Anneli’s hand went up to one of her horns. Penny knew she was remembering her experience with the Lion’s Crown. “But they will enter the pass itself. They will go far enough to look out into the valley, so we may have a surprise waiting for us there.”
“And beyond?” William asked.
“The way the mountains interact with the wind means that the valley sees heavy snowfall later than the rest of the forest. Once beyond the pass, we will be traveling through deep drifts. We’ve waited this long hoping to force the Dourosh into shelter for the winter, but they will still be out to hunt and forage. The greatest danger will be in Eranion itself, though, no matter how weak the Dourosh there may be.”
Penny looked at the fifteen soldiers riding ahead and then back at the fifteen behind. Anneli had told her that after the queen, she would be their main concern. They were prepared to sacrifice themselves to save her life. She didn’t know if that willingness extended to William, Owen and Sir Stephen, and she didn’t want to ask. The two knights could defend themselves, of course, but Owen’s progress in both magical and practical combat had so far been acceptable though not remarkable. Still, he had assured Penny that he was ready for this journey. She could see for herself that he was already more skilled than a common Dourosh soldier, who received little training before being sent off to die.
But what if there were more Dourosh in Eranion than they could handle? Already Anneli had spoken of her suspicions that the Dourosh they’d seen during the siege of Lanion had only been the first wave. If the Ember Lion had not appeared to scatter them, how many more might have followed? And where were those legions now?
What if the Dourosh in Eranion weren’t merely unorganized deserters who’d been dispersed after the battle? What if they expected them and had set traps? Penny looked at Anneli again. The queen’s confidence dulled her fears, but it could not remove them entirely.
Instead, she found that spark of magic inside her and let it flare up for a moment. She had a gift that few other people had shared. That had to count for something, and it would have to see her through whatever trials she might face in the coming days.
Chapter Fifteen
Gralock’s Orders
A pair of rats scurried across the wooden floor of his small room, and General Gralock spat at them. At any other time he would have murdered them, either with magic or the heel of his boot, but this was not the time to waste his energy. He was still recovering from the battle, and now that he was close to Dourok, he could feel his lord siphoning off his life essence. Dourok always kept a cluster of strong men around him in order to feed off their energy directly, but no Dourosh was completely free of the siphon; it was part of the corruption.
A roar of excitement rose up from the neighboring room and carried through the thin timber wall. There was a shout, and then the wall shuddered as someone was thrown against it. More shouts followed, and then Gralock heard the unmistakable sound of blade against blade. A grunt was accompanied by the crack of splitting wood—a table or a chair—then shattering glass. A dozen voices surged again, almost downing out a piercing scream of agony.
The chatter lasted for several more minutes, and there was more arguing, but eventually the excitement died down as the soldiers went back to what they had been doing: eating, drinking and gaming. One of them was dead, probably still splayed out on the floor, and it might be hours before someone took the initiative to haul the body out to the garbage heap. Gralock would have normally put a stop to such behavior, but he was in no mood to yell or knock heads together. Not all the Dourosh in the room were likely to be under his direct command, so his subtle influence would not work on them.
There was a knock at the door, and Gralock cursed. He hoped someone wasn’t coming to try and involve him in whatever had happened next door. He stood before giving his visitor permission to enter. An old, bent man opened the door and raised his eyes to the general’s. Hansik. Gralock sneered down at Dourok’s steward. He had never liked the man. Of all Dourosh, he alone seemed almost as undying as Dourok himself. It had never been asked—and never offered—but Gralock suspected that Dourok fed some of the stolen life energy to his steward to keep him alive. Some of Gralock’s own essence was animating this creature, and that thought had never rested easily in his mind.
“Well, Hansik?” Gralock grumbled. “What is it? Does Lord Dourok wish to see me?”
The old man shook his head. “He is too preoccupied with his new project. He must give all his attention to it.”
“Then why are you here disturbing my rest?”
