“Are you saying we could reach our destination after dying?” Blade called out. He was riding his horse beside mine. “Because I want to learn that trick. Forget fireballs.”
I watched Greystone’s shoulders clench visibly. “If you would like to perform such an experiment,” he said without turning around, “a thousand poets could not describe the pleasure I would take in using you as the guinea pig.”
Blade made a face and mockingly whispered Greystone’s words back to him. I giggled.
Behind us, there was a whooosh of air and a cry as Raven took to the air on the back of Ella.
The road we traveled was paved with stone, and it ran alongside a river that Nora told me was called the Pisca. The river flowed slow and steady, the sound of its murmuring a gentle music accompanying the rhythm of hoofbeats.
“Anybody else feeling a little warm?” Miles called out innocently from the middle of the column.
I saw what he was doing immediately and held my peace with a smile. Blade opened his mouth. Without thinking, I put a hand on his arm and shook my head no. He looked at me questioningly and, suddenly realizing what I’d done, I snatched my hand back with a blush.
“I’m pretty hot,” Calvin called back. “It feels like summer’s coming on already.”
Without warning, Miles waved his hands. A stream of water leapt from the Pisca and splashed Calvin so hard that he was nearly knocked from his horse. He regained his balance, sputtering and speaking in a language I didn’t recognize.
“Sorry, man,” said Miles through his laughter. “But you did walk right into it.”
Another stream of words from Calvin.
“What language is that, Calvin?” asked Sarah, turning around with interest.
“Elvish,” said Calvin, glaring daggers at Miles. “The best language in the world to cuss somebody out with.”
Sarah stared at him for a moment before turning back around. “Of course it is.”
Calvin took a deep inward breath and exhaled hard. His robes seemed to violently fill with air as the waterlogged fabric turned dry again.
After that there were hours of silence, a silence broken only by the clop-clop of our horses’ hooves upon the road. We were riding fast. Not at a dead gallop which the horses couldn’t maintain, but it was still a pretty good clip. It made me feel a lot better to have Raven keeping watch above us, but I still looked around in all directions, terrified that at any moment we’d see a host of black figures in dark armor swarming toward us.
We’d make Linsfell by the end of the day, then rest there. The next leg of the trip, from Linsfell to the temple, was much shorter. We’d make that journey after resting overnight. After having to deal with our parents’ worry on Earth, which I wasn’t looking forward to.
Around noon, Greystone called us to a halt to eat. There was a clump of trees on the riverbank, their branches reaching out over the water in yearning. I pulled some food from the pack on my horse and began to munch away.
Nora was in the highest spirits I’d ever seen from her. She’d been positively bouncing in her saddle all morning, and the grin on her face was constant. She took a few mouthfuls of food and a swallow from the skins she carried, and then unexpectedly burst into song. She had a beautiful voice that rose and swelled on the faint breeze in the afternoon air.
Where in Linsfell can I find
Bolts of silk and satin?
Here my friend, the Motley Downs
Have cloth from the Mathin
Where in Linsfell can I find
Sweetmeats and an ale?
Here my friend, the Motley Downs
Have all treats for sale.
Where in Linsfell can I find
Swords of steely promise?
Here my friend, in Motley Downs
Every smith is honest
Where in Linsfell may I seek
All my heart’s desire?
Motley Downs will see you pleased
Warmly as a fire
I hung on the last note until at last it faded away into the air. I noticed Darren, Samuel and Melaine staring at Nora along with Sarah, Miles and Calvin. Barius was rocking back and forth to the rhythm of the song, humming quietly to himself. When the song finished, we clapped enthusiastically.
“That was beautiful, Nora,” I said breathlessly.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” she said, suddenly red-faced. “A little song from my youth. The merchants’ sons and daughters of Linsfell have many such songs.”
“What are the Motley Downs?” asked Calvin.
