by Aaron Pogue
I sneered at him. "Clever words—"
He raised a hand and cut me off. "Now listen, boy. I know you're practically a shepherd still, but hear me out. Just think. The war is real, for good or bad. Rebellion's here. You have a choice between two sides, but in the end it's all just politics. I cannot fathom what you'd find to love in that fat king's defense. But here, to me, it matters not at all. I've made your choice much simpler by far."
I took a slow breath and met his eyes. "What is my choice?"
"Join me," Lareth said. "Or die."
"Should I forget the things you've done?" I said, incredulous, but he nodded as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Of course you should," he said. "Deal with the world as it is, not as you would have it be. The things I've done are done. But here and now you have a chance—"
"You wouldn't..." I said, and trailed off. I shook my head. "You couldn't trust me."
His lips pulled back to show his teeth. "I could in time," he said. "Not here and now. But give it time, and you will find a bit of everything your heart desires."
I shook my head. "You do not know my heart."
"I know every man's heart," he said. "You long for power. You long for admiration and respect. You long for liberty. Perhaps you long for friends." Every line struck me like a blow to the gut, but I fought to keep it from my face. He grinned anyway and spread his hands wide. "We have that here. For you, there's that and more."
"You're murderers," I said.
"We're soldiers," he replied. "That's what you wanted, no? To join the Royal Guard? Forget the Guard. Their pay is low and they promote by blood. But we...." He chuckled again, and waved a hand at me. "But we promote by power."
I swallowed against a sudden lump in my throat. I'd tried. I'd dreamed. I'd longed to join the Guard for all the reasons that he said. I saw these men as murderers, cruel and cold, but then I'd seen the same from a Green Eagle on the hills above Sachaerrich. I'd seen the same from a garrison of Guards in Gath-upon-Brennes, where they had put a bolt through Claighan's back.
The Guards had done that. Not Lareth. The king had called us traitors, when I had done nothing at all. I took another long, slow breath, and searched the wizard's eyes. He couldn't really be offering me this. I felt my lip curl, felt the cruelty of his deceit, and shook my head.
"You don't mean it," I said. "This is just another torture."
He sighed, and though he still smiled I saw sadness in his eyes. He shook his head. "I'm not prepared to cut you free and offer you a sword," he said. "I'm not so mad as that. But I believe you've got the strength we need, and if you only see you'll join our cause."
I held his eyes for a long time, searching. My heart pounded, my shoulders ached. I shook my head. "What would I do?"
"You'd kill the king," he said. He held my gaze for a heartbeat then nodded, as serious as I had ever seen him. "In one move you'd right the wrong you've done, you'd earn your place among our ranks." And I would burn to ash my hopes for any other life. I'd bind myself to the rebels in a way I could not break. He didn't say it, but I could see it in his eyes. He nodded.
I asked him, "How?"
"With fire," he said, and his smile came back. "You may not know, but he's enshrouded in more magic than this world has ever seen. One man, defended from the sling and stone, defended from the wizard or the wolf. We might have caught him in our trap, but I could not have burned him down. I needed time and clever care to break the spells. But you...."
He shook his head, and then at last I understood his smile. It wasn't madness—or not entirely madness. It was genuine joy. Hope. I believed him, then. Believed his promise, his offer.
"But not pure fire," I said. "They didn't protect him from that?"
"But not from living flame. Not sorcery," he said. "I'll send you through to him. A traveling. I'll send you to his court, in Tirah's heart, and you can beg an audience. Then bury him in fire." I shivered in horror at the thought. He shivered in anticipation.
"I cannot kill—"
"You can, my boy," he said, and placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. He held my eyes. "It's bleak, I know, but one man's death can buy an end to war. One sacrifice in flame could save us all."
Some of the fanatical gleam faded from his eyes, and he seemed to focus more clearly on me. He swallowed and dropped his gaze. He rose. "You'd save us all," he said again and nodded toward me. "This is your chance. The king will reach Tirah by even bell. I'll give you until then to make your choice."
