by Ashley Capes
“Do we descend here?” Vantinio asked.
“Not this one,” Luis said. He pointed ahead to a variety of thin, ash-coloured trees clinging to the sides of a different opening. “There is the better choice. It will take us further before we have to climb out again. There were five trees last time,” he added.
The mercenary nodded. “And inside?”
“Just follow me, I’ll warn you about any dangerous ground. There may be bark lizards, but they prefer sunlight. I doubt we’ll see any.”
“And if we do?” Elina asked.
“They’re fast but you can swat them aside if they leap at you. They’ll usually give up then.”
“What about the bandits you and Never mentioned?” Tsolde asked.
“We simply have to be watchful,” Luis said. “I imagine they will have gone deeper since the invasion.”
They skirted the first opening to reach the trees and the deeper gorge. A worn series of uneven steps, mostly natural, many quite sheer, led down into shadow. The floor of the gorge was visible, grey stone stretching into black. Impossible for the horses to descend, which would slow them but it was unavoidable.
Never and Vantinio cut their harnesses and spread their dwindling supplies before setting the horses free.
Ready to resume their descent, Luis paused at the first step. Never placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder.
“Is something amiss?”
Luis shook his head, though his voice was not entirely convincing. “Nothing, just taking a moment to recall the first turn. It’s like a maze down here in places.”
Down they climbed. Some steps were simply the result of water and time, others were fashioned, widened by those who used the Broken Plains. Still, it was easy to slip, as Never found halfway down, catching the wall in time to save himself a few broken limbs.
A deep chill filled the bottom of the gorge, yet it was light enough. Most of the sleet could not reach them as they started along a dim trail. The constant trickle of water followed them along, dripping from overhangs, or from more of Luis’ tortured-looking trees.
Ahead, shapes loomed from the shadows, mostly twisted pillars of stone or old rockslides. In a way, not unlike the ruins of Sarann. But here there was only the damp echo from their tread and no sense of ancient life, of history waiting to be discovered. Never followed Luis, who led with his spear. Behind Never, Elina and Tsolde and Vantinio in turn. All carried their weapons, or at least had a hand near a hilt.
Was it the apparent emptiness that set them on edge? Or the promise of bandits and ghosts?
High above, the light faded as the day wore on yet they encountered naught but winding trails and the occasional fork, where the earth rose up. At times, the light fell in strips or from odd openings, pale beams tunnelling down when the gorge narrowed overhead. At such times, anyone walking above would have had an ankle trapped within such a hole, or simply fallen through if the earth was weak.
And it was; sometime after they stopped for a meal, stones had crumbled down to shatter before them. Still far enough that no-one was hurt, but Luis had exhaled. “Don’t forget to keep an eye on the roof, too,” he said.
Before nightfall they climbed free again. The rain had eased to a mere mist, which concealed anything in the distance. Beyond it, however, would loom the Folhan Mountains and Isacina. And hopefully Snow. The next landmark Luis found near darkness, twin columns of stone shards had been gathered, marking a gentle slope that led into shadow once more. Luis paused before starting down. “It will be drier below, but I feel like a double watch is still in order.” He spoke a little absent-mindedly, still seeming preoccupied.
“Agreed,” Never said. “We’ve had a quiet journey so far but that doesn’t mean it will stay so.”
Within, they found a clear place to camp; it even came with a fire pit courtesy of other travellers, and each set to work on their tasks. Food was running quite low but everyone wanted a fire first. Never joined Luis in scavenging for dry wood, which would be quite a feat despite the occasional tree above.
Yet their luck held; in the failing light they found a twisted heap from another collapse, clumps of dirt and stone concealing one of the dead trees. Never dug out a few pieces and set them in a pile while Luis worked on another.
“What troubles you, Luis?” Never asked as he worked on a heavy piece of stone.
Luis paused to sigh, then he sat on the pile. “You remember what I said about my father? My home?”
“A violent silversmith. You left.”
“I did.” He stared into the darkness of the trail. “He’s down here somewhere, Never. I heard about it years later. He was drunk and brawling in the inn. He killed an Imperial Guard when they came to put a stop to it. Afterwards, my father was executed and cast into the gorge. Imperial orders.”
Never blinked. “Luis...”
“Somehow, my mother still loved him and it broke her heart... I still haven’t been home. I can’t face her.”
“Why?”
“Because if I hadn’t left, maybe I could have stopped it all somehow.”
Never took a seat beside his friend. “Do you really think so?”
“I don’t know,” he said with a shrug. “Yes. Sometimes.”
“You knew your father... so ask yourself, do you think he could have changed? Could you have changed him?”
Luis nodded but didn’t answer. Never gave him a smile and returned to work, adding more to his pile before heading back toward the camp.
Tsolde met him, her voice soft. “Is Luis all right?”
“Yes. I’m sure he’ll join us in a moment,” Never said.
She frowned. “What did you talk about? Is there something you two aren’t telling the rest of us about this place?”