“That is the great market district of Linsfell,” Nora said. “Well, great is probably a generous description after what you have seen of Morrowdust. We cannot claim to rival their market quarter. Still, when I was a child, it was a treasure trove. My mother held enough sway within the district that nearly every vendor sought to gain her good graces by giving me small trinkets for free.” She blushed again and laughed. “A pity it never worked. My mother is harder than ice-forged armor.”
“And twice as pure at heart,” said Greystone with a nod. “Much to the dismay of the occasional constable or town guard who sought to gain a little extra coin with schemes of false protection.”
Nora stared at him. “You know my mother?”
Greystone waved a hand. “The most casual traveler to Linsfell could not escape mention of Sindra Tamper,” he said. “She is a most excellent procurer of some of my rarer alchemical compounds. In many ways, better than my suppliers in Morrowdust.”
“I never knew,” Nora breathed. She gave a quick glance at Cara before continuing. “If I should happen to encounter her within the city walls, I will certainly insist on uniting the two of you.”
If Greystone saw the hard line of Cara’s mouth, he didn’t mention it. “I would be in your debt,” Greystone said with a nod. “I am in need of new spheres of holding. I have not had the chance to procure any since the Battle of the Circle.”
We quickly finished our rest and were back on the road within fifteen minutes, Greystone remarking how it would be best to keep moving.
Many hours later, as the sun began to set in the sky, we came upon the walls of Linsfell.
And immediately, we knew that something was wrong.
As soon as we crested the final rise before descending into the vale where Linsfell lay, we heard the bells. More alarming than that, though, was the smoke rising from within the city’s walls.
As soon as he saw that, Greystone spurred his horse into a gallop. We covered the last three miles to Linsfell at a hard pace that left me clinging desperately to my horse’s neck for fear of falling off. Calvin did fall off, tumbling into a patch of bushes. Darren pulled aside to help him up, but I was too scared to stop my horse and do the same.
I risked a glance at Nora to see that her face had grown suddenly thin, haggard. The look in her eyes wasn’t fear, exactly, but it was perilously close.
We reached the city walls and pulled up short before the gate. Whatever was going on, at least the guards weren’t skittish. Maybe they recognized Greystone, or perhaps it was the red-and-silver armor of the Runegard. Whatever it was, they didn’t shoot us on sight. As soon as we came near, a soldier leaned over the walls.
“Watcher!” he cried. “The city was attacked!”
“How many, and how recently?” Greystone called up to him.
“Last night,” the man replied. “The number varies depending on how frightened the teller is, but best guess puts it at four legions’ strength.”
“Men?” Greystone asked, his voice almost hopeful.
The man shook his head solemnly.
“Foot or horse? And where did they go?” Greystone shouted, fury slowly rising in his voice.
“Due north,” said the man. “So at least that’s a blessing. Nothing but the badlands up there. It may yet be that the spirits may claim them.”
Greystone uttered a string of profanity that somehow didn’t use any real curse words, and yet was the dirtiest thing I’d ev
er heard in my life.
“Hey, man, ladies present,” said Miles, looking at me nervously.
Greystone ignored him, whirling to Sarah. “Lady Sarah,” he said, his words coming a mile a minute. “They march on the temple. An army descends upon it, intent on keeping you from the oracle.”
Sarah started. “What? How do you know?”
“The army that struck Linsfell marched North. North is the temple. North there is nothing but the temple,” Greystone said. “We must ride there. Now. Without delay.”
Sarah’s eyes went wide. “We can’t!” she shouted back. “We’ve been here for nearly sixteen hours already!”
“The forces of Chaos march upon the temple as we speak,” Greystone said urgently. “If we do not reach it before them, we may well never do so.” His tone became almost pleading. “Lady Sarah, you have trusted me in much. Trust me in this.”
With a whooosh and a thump, Raven landed Ella on the ground. Calvin’s horse screamed and reared, nearly throwing him. The rest of the chargers held firm.
“What’s going on?” asked Raven.
“Chaos is already on its way to the temple,” explained Miles.