I closed my eyes. I felt considerably steadier now. I nodded, as though in acquiescence, but behind my eyes I stepped once more into the wizards' calming techniques. I'd see how well Lareth could defend himself from the magic that could kill the king. I reached toward my second sight—
And pain lanced through my head. I screamed. I thrashed so hard I toppled the chair onto its side, while the burning cold of ice seared the backs of my eyes and blinding fire flared within my mind. Somehow I heard the wizard's sigh through all the pain and heard him cluck his tongue.
"The king is not protected from your power," he said. "But I am no such fool." I dimly felt the flash of light as the tent flap lifted. "Till even bell," he said, and he was gone.
Someone came and cut me from the chair. The agony faded back, slow as a falling tide, but I had no strength to resist the hands that took me from the ground and carried me away. I felt the heat of noonday sun, and heard the rustle of a busy camp. My porters moved with a quick efficiency, carried me a couple dozen paces at once, and then heaved me like a heavy sack of grain into the darkness of another tent.
I spilled across the floor, rolling until I bumped up against something soft and yielding. Something warm that jerked and cried out in surprise. Something that smelled like sweat and fear...and a summer sunset.
I shifted my shoulders despite the pain until I slipped back off her and rested flat on my back. I twisted at the waist to get my legs stretched out straight and then took several slow breaths while I searched the myriad aches and pains for anything that might represent a serious injury. The worst of it was still the pain in my head, though, and that was fading.
I opened my eyes and found myself staring up into a fall of dark hair, and eyes the gray of slate. With just a touch of blue. She frowned down at me, equal parts confusion and concern, and I heard myself laugh. It was barely more than a cough, but I shook my head and stared up at her.
"I know you," she said. "I... I met you at the palace."
I laughed again, though this one didn't come out much better. "You're the Eliade," I said at last. "I know your brother."
She shook her head. "It's impossible. It can't be you."
I smiled, lips pressed tight, and used a shoulder to lift myself up off the ground. It was awkward with my hands tied in the small of my back, but I got halfway up, and then she overcame her shock enough to help me the rest of the way.
She held my gaze for a long time after that, then she shook her head again. "You're... you're really him, aren't you? The shepherd from the palace. And Themmy's little hero. And a soldier. And a wizard." The words came fast, breathless, and I remembered Themm telling me long ago that he'd written home about me. I saw confusion pinch the girl's brows. "But he said that you were dead."
I felt my gaze drawn back toward the wizard's tent. "Not yet," I said. I frowned as well and turned back to her. "What are you doing here? Are you one of them?"
She pulled back and sat up very straight. Her chin came up, proud, as I had seen Themmichus's do. "I am fighting them," she snapped. I looked at her hands, unbound, and checked her ankles for some shackles. She had none. When I met her eyes again they flashed with fierce contempt.
"They underestimate me," she said. "Do not make the same mistake."
"I never would," I said. "But what are you doing here?"
"These are my lands," she said, full of righteous fury still. I frowned at her, and she waved toward the back of the tent. "We are at Teelevon. The seat of my father's land
s. He is the only loyal servant left in all the south Ardain, so Lareth made his camp around our town. He holds us under siege—"
"Your town is just out there?" I asked, hope flaring, but she spotted it and shook her head.
"We're on the brink of ruin," she said. "Our fighting men are gone, our weapons confiscated, our food stores plundered."
I felt my shoulders sink. She sighed. "I know," she said. "That's why I am here. We had no other hope. I slipped away in the night and tried to pass their lines to find some help."
"That was brave," I said.
I saw the twitch of muscles as she set her jaw. Her eyes flicked to the tent's opening, then back to mine. "I'm not done," she said in a little whisper. She moved closer to me. "You saw I have no bonds. I'll give it until sundown and then run. If you think you can keep up—"
"No," I said. "I know this Lareth. He's a careful man and a monster when pushed. Do not assume he's underestimated you just because your hands are free."