“No, nothing like that,” Never said. “Ask him; he’ll probably confide in you too, Tsolde.”
She blinked. “Oh. Do you think so?”
“You’re important to him, of course.”
“You mean...”
Never grinned as he handed over the wood. “Yes. I mean he cares about you, why wouldn’t he? Just as I do. We’ve been through a lot together, don’t you think?”
“Yes, of course we have, you’re right, Never,” she said and turned back to Elina and Vantinio to begin work on the fire. Never had to fight another grin. Of course he’d seen the small signs of something growing between them but it wasn’t his place to give either of them a push. That would only spoil their fun.
Patience in matters of the heart – if only he’d realised that with Zia.
Chapter 15.
Once again Never trailed Luis along the dim paths. The sky above remained cold and while the rain had eased, wind tore howling through the gorge. It moaned and whistled, a tortured sound of loneliness. After an uneventful watch and quiet night, it was a most unwelcome change.
“Behold the ghosts of the Broken Plains,” Never announced.
“How long is that likely to last?” Elina asked.
He shrugged. “As long as the wind is up. Luis?”
“Right. It won’t last.”
Two walls converged ahead, like the point of a triangle, but Luis merely twisted his body and slipped between a barely discernible gap – not until he was closer could Never see where the two walls did not align. He squeezed through into true darkness and followed Luis’ footfalls. “It’s not far,” Luis said. His voice echoed in the darkness. “There’s only one path.”
Never waited a moment for Tsolde, passing the message along, and then resumed his walk, one hand raised before him just in case. Yet he did not fall or even stumble and when light appeared ahead, Luis’ silhouette leading, Never had to squint. Upon exiting, the light was blinding. He had to stop to let his vision adjust, shifting away from the opening.
To one side of the path waited a deep chasm that stretched fa
r and wide, only impenetrable shadow at its bottom. Opposite, the walls of the gorge soared up in a sheer face – and at its top rested some manner of platform, steel catching the wintry sun. Luis did not stare up at it, he bent by the ground beneath.
There, dark stains covered the stone.
Never joined him. “What do you see?”
“Nothing. I just wondered... did he shatter his bones here?” He turned and gestured to the chasm. “Or fall below?”
Never glanced back up to the top of the cliff. A deadly drop but there was a chance, perhaps, that someone might survive if very lucky.
Luis stood with a small smile, as if he knew what Never had been wondering. Luis held his hand out. “Here. In case any did survive the fall.”
A rusted arrowhead rested in his palm. Nearby, Vantinio explained to Elina where they were.
Never took the relic with a frown. “Bandits?”
“No, turn it over. See the mark.”
On the opposite side of the arrowhead, half-obscured by rust and grime, lay the stallion of the Marlosa Empire. “Thorough.”
“Right,” Luis said. “We’d better keep moving. I doubt the Vadiya will be here but from this point onward, parts of the gorges tend to be more occupied.”
Again they resumed their cold trek through shadows. Whenever the paths multiplied Luis chose without hesitation but there was little sign of others. The wind had died down – Never hadn’t even noticed.
“There. A camp,” Luis said.
Structures had been built between and within the open spaces. Mostly with foraged wood but there were low brick walls and oiled tents stretched across steel frames in places. A cold hearth sat in a central location, a black grill beside it. But no lights and no sounds from inside, not even a hint of movement.
Luis called and received no answer. “We wish to pass through. We are hiding from the Vadiya.”
Never drew a blade – the heavy throwing-knife given to him by the Quisoan woman. Had he gone through so many, so fast? He had two left, aside from the beautifully crafted weapon he now held.
Would he even need to use it?
A deep silence exuded from the camp. The kind of silence that was assured of lingering – whoever had lived in the camp did not intend to return. “Spread out, but not too far,” Never said. “See what you can find.”
Within the first structure a narrow cot and a small chest only, empty blankets and a chipped statue of Pacela. She was missing an eye, but her serene smile seemed somehow unaffected. “Are you watching over this place, Lady?”
Similar scenes in the other places he searched, meagre possessions left untouched. No scraps of food, no weapons, no gold. No clues as to what happened. He removed his marble figure and the little man was at rest. Never returned to the hearth to hear similar stories from the others, no signs of recent life.
“Something happened to make them leave, but was it sinister?” Elina asked. “I don’t think it so, I don’t get that impression.”
Vantinio shook his head. “No. We have to think like bandits – this is a trap, surely.”
“They’re waiting a long time to spring it,” Never said.
“Well, I’ll be watching in any event.”
“We have the chance to climb out again before nightfall if we want,” Luis said. “Or we can stay down here one more night and start up with the dawn. By the time we camp, we’ll be less than two days from the city.”
“We’ll be out of sight down here; it’s probably safest.”
“And if all of this,” Vantinio waved a hand at the empty dwellings, “is some manner of a trap, what then?”
“Then whoever takes watch had better be prepared,” Never said.