“Your rest is at an end. Our lord has received word that there is a small band of Lanosh scouts still operating in the North Wood. He does not believe they’re yet aware of what we’ve built here, and he wishes for it to remain that way.”
Gralock put his hand on the hilt of his sword, resisting—for not the first time—the urge to behead the walking corpse in front of him. “What of it? Winter has descended. These scouts won’t be moving far until the thaw.”
Hansik grinned crookedly, revealing a mouthful of rotten teeth. “Perhaps not, but you have orders. Lord Dourok wishes for you to take a small band of your best men—twenty-five or thirty at most—and find these scouts. Take them alive if possible, but kill them if you must.”
“If I leave now, there’s no possible way I could get back here before the heaviest of the snowfall. I would be stranded in the forest until spring.”
“Lord Dourok understands this. He is willing to expend some energy in keeping the snow at bay, but if you don’t find these Lanosh soon, he must turn his attention back to more important matters.”
Gralock opened his mouth to yell at the steward, but he knew that doing so would be the equivalent of yelling at Dourok himself. Hansik’s grin widened; he was clearly enjoying the power he had over this much stronger man. There was a reason Dourok was keeping him alive, but Gralock had never been able to figure out what that was. Until he knew the true extent of Hansik’s abilities, it was best to keep his antagonism below the surface. He couldn’t hide it, but he could keep it in check.
Gralock sat back down, seething but defeated. “Very well. I live to serve Lord Dourok in any way I can. When must I depart?”
“Lord Dourok knows you are not fully recovered. You may have one more night of rest, but you must depart in the morning.”
Hansik turned and left without another word, closing the door softly behind him. Gralock saw movement in the corner and spotted one of the rats. He made a quick, sharp hand movement, and the rat lifted into the air then slammed back down onto the floor, where it lay twitching before finally falling still. His orders puzzled him. The Dourosh did not take prisoners, so why were these scouts wanted alive? Who were they? He could have asked Hansik for this information, but if he wasn’t volunteering it, it was because Gralock wasn’t meant to know. Someone important was among those scouts, though, of that he was certain. Perhaps it was Braedok or one of the other Lanosh generals. Perhaps someone even more important.
His mind wandered to the hornless he’d heard about, one of whom may have called to the Ember Lion, if the stories were to be believed. He shook his head. No. If one of the outsiders was that powerful, there was no chance Queen Anneli would let them take one step outside the palace in Lanion. Such a person would be under lock and key until the Ember Lion was needed once more.
Gralock stood up, unbuckled his sword belt and set it down on the chair. He kicked off his boots then stepped over to the bed and dropped into it. He would rise in a few hours and select the men he’d take on his hunting expedition, but for now, he needed to rest. Killing the rat had taken more energy than he’d imagined it would. He wasn’t ready to go back into the field, but he had his orders, and he could not refuse them.
Chapter Sixteen
The Ruins of Eranion
Queen Anneli held up a hand, bringing the party to a halt. Penny looked up; her eyes had been on the ground. She was weary from days of travel through the
snow. Anneli had been sending magic forward, melting the deepest drifts along their path, but the journey had not been easy. Their only relief was that they had so far not encountered any Dourosh. As Penny’s eyes looked toward the horizon, she understood that this was about to change.
She could see the ruins of Eranion in the distance. Much of it was concealed by the forest, but a dozen or so towers were visible, rising up from behind the trees. Also rising was smoke from an unknown number of fires.
Penny had seen paintings of Eranion when it had been at its glory, and she knew that the towers she could see were only a fraction of what was there. Some had no doubt collapsed, and others were being concealed by the forest. Once they were in the city itself she’d have a better idea of how grand it had once been. The buildings were not all clad in marble as they were in Lanion, but at its peak, they had all been painted white, giving it a similar effect. She also knew that during Lanioc’s reign, there had been nearly a hundred thousand people in the city, more than three times Lanion’s current population. There would not be time for sightseeing, though. She would not even set eyes on Lake Eranith, to the west of the city, as their goal lay near the center of Eranion. They were here for the Lion’s Crypt and nothing else.