She scowled down at me. "Then what should I do? Just hide? Just wait? Just see what Lareth's men might want from me?" Her voice quavered at the end of that, and I felt a stab of sympathetic pain. I closed my eyes.
"I see," I said. I nodded. "But we must be smart. Even if you have to run...we should at least coordinate our efforts. He'll come for me at even bell. I'll make you some distraction—"
"Why?" she said. "What does he want from you?"
I met her eyes for a heartbeat, but I could not hold the gaze. I dropped my eyes and sighed. "To...to kill me, I suppose. To have my answer."
I felt her eyes on me, measuring. A long time passed in silence. At last she asked, "What has he asked of you?"
I sighed. "He wants me to kill the king," I said. "He's offered me a place among his men, if I will just...." She gasped in horror and I nodded. "He would send me there tonight."
"To the king?" she said. "To Cara?"
"Tirah," I said. "The king relocated today."
She gripped my shoulder with an almost painful intensity. That drew my eyes at last, and I found her staring down at me with a fire. "You must go," she said.
"I cannot kill the king."
A frown bent her lips, and then she shook her head. "You are a hero," she said. "To be here at all. And you will take the rebel's offer."
I blinked at her. I shook my head. "I won't," I said.
She stopped me with a finger on my lips. "You will," she said. "You will go to Tirah. And you will warn the king. You will tell him the wizard lays siege outside my town. He has been waiting for an opportunity like this, to find them all gathered in one place. He'll come to wipe them out—"
"And save us both," I said. She nodded, serious. Hope flared in my chest and then died in the same heartbeat. I shook my head. "I think you underestimate the wizard. He must expect some attempt at betrayal."
"Then you must convince him," she said. "But I think he is not as smart as you suspect. Madness sometimes looks like genius."
I considered her for a long time. Her eyes burned with hope and angry passion. Perspiration touched her sun-dark skin. I remembered the pretty, confident girl who had flirted with me in the palace, but here before me was a warrior. "You have an uncommon courage," I told her. "How can you be so sure that I have the same? That I will be your hero?"
"I know it from Themm's letters. And from the fire in your eyes from the moment I met you. And from the quiet little rage that trembles in your voice even now." She smiled, and I saw a touch of tears in her eyes. "I'd almost lost all hope until I saw your face."
I swallowed and shook my head, but she held my gaze. I took a deep breath. "I will do everything I can to save you, Lady Eliade."
"Isabelle," she said. "Always just Isabelle."
"Isabelle," I said. I swallowed again and thought back on our pleasant encounter in the halls of the palace. I licked my lips and forced a laugh. "Did you... did you find your prince?"
Her eyes were hot on mine. After a long moment she gave me a little smile. "Half a dozen," she said. She moved a little closer. "But not a one to my liking. Too proud, too soft, too quiet. I think I could make good use of a shepherd though." Her eyes glittered.
I felt a heat burn in my cheeks and dropped my eyes. "I only hope to serve you," I said. She came closer still and I felt her warmth. I met her eyes and said quietly, "We are not safe here."
"I know," she said. Her voice came very soft. "And I am so afraid. But what is there to gain from letting that show?"
I nodded at that. "I'm thinking about the night," I said. "About our plan. I think it would be best if you didn't run."
She arched an eyebrow at me. "You don't imagine I'm so proud and soft and quiet, do you? I can be a hero, too."
I shook my head and tried not to think how soft she might be. "No," I said. "I know your courage and it gives me fear. We have a plan. But if you run...these are not all careful men. Even if Lareth doesn't have some trick in place, if you run and they chase you...they will not be kind in capturing you."
She held my gaze for some time before she said, in that same quiet voice, "They were not kind before."
I felt the blood drain from my face. I looked away, and she placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "I am strong enough to do what must be done, Daven."
I nodded. "And that has changed," I said. I met her eyes. "That is what I'm telling you. You don't have to run. I will bring back the king with his army. Let them rescue you." She opened her mouth to argue, but I leaned closer and held her eyes. "Please, Isabelle. I intend to bring deadly men to do battle in this camp. Promise me you won't step out into that."
