“Is that what we’re after?” Jhareth asked, a glint in his eyes.
“Yes,” Len-Ahl said. “I must be the one to take it. Jhareth, please watch for dangers.”
Jhareth nodded, and they started forward. As they approached the statue, Dist came to an abrupt stop and leaned over. “What is it?” Nerris asked, looking back.
“My foot caught on something.” Dist brushed the dirt aside with his boot. Not satisfied, he crouched down and dug with his hands, lifting something out of the dirt floor. He cried out in surprise and swore, flinging the object away. It landed in front of Nerris, and his eyes grew wide. It was old and deteriorated, but he knew what the top half of a human skull looked like.
Jhareth swore also and whipped out two of his knives. Nerris yanked Noruken from its scabbard and brandished it in both hands, looking around. Dist found his feet and raised the Big Black, three bolts ready to loose. Len-Ahl approached the skull, hand across her mouth to hide her revulsion.
“Why would it bury its victims?” Jhareth asked.
“To lure more people in,” Nerris answered.
No sooner were those words spoken than a series of low growls resonated throughout the chamber. The wall burst open in several places, as if Dist’s exploding casks had been placed inside. Shadowy forms stepped out of the new holes and through the rock dust, screeching defiance at them.
The creatures’ bodies resembled lions, with hairy manes and powerful hind legs ending in sharp claws on each paw. Their heads were those of hawks, feathery with round, unforgiving eyes and hooked beaks. Instinctively, Nerris stepped in front of Len-Ahl, and Jhareth and Dist took up positions on her other side. A quick count put their stalkers at a half-dozen.
The beasts made to surround them, blocking off both the dais and the entrance. They crept closer, their beaks snapping open and shut with a hollow sound as their bodies made ready to pounce. Nerris thought of the unearthed skull, and hoped the fate of that unknown adventurer would not find them this deep in the earth.
Chapter Twenty-Six
WHAT ARE THESE things?” Nerris brandished his blade and feinted at the nearest creature, causing it to retreat a few steps and screech at him once again.
“Guardians,” Len-Ahl said. “They were placed here to protect Jinn’s treasure from falling into unworthy hands. In the world of men, they are known as griffins.”
Nerris recalled the name, and remembered seeing images of similar creatures carved from stone in various places during his travels, usually as a symbol of wealth and power. As the griffins closed in, Dist loosed a bolt at the one nearest to him. Faster than he could blink, another griffin leapt in front of its comrade, snatching the bolt out of the air with its beak. After a contemptuous glare at Dist, it snapped the missile in two.
“Why are they threatening us?” Jhareth asked. “You’re the Stonechaser, aren’t you?”
“They should be connected in some way with that medallion,” Len-Ahl said. “If I can get to it, they will know me.”
“All right, that settles it,” Nerris said. “Time to clear a path.”
The Thrillseekers charged, each emitting a battle cry. Nerris swung Noruken in a tight arc toward the neck of the nearest griffin, but it darted out of the way with ease. Jhareth moved his knives faster than any of them could think, but not quick enough. The beasts dodged his slices with surprising speed. As another griffin sneaked up on Nerris’s flank, Dist sent another bolt whizzing through the air. This one struck home in the griffin’s neck, and it cried out in pain.
Nerris turned and brought his katana down. The immaculate edge cleaved into the creature’s neck, and it fell to the ground. Instead of blood, dust poured out of its wound and the griffin melted away, becoming no more than stones and pebbles. However, another section of the wall exploded and a new griffin emerged to join its brethren.
“You have got to be joking,” Nerris said.
Jhareth and Dist managed to create an opening for Len-Ahl, and she dashed toward the statue of Jinn. Nerris fought off two griffins, who swiped at him with their claws extended, and one of them saw her. Without a sound it leapt into the air, sailing over all of them to land in front of Len-Ahl. She skidded to a stop and fell backward as the creature advanced on her like a cat stalking a mouse.
