Wycaan Master: Book 03 - Ashbar

by Alon Shalev

  After a few minutes, he began to whisper a word over and over again. Chashichot. Chashichot. Chashichot.

  Chapter Forty

  Chashichot. Chashichot. Chashichot. Seanchai kept his focus firmly on the word. He had once whipped up a sandstorm to hide himself from wolfheids and joined with the water element when he had submerged into the underground lake on the day of his Wycaan transformation.

  If he could harness wind and water, then why not light and darkness? He recalled the word from the ancient storybook Mhari had instructed him to learn by heart. As Seanchai repeated it, energy swirled up around him. He could sense a cone of power, intense but nonthreatening. He built it, layer by layer, until he felt encased.

  Shayth and Rhoddan’s muted voices reached him, though he could not make out the words. He saw them, and Sellia behind them, blurred and distant. They were looking for him and passed so closely that Rhoddan’s sword brushed the cone of energy and met resistance. Rhoddan glanced in Seanchai’s direction and then at his own blade. He frowned, but walked on.

  Sellia was close to Seanchai now but looking in the other direction. Suddenly, all three ran back toward the cave and disappeared. To Seanchai’s left, four mounted horses approached. The young elf almost panicked, but instead filled his mind with Mhari’s face as he summoned his discipline to focus and maintain the dark cone.

  The front two men halted their mounts just past Seanchai, and one called out in a hushed whisper. “Stay close to us, Shadow. We’re not far from the sentries, and there may be scouts out.”

  “What about my dear cousin?” the hooded one asked.

  “The scum is stupid, but not fool enough to take on a thousand soldiers.”

  “Shayth isn’t stupid,” a second youth admonished from behind. “Neither is the elf. Do not underestimate them.”

  “Have you decided whether to enter the camp, Ahad?”

  “We will camp to the side,” Ahad replied. “In the morning, I will seek information before General Shiftan arrives.”

  “Let’s camp here,” said one of the front riders.

  “No, Crefen,” Ahad replied. “We don’t want the army to see us. There might be officers from the capital, and someone might recognize Shadow.”

  The party moved on, though the mumbles of the men in front made it clear they were not happy with either the decision where to camp or the one called Ahad.

  Ahad? Not a common name, Seanchai thought. Then a chill coursed through his body. “What about my dear cousin?” he had heard one say. Shayth’s cousin was. . .

  Seanchai glanced to see that they had gone before he grounded the energy he was using to summon the darkness. He quickly made his way back to the cave, hooting as he approached.

  Once inside the cave, he turned to Shayth. “One of those riders is called Ahad. Who is he?”

  Shayth stared back, his tone grim. “The son of the late and great General Tarlach. He seeks revenge on the one who killed his dear father. We confronted him in the Ulster Mountains.”

  Seanchai nodded. “Another in their group is your cousin. Who is that?”

  Shayth creased his brow. “What makes you say that?” Seanchai repeated the words, and Shayth tussled his spiky hair. “Are you sure?”

  Seanchai nodded. “They called him Shadow. Who is it, Shayth?”

  “The Emperor’s son. The Crown Prince of Odessiya.”

  “He wants to kill you, too?”

  “Probably,” Shayth admitted. “But I suspect he’s more intrigued with defeating you.”

  “Nice to know.” Seanchai shrugged, trying unsuccessfully to make light of the situation.

  “How close to them were you?” Sellia asked.

  Seanchai beamed. “I was sitting on the rock that you walked past, and they rode right up to me.” The others looked confused. “Rhoddan, when you passed the rock, you felt something with your sword. Do you remember?”

  “I do,” Rhoddan replied immediately.

  “It was me. Or, rather, the darkening energy around me.”

  “The what?”

  Seanchai explained what he had done. “I think I might be able to walk through the camp. I need to practice, but. . . maybe I can extend the cone to include you all.”

