The Black Morass

by Gerald Lambert

  habit and Tenga saw no reason to stop now, though the events he chronicled highlighted one of his most monumental failures. Having a written account would help him avoid similar mistakes in the future. He would never again travel using his accelerated, high energy method without ensuring he had sufficient reserves to draw from.

  And that should never again be a problem, he thought. From now on I will take Bid'Daum with me in his magically reduced form. I can always just use his power to defend him

  against any magician who might want to steal him.

  After eating a leisurely breakfast, Tenga then flew to the same peak where he had taken Lena the day before. The ship was indeed closer, and the old magician rubbed his hands

  together in anticipation of what he was about to do.

  Releasing a delighted chuckle, Tenga tapped into Bid'Daum's limitless strength and began muttering a complex incantation. After nearly twenty minutes of weaving the spell, he

  released the accumulation of black thunderheads in the direction of the ship, continuing to intensify the rain, lightning, and wind. But mostly the wind. He would drive the ship back

  for as long as possible then smash it apart. For Tenga really didn't want to deal with lifeless, bloated corpses washing ashore as he had joked to Lena. He hoped the nine children's

  bodies would simply get eaten by sharks or Nïdhwalar far out at sea.

  The gale struck the ship only moments after the youth managed to lower and tie down the sails. But such measures—aside from ensuring that they did not immediately capsize—did

  little to help them. The vessel violently reeled and pitched as the storm drove it back on what was clearly a magical current.

  This is Tenga's doing, Brom mentally communicated, knowing his friends would never hear over the shrieking wind. And most of the girls were in the berth cabin anyway.

  know what to do. He is pushing us away from Vroengard at an incredible speed. There's no way I can counter that without delving into the stores we've made. But if I don't, we might never reach our destination so it wouldn't even matter.

  He must be furious for some reason, Will responded. Because he wouldn't be doing this if he had just left with Lena. So she really must have found a way to stay there and now he

  is retaliating. He escalates quickly when he loses his temper and takes revenge, doesn't he? But now we're several days away again, and that's if we could stop right now and

  resume sailing forward.

  Everyone get down below before someone blows away, Var commanded. We need to do something soon because the ship will break apart regardless of whether the sails are down.

  This wind is magically enhanced to be unbelievably deadly. I've never read or heard of a squall this powerful.

  The boys and Brin swiftly descended the ladder into the berth cabin. Zadí went to Var, and he absently put his arm around her.

  "So what do you suggest, captain?" Will asked Var.

  I have a suggestion, said an ancient and unfamiliar mental voice.

  Brom was instantly on the defensive. Who are you! he demanded.

  I am Bid'Daum, came the answer. We must speak quickly before you are too far for this to work. Tenga is borrowing my strength to create this tempest. I cannot shut myself off

  from him until you actually make it here and confront him, otherwise he will know something is wrong. While I am in this open state, you also can borrow my vitality. Do so

  immediately, elfling. Get your friends and some supplies and board the long boat as rapidly as you can.

  Brom urgently looked around at his friends, spurring them into the recommended action by setting the example.

  The dragon continued without pause, Protect yourselves from the storm's affects using my power. Then row away until you are clear of it. Tenga has designed it to surround only

  your ship. While you are rowing, hide your mental presence from the old magician. He intends to break the craft apart in only a handful more minutes. You must not still be on it.

  But he will think you perished with your vessel and rest on his laurels, for his arrogance is his greatest weakness. Continue guarding your group and rowing until you reach the western shore. Tenga is standing above the southern border of the island, but if he thinks you are dead, he is not likely to go to the trouble of keeping watch for you. Yet another

  shortcoming he has frequently exhibited in the recent past. Landing on the western beach will put you closest to the Vault of Souls, which is where Lena is right now. Hurry

  younglings, or this opportunity will expire and Lena will die.

  As the dragon concluded, Brom cried, "Pack! Everyone pack! Faster! We only have a few minutes!"