The distraction caused Nerris to lose his focus for a moment, and one of his opponent’s claws tore into his shoulder. Leather and cloth ripped, blood flew, and pain filled Nerris’s brain. He parried another swipe and his responding slash turned another griffin into rock dust. Another blast shattered part of the wall, and a new griffin emerged to join the fray.
Dist abandoned his arrows and rushed to Len-Ahl’s aid, swinging at the griffin with the spike on the underside of the Big Black. It ducked under every one of his attacks, but still kept itself between them and the statue. Nerris heard Jhareth swear and turned to see his friend holding his arm, one of his knives forgotten on the floor. Nerris charged the griffin threatening him and sent his katana whooshing through the darkness to give his friend some space. The griffin scampered away from the flashing steel.
“We can’t keep this up forever,” Jhareth said.
“This must be how they fight,” Nerris said. “They wear down their prey before going for the kill.”
“Right,” Jhareth said. “We need to end this now.” He glanced back at Dist, who now held off three of the guardians. “Remember what we did at Visao with that high ledge?” he asked Nerris.
Nerris nodded in understanding as the griffins lunged at Dist. When one knocked the crossbow from his hands, he drew a short sword and continued the fight. Jhareth and Nerris ran toward the statue, with Nerris taking up the position at Dist’s side. Jhareth knelt down onto all fours behind them.
“Visao,” Nerris told Dist. He looked at Nerris and grunted in affirmation.
“Len-Ahl! Go over us!” Jhareth shouted.
Nerris was not sure she would understand what they wanted her to do, but he heard her feet hitting the floor behind him as she ran toward Jhareth, and her intake of breath as she stepped onto his back and leapt into the air. Nerris and Dist knelt, giving her a boost when she landed with a foot on each of their backs. They pushed off at the same time, launching her high above the heads of the griffins. Their bird-like eyes followed her as she arced over them. She landed at Jinn’s feet and stumbled, sprawling onto the dais.
The Thrillseekers charged the griffins at once, before they could attack Len-Ahl. Weapons sliced through the air and guardians flitted away from the lethal blows. Len-Ahl made it to her feet and grabbed at the medallion in Jinn’s chest. After a couple of pulls, she braced her foot against the statue and ripped the object from it.
She held it in the air as Nerris, Dist and Jhareth continued to battle the griffins. She spoke in a language which was not Tormalian, a red glow emanating from the medallion. The griffins stopped their assault and their heads turned toward her as one, rapt in attention. After a final word from Len-Ahl, they bowed their heads and faded away, leaving nary a trace they had ever been there.
Nerris relaxed a bit, but didn’t put his sword away. He exchanged looks with his friends, and saw they were of the same mind.
“It is all right,” Len-Ahl said. “It is done.”
“Where did they go?” Dist asked.
“They returned to the Faery Realm,” she said. “They are still among us, but can no longer harm us in a physical sense. They have fulfilled their purpose.”
Nerris sighed with relief, and remembered his shoulder. Upon examining it, the pain renewed itself and Nerris winced at the blood dripping down his arm. The wound gushed quite a bit, but looked to be superficial. The griffin had not torn any ligaments or muscles. Jhareth favored his left arm as well, and Dist examined a hole in his trousers.
“One of them bit me in the leg,” he explained.
They put away their weapons and Dist picked up the Big Black as Jhareth retrieved his lost knife. He asked to see the medallion, and Len-Ahl gave it to
him. It appeared to be made of gold, perfectly rounded, polished to perfection. Writing was etched into one side, four lines of runes Nerris recognized as the same language the Stonechaser Prophecy had been written in.
“This is the famous treasure of the Stonechaser Prophecy?” Jhareth asked. “If this is real gold it would be worth a fair fortune, but not the endless wealth I’ve been led to believe.”
“Jhareth,” Nerris said.
“Yes, I know. ‘Beacon to light the path’ and all that. Still, once this journey is over we’ll have no use for it. Maybe then I could take it to get appraised—”
A low rumble reverberated throughout the chamber and before they could question it, the floor began to shake.
Len-Ahl’s eyes went wide. “We must go!”