“We must leave the horses,” Anneli said as she dismounted.
As Penny climbed down and her feet touched the ground, she felt a surge of power. Anneli had said she could draw on the magic through the body of the horse without harming the animal, but she had been reluctant to do so. Now, with only the leather of her boots separating her from the source of magic, she let it flow into her. Her weariness was pushed away as she whispered the words of one of the simple spells Anneli had taught her. The spell was not a replacement for a good night’s sleep, but it would keep her fatigue at bay for several hours.
She spent a few minutes removing the breastplate and helmet that had been lashed to the rear of her saddle. She put on the armor then slipped her black traveling cloak back over her shoulders.
One guard was chosen to remain with the horses while the rest of them continued on, toward the ruins. Penny found William’s hand in hers, and they walked together silently. Soon, they could smell the burning wood from the fires. Without warning, the guards around them drew their swords and formed a loose circle around Anneli, Penny, William, Stephen and Owen.
The five clustered in the center of the protective ring also drew their weapons as the captain of the guard gave silent orders to his soldiers. A yell rose up from the left side of the path, and Penny spun in that direction. She saw three or four dark shapes moving toward them through the dense woods. As they broke out from the underbrush, Anneli’s guards were there to meet them. They effortlessly struck down the Dourosh before returning to the circle.
“They know we’re here now,” Anneli said. “If they mean to attack, they’ll be organizing, rousing their comrades within the ruins.” She nodded at the captain. “Continue forward.”
Staying in formation, they began walking again. Penny saw that ahead of them, many trees had been cut down for fuel. The city of Eranion itself, in fact, looked as though much of the forest had been cleared from the ruins. The snow along the road had been pushed to the sides or else packed down by an untold number of boots. She glanced at William. She could see in his eyes that he also understood what this meant. There were many Dourosh here, not just a handful of deserters. They had been doing a lot of work preparing for the winter.
There was one bit of good news, and she vaguely read the same thought in Anneli’s head. The fact that the snow had been moved manually and not melted by magic meant that there were not likely to be any powerful spell casters among the enemy. They were without commanders, as had been hoped.
Ahead was the entrance to the city. The gate was gone, and the walls on either side had collapsed, but the gatehouse itself still stood. Their party halted as the opening began to fill with dark, menacing shapes.
Sir Stephen, on the opposite side of William, turned to his fellow knight. “The walls are in ruins, but we’d be foolish if we tried clambering over those stones. Those devils are blocking the only clear way in, and they know it.”
William grunted. “And they’ve barricaded it.”
Penny looked at the waist-high wall of stone rubble stretched across the entrance. Two dozen swords and spear points bristled out from it, and more Dourosh crowded in from behind, forming ranks three or four deep. Any charge on the enemy position was almost certain to fail.
Anneli glanced behind her, at Penny. “Do not worry. We will clear the path.”
Before Penny could reply, Anneli’s voice rose up into the crisp air. Her free hand shot forward, and the Dourosh in the entrance cried out as they and their barricade were thrown backward. Many were crushed beneath the tumbling rubble while others found themselves tossed out of the entrance and into the street behind them. The guards rushed forward as one, forming a tight line, and were upon the enemy before they could rise back to their feet. Fifteen or twenty were dead within the blink of an eye, and the entrance was momentarily clear of living Dourosh.
“Come!” Anneli yelled.
Penny and the others ran behind Anneli as she sprinted toward the gate. The guards were filing through ahead of them. As Penny cleared the threshold of the gatehouse, she saw that they had formed two lines on either side. As Anneli and her comrades came through, the guards fell into their protective circle one again, keeping pace as Anneli swiftly led the group forward.
