by Ashley Capes
Chapter 24.
Never woke to the same shadows broken by the faint blue glow of the orbs.
He lay on stone, arms bound behind his back. Throbbing pounded in his head from the blow he’d been dealt. At least his leg no longer hurt – in fact, he’d long since lost his limp. Little use his new, swift healing would be now. He twisted, searching. Stone wraiths milled around the table, near enough that he could hear the hiss of their flaking skin rubbing against one another. Another sound grew in the darkness too, the gnawing of teeth on bone.
Gods, no...
Nearby, a group of the wraiths crouched over a body of their own kin, scrabbling for bones and chewing on the pieces they won. The same sounds drifted from various parts of the temple, as if the living had dragged corpses away for privacy.
He thrashed against his bonds.
Shadowy figures continued to move beyond the light, sneaking behind other shapes. The weaker ones, scavenging for scraps? A few were certainly smaller.
Luis.
Never glanced up at the table. As the creatures shifted, he caught a glimpse of a cloak. Luis. Never rolled to his knees. A nearby wraith spun its back on him, hunching protectively over a severed arm. Another pair of the creatures paused, long bones gripped in shaking hands.
His sword lay on the ground between them; they’d been shifting it with the bones.
Couldn’t they touch the blade?
He swore. It hardly mattered, he was caught, bound firm. And it wasn’t rope – some manner of cold substance kept him without the use of his hands. “Leave him be,” he shouted.
The wraiths grew still.
They parted and the leader strode forward, covering half the distance between them.
Awake already? We’ve barely had time to begin.
Never reached his feet. “Begin what? If Luis isn’t alive –”
You will have your turn. Amouni blood is difficult to manage, it takes care. Preparation. Unlike your friend.
No way to cut himself and use it against them.
“And Tsolde? What have you done with her?”
The thing’s face did not change but the smile was clear in the words. We have no idea; she escaped one of our... former brethren, shall we say. We will retrieve her later. First, your friend and then, once the instruments have been collected, you.
He clenched his fists, all he could manage. A pitiful, futile act. Damn them! They’d used his assumptions about Tsolde as bait; they’d never held her in the temple. He was a fool. And now he’d dragged Luis into the heart of their lair. “You are but a husk. A mockery of life,” Never growled.
Perhaps. But your efforts to bring us food remain most welcome.
The gathered crowd, those that weren’t feasting, rubbed their limbs together in a sickening display of anticipation. Never charged the leader, dropping his shoulder.
Foolish.
It sidestepped his charge, a long arm flashing out. Talons raked Never’s back and he stumbled again.
But had the creature made a mistake?
Blood welled in the wounds. The wraiths hissed now, flinching back. Never urged his blood forth... only to let it fall, splattering around him. There was no blood to draw from his captors.
The leader threw back his head and laughter rang in Never’s mind.
Movement.
A flash of blue. The leader’s head hit the stone with a wet slap, a glimpse of black blood sneaking out from under the neck. Narrow, slitted eyes fell dark.
Tsolde stood in the light, glowing blade in her hand. Her face was smudged with dirt and she bore half a dozen cuts and a large bruise on her head. When she turned on the nearest stone wraith, it flinched back.
The entire group had frozen – even those eating, all simply staring at Tsolde and the corpse at her feet. None spoke. Could any speak at all? Had only the leader been able to communicate? Never watched them until finally, one of the Leschnilef stepped back. Another, as if deriving courage from the first step of its kin, began to slide away from the light.
And then there was a mass evacuation, wraiths fleeing or sinking into stone – many taking detached limbs or flaps of skin or greyed organs with them. In moments, the temple was empty.
Tsolde grinned down at him. “That’s three times I’ve had to save you, Never.”
“Any time you decide that I need saving, feel most welcome,” Never said.
She cut him free of his bindings, some manner of hardened mud, then they ran to Luis. He too, had been bound to the table at wrists and ankles by the dark mud, with its hard surface. “Is he alive?” Tsolde asked as she cut through the mud.
Never felt around Luis’ neck for a pulse and uttered a prayer of thanks when he found it. “They may have drugged him. Or it could have been their song – it nearly had me blacked out before the leader hit me.”
“What now?” she asked. “Can you carry him?”
He nodded. “I’ll manage. You just keep the wraiths away.”
He lifted Luis across his shoulders with a grunt, his recently healed leg wavering a moment before he straightened and started across the now-cluttered floor where he paused to accept the second blade from Tsolde. There were many more pieces of bone and half-corpses than he recalled killing.
How many had died in the fight over the first few bodies?
The stone wraiths did not follow them out and down the streets, or if they did, the things remained out of sight. All the better. Doubtless they would soon be fighting over their master’s remains.
During the walk through the streets, between houses and through squares ringed by the odd, single-homes, he paused to rest often but none of the Leschnilef dared attack. During such rests, Tsolde prowled the immediate area, glowing sword in hand. The second he’d belted around his waist and together the two weapons provided more than enough light in sections of the city where the crystal spheres had darkened.