"But what if you fail?" she asked.
"I will not fail. For you, I will not fail."
She chewed her lower lip again, eyes on something far away. At last she said, "If they discover you've betrayed them, I could lose my chance."
"And if you run before I can bring you help," I said, "you could lose your life. Trust in me. Stay here."
She took a deep breath and held it. And then she nodded, once. "I will trust you," she said at last. And then more quietly still, "Everything rests on you."
I swallowed again, and met her eyes, and tried to match her courage.
15. In Tirah
We had little more time after that. She told me what little she knew of Tirah and of the king, and she assured me Themm was safe and well. She shared a bottle of stale water with me and half a loaf of bread. She was trying her hand at the thick knots that bound my wrists behind my back when a heavy footstep outside the tent stopped her. She drew away.
The ones who came for me were two big guards, and from the looks in their eyes they knew about the role I'd played at their little ambush. They were none too gentle as they dragged me from the tent, but they let me keep my feet. I walked between them across the camp, learning everything I could of it.
There were campfires everywhere. Dusk still hung in the air, but I could see the glow of campfires holding back the night in all directions. There must have been hundreds of tents. There could have been thousands. Straining my gaze into the distance, I could see a faint curve as the smaller clusters of tents bent toward the north, encircling the distant town.
My escorts led me to Lareth's tent. It was huge—easily three or four times the size of the dusty brown tents the soldiers used. This one was nearly a pavilion and stained a deep black that gave it a powerful presence at the heart of the camp. A guard outside the tent ducked in first, spoke briefly, then came back out and waved me on ahead. My escort stayed behind. I cast one last look around, trying to memorize every aspect of the camp's layout, and then ducked on in with my wrists still bound behind me.
I expected some kind of luxury. Instead I recognized the same tent I'd been prisoner in before. The chair had been righted and beyond it—in a corner I hadn't been able to see before—a simple bedroll lay in disarray. An open bottle of wine stood beside it, and a pile of leather-bound books. The wizard held another in his hand.
Now, too,
there was a cold green flame hanging in the air off to one side. I felt my eyes drawn to it, and I saw Lareth turn to face it, too. He nodded slowly. "Impressive, is it not?" he said. "Or perhaps you do not know. So take my word, it's an impressive thing. A thing of my own making, even more."
He shook his head. "But you cannot see even a fraction of the thing." He stepped closer and waved a careless hand. As he did, a pressure I hadn't known was there eased in my head. "Go on," he said. "Look with the wizard's eye, and see what I have wrought."
I hesitated, the memory of pain still far too clear. He smiled at that and shook his head. "I mean to send you north to kill my foe," he said. He waved again, a slicing gesture, and I felt the bonds on my wrists fall away. I massaged life back into my hands. He nodded. "You'd do me little good without your power. Now try."
I hesitated a heartbeat longer, but if he only wanted to hurt me he had plenty of other ways to do that. I closed my eyes and stepped through the exercises Antinus had taught me so long ago. They drew my focus from the pain and fear. They helped me press those things down, to push them back, until I was nothing but my concentrated will. I breathed once, in and out, and opened my eyes to the world of energies and powers.
The tent held none. I realized for the first time there was no flame in here, no light but the cold green glow of Lareth's artificial fire. The air was still, the earth was out of reach. The only energy I could see in the entire tent was Lareth's—the strength of life that made him glow like a star, and the tiny reflection of that flame in his mystic fire.
Out of curiosity I reached out to that fire with my senses, but I could not grip it. My will passed right through. I could see the shape of it, though, could sense the purpose behind the working. It pulsed with the energy of a traveling, all bound up and hovering on the brink of realization.
I dropped my second sight and found Lareth watching my eyes. Too late he put on a careless grin, but I had seen the calculation, the measurement. I waved to the flame. "It's just a way to save a working?"
"It's...something on those lines," the wizard said. "It binds my will in place and time, unfolding without thought when I intend."