  The flurry of activity that had already commenced only increased as the friends redoubled their efforts. Several disappeared to the cargo hold to make similar preparations with

  food supplies. Miraculously, they were ready to go less than three minutes later.

  Brom cast the spell that would protect them from the ferocity of the storm above before rushing up the ladder, closely followed by his companions.

  The boys had the long boat over the side a minute later, and Brom sped all of their activities with magic. Allowing Bid'Daum's strength to fill him was absolutely exhilarating. Brom

  couldn't believe how powerful he felt—like he could conquer the world! The dragon's vitality made every other magical source Brom was familiar with pale in comparison. The belt

  of Beloth the Wise seemed like a candle next to the sun when contrasted with the Eldunarí's immense life force.

  Before Brom even thought it possible, the nine were in the long boat, feverishly rowing away from the careening ship over waters made calm at Brom's word. But everyone sharply

  looked back as an impossibly enormous jagged bolt of lightning tore open the sky to blast the ship into smithereens.

  Brom easily protected his friends from the flying shards as they exploded over the water in a thousand directions.

  There goes our ride home, Will regretfully thought through the stillopen mental link Brom was maintaining.

  It took us years to build that, Var lamented in the same tone.

  But at least we weren't on it just then, Brom pointed out, unconcerned by what seemed such a trivial matter when he was filled with such limitless power. While borrowing from

  Bid'Daum, Brom felt certain he could reconstruct the ship in a day if he wanted.

  Let's keep going, Ajh prompted. We're almost to Lena.

  Then Bid'Daum's mental voice once again filled their minds, Tenga intends to cease his efforts at any moment. He believes his plan was a success. Once he stops using me, I will

  also withdraw my assistance so he doesn't feel me helping you. At that point you will be on your own to reach Vroengard, but I have no doubt you will. You have already overcome more than I would have believed possible.

  The dragon unemotionally distanced himself, and Brom was struck by how indifferent he still seemed, though he had just helped them all survive certain death. Bid'Daum did not

  appear at all concerned with their wellbeing, as if he was acting out of a sense of detached selfinterest. But in spite of this realization, Brom couldn't quell the sharp pang of

  disappointment when the Eldunarí did as he had warned by blocking access to his vitality.

  The squall died down nearly as suddenly as it appeared, leaving the day as clear as it had started. Now the nine friends were again over a week away from accomplishing their

  goal, but they were grateful to be alive after their brush with death.

  Lena's cries of agony had long since ceased. What good did they do? None. Crying about how much pain she was in did nothing to diminish the torment and really only exaggerated

  it, if she was honest with herself.

  The searing burn in her legs was all she could think about. She had learned that if she carefully braced her weight against the upper arm restraints, she could extend one leg out in

&nb
sp; front of her at a time. But then only one leg supported her weight while she tried to rest the other, and she could scarce bear this torture, as exhausted as they already were.

  Her sense of time was completely warped, so she didn't know how long she had been chained to the wall when the next discomfort demanded her attention. It was amazing, really,

  that anything beyond her suffering legs registered in her mind, but she nevertheless began to experience a burning thirst. Why was all the pain she felt down here in this thriceblasted

  furnace some form of burning?

  Lena had begun to feel like she would do anything for a drink of water when Swiftpaw emerged from her hiding place dragging a familiar object.

  From the corner of her eye—for Lena could not fully turn her head to observe the werecat's approach—Lena eventually identified one of the socks she had left Swiftpaw to fill with

  water for Iduna and Nёya.

  "Swiftpaw!" Lena gratefully exclaimed. "I had all but forgotten about you!"

  That seems to happen rather often, the werecat ironically replied. But I brought you some water.

  "Oh, thank you, Swiftpaw! Knowing I'm not alone somehow makes this easier. But my legs hurt so badly I think I might die, and I'm not being melodramatic!"