A handful of arrows flew toward them, but Anneli tossed each one away with a wave of her hand. As they entered an intersection, Penny spotted a band of Dourosh to the right. They rushed forward, only to die on the guards’ swords. More Dourosh appeared to the left, and even more ahead. There was the sound of a war cry from behind, and Penny turned around to see even more approaching from the rear, cutting off any hope of escape.
“This is it,” William said, briefly putting his hand on her arm. “Hold nothing back, my love.”
Penny gripped her sword in one hand and raised her other, desperately trying to remember the offensive spells she had learned. The words and hand motions temporarily left her mind as panic coursed through her body, but as another wave of Dourosh hit the guards on her left, they came back to her.
The guards were instantly surrounded. She could see them moving in bright flashes, but they were obscured by the brown and gray shapes of the Dourosh who had rushed past them.
Four Dourosh descended on her and William, while five more focused their attention on Stephen and Owen. Penny gave a quick glance behind her, but Anneli would not be able to help. At least a dozen Dourosh were rushing at her from the other direction.
Penny muttered a spell under her breath, and the Dourosh soldier nearest to her froze. He dropped his sword, and his hands shot up to his throat before he collapsed to the ground, desperately trying to breathe. A thrill ran through Penny, but it was tinged with guilt, with disgust. She should not have enjoyed choking the breath out of that man, no matter who he was.
But now was not the time for morality. She stepped toward the Dourosh and swept her blade down against the back of his neck, ending his suffering. She raised her eyes in time to see William thrust his sword into the chest of another Dourosh. His blade caught, and for a brief second he was helpless as a third enemy dashed toward him.
Penny met the advancing Dourosh’s blade with her own, blocking the blow, but she was thrown back. As she felt herself begin to fall, she forced out a few words in Lanoshi. Her fall was softened by a cushion of air that rose up to meet her.
She scrambled back to her feet, but not quickly enough to protect William again. The Dourosh was swinging his sword. William saw it in time and ducked. His hand never left the hilt of his sword, though, and with a final pull he freed it from the dead Dourosh’s ribs. He hacked downward, slicing through his attacker’s knee and sending him to the ground.
Another Dourosh was upon him almost immediately, but Penny had her own foe t
o worry about. She blocked a flurry of blows from a sword but was ever aware of the rusty hatchet in the Dourosh’s other hand. She was forced to raise her sword to block a high attack, and she knew even before it began moving that the hatchet would be slicing toward her stomach.
She had a second to act, and she yelled a spell in the Dourosh’s face as he brought his arm forward for the strike. His arm dropped as the hatchet suddenly increased in weight. Unable to recover from his forward momentum, he fell at Penny’s feet as she jumped backward. She jammed her boot against the top of his head as he struggled with the hatchet, his hand not able to let go of the handle. He groaned as he tried to move away, but he was magically pinned in place by the hatchet, which remained firmly stuck where it had landed.
The Dourosh twisted around, keeping his sword between Penny and himself. He was at a disadvantage but still dangerous. Instead of attacking, Penny took another step back, traced a complicated pattern with her free hand and spoke half a dozen words. The Dourosh slumped forward, asleep, the sword falling from his hand.
She contemplated killing him while he was unconscious, but it seemed wrong, even for a Dourosh. He would be asleep for hours; he was no longer a threat.
She looked around as the battle began to wane. Several of Anneli’s guards were down, but the number of dead Dourosh was almost uncountable. She couldn’t believe that in the space of a few minutes so many had been killed. Gore dripped from the once-bright silvery armor of the palace guards and ran in red streaks across the hard-packed snow.
“Move!” she heard Anneli yell.
Penny made sure her brother and the knights were uninjured before following the order. Some of the guards lagged behind, forming a rearguard to protect them from another ambush, but the rest made their circle around the queen and the others as they continued deeper into the enemy-infested ruins of Eranion.
The Lion's Crypt (The Emberlyn Chronicles Book 2) Page 9