Luis woke with a deep groan before they reached the ladder. “My head...” He squinted against the glow from the swords. “Never? Tsolde! You’re alive, I thought...”
“Thanks to Tsolde we’re all alive.” Never explained what had happened, finishing with a smile. “And so now I owe Tsolde once more and I can’t imagine she’ll let me off lightly.”
“No way,” she said with a grin of her own.
“Count me in on the debt,” Luis said. He glanced to the ladder. “Think you can help me up that? That song from the wraiths, it’s echoing in my head. It was like fighting my way out of a clinging fog.”
“Agreed,” Never said. “I’ll go first and pull you up. Tsolde, rear guard.”
He climbed to the balcony and then leaned down to grip Luis’ arm when the man climbed, with careful movements, into reach. Hauling him up, he patted Luis on the back, then caught Tsolde when she neared.
Then it was a long climb up to the World Stair with its images and empty landings... Never frowned as he walked. The World Stair? Since when had he known its translated name? There was more, the true Amouni for the stair being Vi Mon.
Mon, world and Vi, walk.
By the landing other words had crept back in. Mother, father, brother. Greetings and curses, sometimes whole phrases. As if the leader of the stone wraiths had unlocked memories of the Amouni tongue.
And for a time, centuries at least, the thing had probably been the only living creature to utter the words.
Now, who knew? Snow might know a little of the language, perhaps even more, but he wasn’t going to share his secrets unless it played to his advantage. And so far, almost everything had. Whoever Snow came into contact with he changed – for the worse, of late. Cog was one, Darom another. Would he destroy Sacha too? Never himself?
Finally, they exited the passage and resumed the trek up the World Stair, passing the ocean steps and across another landing; then it was the waving grasses and wheat of the Marlos
a plains and the imperial city itself, smaller than he was accustomed to.
The next landing took them through other cities, cities unknown – one might have been Kiymako, with its lattice-work of interconnected walkways between buildings, but it was subtly different, narrower somehow, more fanciful.
Another city was a glistening wonder of rose and another perched on the edge of a great desert. Where did such a desert lie? The Empty Sea in Vadiya did not own such a city.
“These places,” Tsolde said. “Are they even real?”
“A dream of the Amouni?” he suggested. “Perhaps, but I feel they must have – at one time at least, been true places.”
The final landing revealed another door – sealed shut. Yet, again, as with all the others, at pressure from his foot the switch caused a silver line to split the stone. Unlike the others, a blinding light waited beyond.
Never shielded his eyes, grunting at the pain.
In time, his eyes adjusted and he moved into the open air, still blinking at the afternoon light. A glade similar to that found in the centre of their long path, spread before him. Grass and red toadstools peered between a heavy carpet of pine needles. No pool here, but from memory, he knew a stream ran down the mountain beyond the wood.
Never stumbled deeper into the clearing then lowered himself to the earth with a long sigh, lying in the grass and staring up at the clouds, a white and grey patchwork with only glimpses of blue between. “I’m sick to death of caves and tunnels,” he announced.
Luis chuckled from where he sat nearby. “You’ve said that before, you know.”
“At least The Amber Isle had jewels.”
Tsolde walked by, stretching her arms and rolling her shoulders as she breathed deep. “It’s cold up here too but I can feel the air at least.”
“We’ll start a fire soon,” Never said. He sat up. “So tell us, Tsolde. What happened down there?”
“I don’t really know. One moment I was frozen in shock, watching you run toward poor Darom and then something cold took my arm and I was inside stone. It was heavy, weighing against my arms and legs, my chest and face, everywhere, yet something pulled me through as if the rock were water.” She shivered and it no longer seemed about the cold. “When we broke free it was in the underground city and a thin, husk of a creature was dragging me along the street. I screamed but it wrapped a dry hand over my mouth and its voice spoke within my mind, threatening me.”
“How did you escape?” Luis asked.
“I fought free when it paused to rest – I think I was too heavy for it to drag along.”
Never nodded. Had that been the first creature he and Luis had seen? “They’re a dying race; it probably didn’t have the strength.”
“Well, I panicked. It screamed after me. There was so much despair and rage in the sound that I just fled at first, but it seemed they waited at the end of every street I chose. It wasn’t until I stumbled into one of the temples that I was safe. Doors snapped down, closing behind me and I was sealed within.”
Never leant forward. “The temple did that by itself, you didn’t touch anything?”
“No. All I did was run within and collapse.”
“Perhaps it protected her,” Luis said. “The place certainly felt alive, in a strange way, to me.”
“As good an explanation as any,” Never agreed with a nod.
“When I finally caught my breath I explored in the dark, but found nothing, only stone benches. The creatures spoke in my mind the whole time, taunting me.” Her jaw was clenched. “I don’t know for how long, but eventually they stopped and something... urged me out. It was as if I knew you were in danger; the doors opened when I approached.” She shook her head. “I nearly didn’t go out there again but by the time I saw the light from the big temple I knew that I had to go. I snuck inside and they were... feeding on each other.”
Luis blinked. “I don’t remember that.”
Never slapped him on the shoulder. “Be glad that you don’t.”
“I found the sword and you know the rest.”