  Swiftpaw carefully propped the magically reinforced stocking against the wall by Lena and transformed into her human girl self. Then she lifted the makeshift canteen to Lena's mouth and tilted it up.

  Lena greedily drank all of the water, exhaling in relief when she finished. "Thank you," she repeated. "Maybe I'll survive a few days if I have enough water. But I'm already hungry

  and I doubt we'll have many options for food."

  "Yes," Swiftpaw agreed, still in her human form. "I hope your friends do make it here quickly, Lena, otherwise I think starvation truly will be how I meet my end. I was getting so

  hopeful that I might actually see daylight again before I died."

  "Oh, Swiftpaw," Lena consoled, finding that focusing on someone else's woes temporarily took her mind off her own. "You have been trapped down here for so many months! Even

  when you were able to accompany the Caretakers outside, it was always at night, wasn't it?"

  The girl sadly nodded. "But we must not give up hope yet, Lena. Your friends have already overcome impossible odds to get so close."

  Lena also tried to nod and gagged. "I hate that old man!" she fumed. "When they get here, I'm going to insist on being the one to kill him."

  "Can we do it as a team?" Swiftpaw hopefully requested. "I would love nothing more than to scratch Tenga's eyes out."

  Lena smiled in grim anticipation. "Sounds like a plan."

  After a week of endless rowing, in which Will almost always took part despite his exhaustion, the nine youth made it to Vroengard. As they neared the western shore, Will was the

  first to spring out of the boat, grateful for the cool of the water and the immediate relief as his torso stopped working and his legs took over for a time. He pulled while the others

  continued to row until they could drag the small craft onto the beach.

  Will grabbed his pack and some food from their depleted stores. "I'm going to get Lena," he announced. "I'll bring her here, and then we can plan our next move." Most of his

  friends hadn't even disembarked, but Will turned to jog into the forest without awaiting permission.

  He never stopped running as he navigated the dense undergrowth of the forest, always climbing higher and higher up the mountain. Soon Will reached a canyon that led between

  two of the peaks and into the valley beyond.

  Will sprinted onward, knowing where he needed to go from stories and his studies. And soon enough, the imposing stone monolith itself guided him in a direct course to his

  destination.

  He skidded to a stop in front of the Rock of Kuthian, panting his true name and waiting with an impatience that threatened to kill him.

  "Hurry!" he muttered under his breath. Nearly eight months after Lena had been torn from his side, Will was only minutes away from finding her. "I'm coming, honey."

  Will refused to entertain any possibility other than the one that ended with him finding Lena alive in the Vault of Souls a mile below his current location. "You're still alive," he

  willed. "Still alive."

  Will shoved the archway open as soon as it appeared, resuming his desperate sprint down the dark tunnel.

  Swiftpaw suddenly sprang up, her hackles rising in fear. Someone's coming! she cried to Lena. Swiftly!

  "Let him come," Lena listlessly muttered, her head painfully lolling against the stone restraint. They hadn't eaten in a week, and Lena knew they wouldn't make it much longer.

  "Maybe he has come to gloat a bit more."

  I do not think it is Tenga! This person is moving far faster than that old man ever has.

  Lena forced herself to raise her head. It can't be, she defensively thought, refusing to voice her dearest hope in an effort to protect herself from certain disappointment.

  let it be. Please let it be Will.

  As Will exploded into the vast underground chamber, his sword drawn and eyes darting about, he immediately spotted the skeletal frame shackled to the wall.

  "Lena!" he shouted, racing over to her. "Lena, please be alive, honey!"

  The emaciated person turned her face. "Will?" Lena rasped in a faint voice, her beautiful blue eyes filling with tears as she forced herself to focus on his face. "Will. You found me."

  "Oh, Lena," Will breathed, immediately working to sever her restraints. "Look at you, honey! Thank you, god, for keeping her alive."