As they moved toward the entrance, great fireballs burst from the holes which had housed the griffins. Their hasty walk became a desperate sprint, and they ran back through the tunnel as fire filled the room behind them, the heat beating at their backs. Jhareth took the lead, snaking through the path with the burning torches, whose fire had now turned white hot.
Len-Ahl proved to be an adept runner, which surprised Nerris, given how short her legs were. She kept up with Jhareth as he and Dist lagged behind, but her stamina was not great and she soon slowed. Finally, she stumbled and pitched headlong to the dirt. Nerris ran to her aid and lifted her to her feet, throwing her over his shoulder without even stopping.
The heat grew almost unbearable, and Nerris chanced a glance behind them. Flames consumed the entire tunnel, licking at their heels. At last, he spotted daylight ahead, peeking through the great hole Dist had made with his ignition powder.
Jhareth and Dist emerged first, darting in opposite directions as soon as they cleared the mouth of the cave. Nerris ran through a moment later, Len-Ahl still flung over his shoulder like a sack of flour. He followed Jhareth to the left, and not a moment later the fire burst from the cave with a deafening roar, engulfing everything in front of it.
After a few moments of intense heat, the flames receded and all became quiet. The sun had come out, and no clouds drifted across the sky. After putting Len-Ahl down and making sure everyone was all right, they climbed back over the hill as lava poured out of the cave mouth, enough to seal it up completely once it hardened.
“It was a dormant volcano,” Dist said. “That must be why there was so much sulfur.”
Jhareth tossed the medallion back to Len-Ahl and she caught it. “What happened?” he asked.
“These places forged by the elementals have great power,” Len-Ahl said. “Now that the Faery Footpath has begun, the cave no longer has a purpose. Jinn must have felt it better to remove it from the world rather than leave it for anyone to find.”
They retrieved their frightened mounts, but rather than ride away, Jhareth motioned for them to lead the horses down the hill until he found a good place to set up camp. “I think that’s enough for right now,” he said, sounding put out. “I fancy a bite to eat, a dip in that stream, and a long nap.”
“What’s the matter with you?” Nerris asked.
“Nerris, I almost got blown up today. Twice.”
They were all bruised and bloody, aside from Len-Ahl, but she was covered in dirt from head to toe. Jhareth brought out some bandages and gauze from their packs and they began to field dress their wounds while she went down to the stream to wash herself off.
“All right, we found the first beacon,” Dist said. “Now what? How do we go about finding the next?”
“The writing on it looks to be the same as the Prophecy,” Nerris said. “We should go back to Orrigo and enlist the services of Professor Borrel again. Maybe it tells us where to go.”
Dist had a fire going by the time Len-Ahl came back, her face clean and her golden hair wet. Nerris, Dist and Jhareth took their turn at the stream, washing out their cuts and applying fresh gauze. Nerris’s shoulder still stung, but he had suffered worse in his life. As long as he took care of his shoulder and it did not get infected, he would be fine in time.
He told Len-Ahl their plan over supper that evening, but she shook her head. “There is no need to go back. I can tell you what those words say.”
Nerris looked at her, and she averted her gaze, biting her lip. How could she know what those runes said when she had denied knowing how to read the Stonechaser Prophecy? “How can that be?” he asked. “Are you telling me you are able to read the faery language?”
“When I touched the medallion, it burned,” she said, her voice dropping low. “Not on my skin, but in my mind. I felt Jinn’s presence, branding me with his will. When it cooled, the language was there. I looked at the runes and knew what they said.” She took a breath and recited:
Sekleur yos, os loshquiven varou
Nureor lohen tamlie
Hajen yolxa ale dal jamou
Adee sallivan ie yiamlie
“What does it mean?” Nerris asked.
Len-Ahl closed her eyes, and he was surprised to see a tear flow down her cheek. “I need a little time, Nerris. So much information at once... it was not a particularly pleasant experience. Fire is not a gentle element. There are other things you must know first.”
Nerris put down his fork and called Dist and Jhareth over. “All right, we’re listening,” he told her.