Raven looked at all of our faces, then unconsciously checked her wrist before seeming to realize there wasn’t a watch on it. “But aren’t we almost out of time?”
“We have more time than we will if we wait for Chaos to surround the temple and block our way,” said Greystone.
I felt I had to say something. I kicked my horse, relieved when it actually went the way I wanted it to, and pulled to a stop beside them.
“Sarah,” I said quietly. “It won’t make much difference, if you think about it. We’ve already been asleep for so long, what’s a little longer?”
“It’s three more hours before we even reach the temple,” Sarah said, her eyes steely. “Who knows what will happen when we get there? And then three hours back here before we can rest. They’ll go insane.”
“But the oracle…” I said, letting it trail off.
Sarah looked for a moment like she might cry. But the steel in her eyes was turning to calculation.
We were right. She had to see that we were right.
Finally she gave a nod full of frustration and anger. “All right,” she said through tight lips. “Let’s go, then. Fast.”
“It will be faster to take the road around,” said Nora. “Rather than try to make our way through the city. The streets within are narrow and winding, and an overturned cart or two may delay us for an hour.”
I looked at her face, surprised. I couldn’t imagine how badly she must have wanted to go inside the city, to see that her family and friends were safe. But duty was everything to a Runegard.
“Agreed,” said Greystone. “Quickly now!”
He spurred his horse into a furious gallop, so suddenly fast that I was afraid he’d hurt it.
“Raven, fly ahead!” called Sarah. “Find out what you can and report back!” Then she, too, was riding away after Greystone’s old, stooped back atop his horse.
Within seconds we were charging down the road, the low swooping sounds of Ella’s wings fading away behind us.
TESS
THE ROAD TO THE TEMPLE was much shorter than that which we’d taken from Morrowdust to Linsfell, and we covered it at a much faster pace. We covered twenty-five miles in two hours rather than the three we’d feared it would take us.
I saw white sand appear on the distant horizon. The land was sloping down toward it, with a tall row of hills stretching out on our left hand side until it reached the feet of the mountains an impossibly far distance away. The mountains swung around to our left, stretching up to caress the bottom of the impossibly blue Midrealm sky. To our right was a vast and untamed forest, maintained a good thirty feet from the road but stretching endlessly to the horizon beyond that.
“What’s that sand?” Calvin shouted, pointing at the horizon to which our noses were aimed.
“That is the rim of the Sink,” Greystone called back above the thundering hooves. “We are fortunate. It seems our foes have not yet approached it.”
“Don’t jinx it, you old geezer!” said Blade.
As if on cue, a roaring whooosh announced Raven’s arrival on the back of Ella. She landed on the road fifty feet away, and we all slowed to a trot as we approached her.
“They’re ahead,” she said breathlessly. “Lots of them. They’re using a smaller road that’s further to the East. West?” She looked around curiously, trying to get her bearings. The sun was setting on the wrong side. “That way,” she said, pointing toward its sinking redness.
“Draw it for me,” said Greystone quickly, leaping to the ground. He drew a dagger from somewhere within his robes and handed it to her hilt-first, kneeling in the dirt.
Quickly Raven sketched out a small map. “Here’s the road,” she said. “And here’s the white sand. I’d say they’re right about here, approaching our road dead on. The two roads meet right around here, and then it’s a straight shot to the Sink.”
“All on foot?” asked Cara, who was standing over Greystone.
“Yes,” said Raven. “No horses.”
Greystone looked up at Cara. “Can we make it?” he asked.
“It seems we have no choice but to try,” she said reluctantly. “We shall have to ride hard, and fast, and not stop until we are in the Sink. Not even then. The road should carry us straight through. Unless it has been blocked.”