  His Rider's blade effortlessly sliced through the thick stone, though Will took care not to cut Lena's skin. He first removed the binding around her neck, stepping closer when her

  head weakly sagged forward into his chest. He then freed her right arm and transferred his sword to his right hand so he could slip his left arm around her waist as she slumped

  down. After removing the last two manacles, Lena fully collapsed into his arms.

  Will's sword clattered to the ground as he dropped down beside it, enfolding Lena in his arms, pressing her gaunt frame into his body, burying his face in her neck.

  "Thank you, god," he repeated as his tears soaked her hair. "Thank you for helping me find her."

  Lena's thin shoulders shook as she wept, and she wrapped her arms around Will's back to pull herself more tightly against him. "I knew you would find me, love. Thank you for not

  giving up. Thinking of you is all that kept me alive this week. And it's what kept me going, fighting, all these months."

  She lifted her head, raising both of her hands to Will's face and feeling his every feature.

  "I'm real," he reassured, guessing her intent. He also raised one hand to stroke her cheek. "I would never give up, honey. Never. Not even death would keep me from saving you.

  You know I would die for you."

  "I know," Lena whispered.

  He bent down to gently kiss her. "Do you want your ring back?"

  Lena bit her lip to still the tremors and nodded, her eyes wide and teary. So Will withdrew the chain from under his shirt and unfastened it. He slid the ring on her finger, but she

  was so skeletal that the band no longer fit. Will refastened the necklace around her neck, his face twisting in concern as he observed the angry red welts from her stone fetter.

  "I brought some food, honey. Will you eat? Then we can return to the others and Hanna can attend to these wounds."

  "Is everyone here?" Lena asked, accepting the food Will handed her.

  "Everyone. All nine of us. We've been through a lot, but so have you. Tenga doesn't know we're here and that advantage might not last long, so it might be better to catch up later."

  Lena nodded her agreement with her mouth full. "Will you carry me, love? I'm not sure I can walk out of here."

  "I'll never let you go again, Lena, if that's what you wan
t," Will vowed. "I'm so relieved you're alive. I can't even tell you how worried I was all these months. I was so afraid I would

  show up one minute too late."

  "I almost didn't make it. This last week . . . my legs . . . hurt so much. And then when I would fall asleep, I would start to suffocate because my weight would pull against the

  restraint. Swiftpaw kept me alive. She stood in front of me so I could awkwardly relax and sleep for short stretches. And she brought me water."

  "Swiftpaw?" Will repeated in confusion, offering Lena his water skin.

  "The werecat. Here she is."

  Will looked up as a small girl just as sickly thin as Lena approached.

  "She hid when she heard you coming," Lena explained. "Staying out of sight has kept her alive all these months. Tenga kidnapped her too so he could spy on my mother through the

  werecats who visited the palace. When I first got here, she was starving. We came up with a plan to keep the Caretakers—of the Dragon Rider pact—alive. Tenga had forgotten

  about Swiftpaw and never bothered to check for her with his mind. Oh Will, there's so much to tell you, but I know we haven't the time. But she's coming with us. We want to be the

  ones to kill Tenga."

  "Yes," Will firmly agreed. "You deserve that much. I'll take you to the others, and we'll decide how to go about doing that. Your input will be invaluable. Swiftpaw, thank you for

  keeping Lena alive. I will always be grateful."

  "She did just as much to keep me alive," Swiftpaw insisted.

  "I'll carry you too," Will offered. "Stronger than ever after a week of rowing."

  Swiftpaw resumed her werecat form and lightly sprang into Lena's lap after Will gently cradled her in his arms. Then he arose and walked out of the Vault of Souls toward the

  surface.

  "Keep eating if you can," he instructed Lena. "You look like a skeleton, honey. I'm so sorry you had to go through all that. I wished I could stop your suffering, be with you to

  protect you. Did Tenga ever . . . you know . . . steal your virtue?"

  Lena shook her head, gulping down her current bite. "He tried. The first time, he discovered my ring and took it away. I had hidden it around my waist. Every time after that,