Len-Ahl took a breath. “First, you must understand the true history of the faeries. When the world was young, no more than a lifeless husk floating through the cosmos, the four elements were created, represented by the kings Gobe, Nixsa, Paral, and Jinn. When the four ascended to their protective roles, life was born in the form of a single flower. That plant is now known as the angelica flower.”
Jhareth whistled low. “I think I see where this is headed.”
“Yes,” Len-Ahl said. “When it bloomed, the first faery was born. The kings bowed before her and named her Queen Angelica. She had the power to create life in the form of plants and beasts, and the spirits of these lives branched off to form other faeries to watch over and guide them. All was well for eons until an agent of Eversor somehow found his way into the world. It had the power to kill faeries, and so Angelica sought to consult with a source of power to figure out how to expel this threat from the world. She was given instructions and foresight, as well as the ability to use her power to diminish this agent. She did so, at great cost. She lost most of her own power, but it gave her the time she needed for her new creation to mature.”
“Humans?” Nerris guessed.
Len-Ahl nodded. “Her final act before she lost all. Beings who this agent could not directly harm, whose connection to nature and faeries would be lost over time. With her foresight, she saw a group of these humans rising up and fighting this dark power, though she knew not when this battle would occur. So she waited, while her foresight enabled her to construct a prophecy which would aid these representatives. Humans are imperfect beings, and the agents of Eversor have had their own hand in corrupting them over the years. They could not be trusted with the direct gift of power. The Faery Footpath was formed as a way to help these Stonechasers acquire the power to fight while overcoming their base nature. It is the journey itself which gives power, for those with the desire to see it to the end. Such might could not be used correctly if merely gifted with a godstone.”
“And why does that make you sad?” Nerris asked.
“As the Stonechaser, I have a bit of foresight myself,” Len-Ahl said. “I dream of what is to come and see darkness and suffering. Nothing concrete, but mere images and feelings. I have come to care deeply for you all, and dread the shame that I will lead you down such a path. Others who join us along the way will share our doom as well. But it must be done. It must be done.” She fought back a sob. “I see many possible outcomes, Nerris. In one of them, you come to hate me for what I have led you through, and to dwell on it is more than I can bear. But the alternative...”
Tears streamed down her face and she turned away from them, retreating to her tent. N
erris’s heart went out to Len-Ahl. Her destiny carried more weight than he knew. How long had she known? He could not imagine being a child and having such a burden placed on him. Dist made to go after her, but Nerris grabbed his arm.
“Give her some time,” he said.
Len-Ahl did not emerge from her tent, and the rest of them soon turned in for the night. Nerris slept fitfully, concerned about Len-Ahl and her dreams. He could not imagine ever hating her, yet she had foreseen it. He wondered about the alternative she mentioned also, something she could not even speak of.
They broke camp in the morning and rode east. Xenea Dolchin or not, Jhareth suggested the first thing they do was get out of enemy territory. They were deep in the Cult’s home territory. Since Nerris had promised King Maerlos he would speak about the Yagol threat at the Council of Allies, they set out for Syrutim, planning to stop at Alicanos on the way to consult with King Owen.
“Is that wise?” Jhareth asked. “All the rulers of the Kolmian Alliance will be in Syrutim, and Maerlos will probably bring Congir. You know his true nature, and he will want your head.”
“I can’t sit by,” Nerris said. “If nothing else, we can warn the other monarchs about the treachery of the Cult and prevent it from spreading further. If the Yagols are a concern of the Alliance, so is the Cult. While we’re there, we’ll see if we can figure out where the next beacon of the Faery Footpath is located.”
Len-Ahl had barely said a word all morning, and only nodded when they submitted their plan for her input. She rode with her head down as they made their way down a road running alongside a ridge, following their trail like a ghost. Len-Ahl’s melancholy was contagious, and they all traveled in silence. Even Dist and Jhareth weren’t nattering at each other for a change. The only sounds were the birds chirping in the trees and the gentle rush of the river flowing to their right. The weather seemed to share their gloom, as it was overcast with the threat of more rain.
Secrets of the Stonechaser (The Law of Eight Book 1) Page 24