“It has not been,” said Greystone with a shake of his head. “The folk here fear to enter the Sink, and Chaos has not yet reached it. There are no trees there to fall, nothing to block the path.” He stood, brushing dirt from his robes and hands. “Very well, then. We ride. When we reach the Sink’s border, I shall lead the Shadows away west if I can. You must go on without me, do you understand?” His piercing blue eyes found Sarah. “You must not dally and wait for me. I will not be coming.”
“Got it,” said Sarah. “What are we waiting for?” She vaulted back up into her saddle.
“Ride, Runegard!” called Cara. “Shields to the right! Guard the Rune Holders!”
Darren sidled up next to Calvin’s horse and grabbed the reins. “Just hold on tight, my Lord,” he said quietly. “No offense, but if you fall off and are caught by Chaos, I’m afraid I’ll be looking for a new order of knights to work for.”
“No offense taken,” said Calvin, his hands shaking. He wrapped them in his horse’s mane and hunched over, gripping as hard as he could with knees and elbows.
“Go!” cried Sarah, and we rode. We rode for our lives, churning up dirt and mud beneath us as we moved like the wind. I was so scared of the Shadows that I forgot to be afraid of the horse, and I found myself pumping effortlessly back and forth in time with the rhythm of the heaving body beneath me. My eyes drifted to the right, west where the sun now looked an inch from touching down on the horizon. I couldn’t see them approaching through the forest, but I knew they were there. The thunder of hooves became a rhythm in my ears, a monotone chant in my mind screaming faster, faster, faster.
We were two miles from the intersection when they came out of the trees. Marching in perfect ranks, exuding a discipline that could not have come from mortal soldiers, the Shadows emerged from the forest. As one, their feet rose and fell, trampling dirt and grass alike beneath their iron shod boots. As one, they turned and spied our ragged party tearing down the road toward the intersection.
As one, they screamed in hatred and charged, running directly perpendicular to our path to try and cut us off.
The reports from Linsfell were greatly exaggerated. This was no army of four thousand. I would have been surprised to count one thousand. But compared to our thirteen, it seemed as though every creature of darkness in the world was assembled to kill us.
Greystone dropped back suddenly, falling behind the rest of the group. Once he was behind the rest of us, I felt a familiar twinge, like a ripple that rolled through my chest.
It wa
s the same feeling I’d felt in the Runehold when he’d used Mind. He was using it again. I wondered what for, until suddenly the horse beneath me leapt like it had been smacked with a fiery brand. At the same time, I felt my road-weary limbs rejuvenate, my lungs no longer struggling to breathe the air that came streaming into my face. Every muscle felt revitalized and awakened, and I nearly screamed aloud with the sudden joy of the ride.
The thoughts in our heads. I heard Elanor’s voice as clearly as I’d heard it in my ears the day before. The vital force within us that makes our hearts beat. It is the same thing.
Greystone was rejuvenating us with Mind. My head reeled with the implications, but right now I had to push those thoughts aside. The intersection swooped toward us, and for a heart-stopping second I thought the Shadows would reach it before we did. My hair was streaming back and away from my face as it caught in the wind, both eyes wide open and staring in horror as they reached the churned ground where the roads met.
By unspoken agreement we all swerved left, riding the very edge of the road and passing just before the blades, the fangs, the relentless howls of the horde trying to destroy us. Their screams grew twice as loud as we passed before them unscathed, my every muscle straining forward and trying to urge the last drops of speed from my horse’s sweat.
But we weren’t out of the woods yet. Foiled by our speed, now the Shadows turned and chased us desperately, trying to overtake us. Our mounts drew us away from them at breakneck speed, but now we were almost upon the threshold of the Sink.
“Do not stop!” I heard Cara’s battle-strong voice cut through the wind. “Not for any reason, until you reach the circle within!”
Then I felt a great weight settle in my chest, nearly crushing the air from my lungs. For a moment I had to fight simply to breathe.
More than the loss of breath, I felt a great gaping hole in myself, somewhere deep within my mind. It was like a chunk of memory had disappeared, leaving a void that I sought to remember the contents of.
Midrealm Page 35