, offended. “I meant what I said.”
“You give your word too freely,” Barius said accusingly. “Can you guarantee that you and the others will save Elladorn? Because that is what Terrence will hope for now. What if you fail?”
“We won’t,” I insisted. “It’ll be fine. Once we get full control of our magic — ”
“And how long will that be?” Barius asked. “This town could be dust by then. You have sworn an oath. Such things may not hold much weight on True Earth, but here an oath is a pledge to keep your word, or die trying. Are you willing to do that? Are you willing to give your life for these people?”
I balked at that. “I mean, I didn’t say I wanted to die — ” I began.
“What is your life worth without your word?” Barius cut me off. “When you give your word, that is what you are pledging to. To uphold it, or perish in the attempt.”
I scowled into the empty air. “Whatever,” I muttered.
We walked on in silence, following Martin’s winding trail through the streets of the town. As we continued, I began to realize there was something strange about Elladorn. I hadn’t spent any time in Morrowdust at night, but I couldn’t imagine it would be like this. There was almost no activity. There were no people on th
e streets. Only an occasional torch was lit, and few windows had a fire shining through them. I spotted one tavern with a wide window in its front. But its door was closed. Inside, only a few patrons sat at tables, sitting alone, no one talking, each of them buried in their cups. Beggars littered the streets, grimy and emaciated, and those I could see in houses only seemed to be doing better due to having a roof.
Elladorn had clearly been a beautiful place once, but it had lost its luster. There were ruins of stonework that hinted at skilled hands, but they were now broken down to become nothing more than a whisper of the past.
“What’s wrong with this place?” I asked, suddenly a little nervous.
“It is the taint of Chaos,” Barius explained. “Chaos is similar to magic. Like magic, it affects all that it touches. But whereas magic is simply energy, neither inherently good nor evil, Chaos corrupts. It makes the world a dark, terrible place, unfit for the lives of men. Something here is in contact with it. It is thick in these streets.”
I looked at him askance. “You can see it?”
He gestured at the ruined buildings, the crumbling roofs. “Can’t you?”
We came to a town square, and moonlight glinted off of the polished white marble of a statue in its center. It was a woman with short-cropped hair, holding her arm aloft as if reaching for something being offered from above. Her look was stern but undeniably beautiful.
But what really caught my eye about the lady in the statue wasn’t her expression, or the fact she was placed in the middle of such a run-down old town. It was the fact that she was unmistakably wearing the robes of a Realm Keeper. They were cut differently, looking more like actual robes and less like an outfit, but they were a Realm Keeper’s robes just the same.
“Who is she?” I asked, awestruck.
“Her name was Ella,” said Barius. “She lived many hundreds of years ago. She was the Keeper of Air, and she saved this town from Chaos single-handed when the other Realm Keepers were on True Earth, unaware of her danger. She gave her life to save the people here.” His tone grew judgmental, and I immediately blushed as I thought of our conversation about keeping one’s word.
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