*
Never woke to the usual chill of morning, only the faint taste of ash on the air as the fire continued to die out. The first morning without food too, which meant they would have to hunt or forage. Water wasn’t so much of a problem, they’d filled their flasks at a rivulet but it wasn’t a pure mountain stream. Nor was it ale or even the thin wine he might have had at an inn.
Still, it kept him alive – hard to argue with that flavour.
“Did you see anything?” Vantinio was asking Luis where they stood before the large room chosen for their camp.
“Nothing. I don’t understand where everyone has gone.”
“Hmmm.”
“Whatever has happened works to our favour at least,” Never said, standing and stretching. His muscles were stiff, typical after a cold night but a cramp was building between his shoulders – he needed to stretch his wings. Which meant privacy, for he did not wish to instil any fear or unease in the others. Nor, if he was honest, answer all their questions. Half he didn’t have answers to himself.
“Is everyone ready?”
Nods.
Never looked to Vantinio. The mercenary was dusting his tongue with a little of his crushed batena. “Vantinio. What have you heard about the occupation of the Imperial City?”
“A little. Reports are vague. I hear they control it completely and have driven out the ruling class but allow trade.” He finished with his powder. “Are you still set on infiltrating the city?”
Never raised an eyebrow. “Thinking you’ve made the wrong choice?”
“Not truly. I wouldn’t have survived those swords – that I know. I used to dream about them. They called to me all the time. I knew if I answered that it would be the end. But that’s finally stopped. I’ll go where you go if I think we have a chance.”
“And do you?” Never turned to the others. Luis’s expression was determined, as was Tsolde, but Elina’s brow was furrowed. “My Lady?”
“If your brother is what you say he is... and I don’t doubt that he is a poison, there must be another way, something better than storming the city. Half the Vadiya forces are said to be there, Never.”
“Maybe less,” Vantinio said. “Half further north, pinning down the Empress around Monasema.”
“That’s still thousands against five.”
Never grinned. “I never intended to simply walk up to the gates and demand to have my brother brought forth in chains. In fact, I’m not even sure he’s there. Still want to follow me?”
A moment of quiet followed.
“You know I will,” Luis said.
“And I,” Tsolde added.
Elina folded her arms. “You don’t leave me with any choice.”
“Then we have to start planning,” Never said. “If you don’t want to impersonate Vadiya, then we have to think of something else.”
“Something else,” Luis and Tsolde said together.
He laughed. “Very well, lavish your ideas upon me.”
Chapter 16.
When at last Never found himself concealed in a cove within sight of Isacina’s gates, he breathed a sigh of relief... and a twinge of despair, for not only were the gates buried in Vadiya tents, but the Imperial City had changed.
No longer the pale jewel of Marlosa’s crown; the torchlight was enough to reveal the Royal Wolf flying on banners above the grey and white walls. And still with no plan... it was always going to be hideously difficult to achieve but being confronted with the city as it stood... it was like a broken dagger jammed into his side. Yet he did not turn away.
Luis sighed from where he lay beside Never. “Even if you sneak in alone, what’s to say you’ll come up with something? You know the Vadiya, you know what might work, your idea isn’t so bad.”
“It might not be enough. I think I could bluff my way inside, posing as a turncoat working for Lady Isajan but that wouldn’t work for everyone. It’s unlikely they’d believe you’re all my prisoners, not with Elina and Tsolde.”
“There was that caravan guard who mentioned the travelling performers. He thinks they were allowed in the city.”
“But wer
e they allowed out?”
“One thing at a time. I think we could manage it. Find me a flute and I’ll outplay anyone, you know. We could find other talents if we tried.”
“Perhaps. There’s still the Brotherhood, if I can make contact we might have an ally there.”
“So how do you contact them?”
“That’s the question,” he said. “Let’s go back to the others a moment.”
Deeper in the stand of trees, Never gathered everyone around the minuscule glow of the blue-stone where it slipped between Tsolde’s fingers. Vantinio sat with his back to them, watching the trees, but he cocked his head as he listened.
“Bluffing my way might still be the best chance, especially if we can’t get through the gate. There’s half an army camped beyond the city.”
Elina frowned. “There’s still Tsolde’s idea of merchants; we all saw them enter earlier. We just need something to sell.”
“Travelling performers might better explain you two Hanik girls,” Vantinio said.
“And what talents do you have, then?” Elina asked.
“Plenty,” he grunted.
“We still need to know who is allowed to move freely through the city and under what conditions,” Never said. “So we’re back to me sneaking in first.”
“Then how?” Tsolde asked.
“Bluff my way inside.”
Tsolde shook her head. “I don’t know. You said Isajan was spreading the word to look for us. That would include descriptions of you, Never.”
“True.” He’d forgotten about that – highly inconvenient. There was another way of course... but was he ready to share it? Did he have a choice? The Brotherhood, who controlled the largely forgotten Fire-Gate, were hardly easy to contact from the wrong side of the city. “There is a way – if the moon is hidden – that no-one will see me.”