“We do.” Never smiled and Luis grinned.
“Well, now it’s your turn,” she said. “What next, Never?”
“We take the trail through the pine there. It follows the peaks of the Folhan into Marlosa. Half a day to the Marlosi side.”
“And the border?”
“Who knows now that the Vadiya are here. We’ll sneak around,” he said.
“And what about the Altar of Stars – how are we going to find that?” she asked.
“I’ll know when it’s close,” he said, toying with the strange sword. In the daylight, its glow remained absent.
“Will we reach it by tomorrow night?” Luis asked. “I think I’ve kept track of the days and nights but I’m not certain.”
“We will.” He closed his eyes. “We need sleep first. And food somehow. I don’t suppose anyone’s been hiding a piece of roasted chicken, have they?”
“Yes, but I ate it already,” Luis said with a straight face. “Sorry.”
“What about you, Tsolde?”
“Nothing.”
He sighed as he removed the Amouni sword, tossing it to Luis. “Well, how about you start the watch and wake me in a while. As soon as it gets dark, we’ll see if we can’t borrow something nice from whoever’s camped at the border.”
“If someone is camped at the border,” Luis said.
“Don’t forget, I’m usually quite lucky.” Never lay back with a smile. Free of the mines, free of the Leschnilef, finally close to his goal. Relief mingled with joy. “Someone will be there.”
Tsolde snorted. “With your luck it will be the entire Vadiya army.”
He rolled onto his side. “Then there’ll be a bigger menu to choose from, won’t there?”
Chapter 25.
Never shivered as he crouched behind a line of stones in the starlight, Luis and Tsolde close beside him. They’d had to fashion make-shift scabbards from the last of his cloak to conceal the glow from the swords; it seemed the blades simply responded to darkness.
Below, a large camp spread across the King’s Road. Smoke lifted the scent of bubbling stews and roasting meat. He could have wept; a decent hot meal, it would have been a gift from the Gods.
But the Vadiya troops seemed rather less likely to spread their bounty than Hanik or Marlosi folk. While not the size of the force deeper within Hanik, two score was still too many. And that was only the tents he could count. More would be stationed behind the glowing windows of the watch-tower. Once jointly manned by both Hanik and Marlosi forces, it was unlikely either group remained within the stone tower now.
“I could steal another uniform and –”
“No,” Luis and Tsolde said together, cutting him off.
“Fine,” Never said, affecting a hurt tone. “There’s a ravine leading around the King’s Road, it’s steep going but up this high, we’d probably have enough starlight to show us the way.”
“It won’t be guarded?” Luis asked.
“Won’t know until we get there.”
“Then we’d best get started,” Luis said. “It won’t be night forever.”
Never led them down the slope and through the stony maze that lined the side of the King’s Road that concealed their passage. They’d rejoined the road at a point behind the advance sentry and his horn. That left two others, who paced the immediate perimeter of the camp.
Never signalled for a halt when the sentries drew near.
“...and you know they’re going to cause trouble, it’s what they do.”
The other man spat. “They aren’t any different from the other cults back home. Forget about them.”
“No, these Red Seeds are more organised. I’m telling you –”
“Give it a rest, will you?” the second sentry said. “I feel terrible
right now and our shift has barely started.”
Laughter. “It’s your fault – you ate too much. Anyway, like I was saying...” the man passed from earshot. Never waited a little longer then crawled across an open space near the torchlight. With the edge of the outcropping so close, there was no choice but to move slowly.
But they passed through and reached the path that hugged the wall. Narrow but short, it ran beneath the outcropping supporting the tower. A steep drop was the reward for a misstep; a dozen or more broken bones being the best outcome.
“Stay close to the wall,” Never said as he inched out.
Save for a shadow that passed over the moon as he started, unobstructed if thin moonlight offered a clear view. It wasn’t until half-way across when a gaping hole appeared in the path. Jagged edges and chips near the base of the wall suggested deliberate sabotage. Had they lobbed huge stones at the path? Built and removed a platform to hack at it with hammers? Whatever the case, the Vadiya had done their job well enough.
“If either of you were thinking the security on the border could be better, I know why they weren’t guarding this path.”
“Why?” Tsolde whispered. Her face was unnaturally pale in the starlight; she didn’t do well with heights.
“Someone has smashed part of the path,” he said.
“Can we jump?” Luis said, his voice doubtful.
Never shook his head. “I don’t think so. It’s not that large but there’s no way to get a run up. Unless...”
“What?”
“A stout plank – that’s all we need. Turn back, I have an idea.”
Once they were concealed within the stones once again, Never outlined his idea. “All I need to do is take a crate from the camp. We can pull it apart here then lay the pieces across the gap.”
Luis nodded slowly. “It’d have to be a large crate for the plank to be long enough, right? I’ll help you carry it.”
“And I’ll keep watch,” Tsolde said.
“If there’s trouble, back to the World Stair,” Never said, then started toward the edge of the camp. At a dark point between two torches, he paused near a tent. Footsteps approached – the sentries had already finished their circuit? He reached for a weapon, but the steps faded.