  They all absorbed this in silence, glancing furtively at each other. Finally, Sellia touched Seanchai’s arm.

  “The most important part,” she said, “is that you get through. If we jeopardize that, then maybe you should go alone.”

  Seanchai hoped the darkness in the cave concealed his fear of such a situation. He was on his way to becoming a full-fledged Wycaan warrior, but he knew he was still a very young and unsure elf.

  “Try it,” Rhoddan said, “Sit next to Sellia and see if you can conceal the both of you.”

  It took several tries, but Seanchai finally succeeded. The others could see he was physically drained. Shayth passed him his water skin.

  “Seanchai should sleep,” Rhoddan said. “Let’s split the guarding among the three of us and wake him before dawn for another hour of practice. We’ll see if he can cover all four of us and then decide who goes.”

  “All four of us?” Shayth was surprised. “No–just three. I never intended on coming with you.”

  “Why would you not come with us?” Seanchai asked. “You came all this way. Why?”

  “To get you through. That’s the priority. But you’re going to meet some very reclusive elves. Do you really think they’ll want to see a human with you? And a tarnished one, at that?”

  Seanchai opened his mouth to argue, but there was truth in Shayth’s words. He yawned and was sent to sleep. As he lay down, he heard Rhoddan’s voice.

  “That’s not the only reason you want to stay here, is it Shayth?”

  Seanchai could feel Shayth struggling with his answer, and barely heard it when it came.

  “I cannot leave Odessiya. My place is here with my people and my land.”

  They woke Seanchai in time to practice. He managed to extend the shadow cover to another person, but not to a third. By the time it was light out, he was again exhausted. He used the last of his energy to heat water for his mushroom tea, but after that he went back deep into the cave to sleep.

  He lay there for a few minutes, listening to the others. They were deciding that Seanchai and Sellia would go. Shayth was resigned to facing Ahad and the Crown Prince. Rhoddan swore to stand by Shayth’s side, but Seanchai could hear the disappointment in his voice. Rhoddan, like most young elves, had grown up dreaming of the free Elves of the West.

  “But you should be the one to go with him,” he heard Rhoddan say to Sellia. “He needs you. If you do find the elves of Markwin, I believe Seanchai will face a number of tests. My sword will be of no help then, I fear.”

  “But you were there from the beginning,” Sellia said. “He needs you, too.”

  Rhoddan countered. “Shayth and I are family for him, yes, but you have done something that neither of us could,” Rhoddan lowered his voice even more. “I didn’t think he would recover from. . . from losing her. But I see the way he looks at you–the energy that is between you. Your love has helped heal him.”

  “No,” Sellia hissed, trying to keep her voice down, too. “I have given him a part of me, but I’d never presume to replace what Seanchai had with Ilana. Some wounds never heal. I should know that. Dyrovas will always have a place in my heart. We just move on the best we can, because we must.”

  Seanchai closed his eyes and allowed the tears to trickle down his cheeks. He poked a finger into the dusty ground and wrote Ilana’s name with his finger. Then, as he thought about Sellia, he wrote Dyrovas, too. He mourned for the elf he had never met.

  Chapter Forty-One

  They decided to postpone passage through the camp for another day. Seanchai needed to practice and build his strength. He made stronger potions of the mushroom tea, much as Mhari had increased the dose of danseng root prior to his entering the ley lake.

  Shayth and Rhoddan hunted and returned
with a small doe that Shayth cooked in the twilight hours when the smoke would be less visible. It was still a risk, as the smell would be inviting, no matter when it was roasted.

  Sellia decided to scout a route through the camp and hovered behind a large rock looking down on hundreds of white tents and banners. In true military fashion, the camp had one main thoroughfare down the center and various paths that went off it at regimented right angles, one leading straight into the Cliftean Pass.

  Deciding she had seen enough, she considered trying to make out where the sentries were posted, but it would be difficult to do this undetected and, if Seanchai’s plan worked, it would make little difference.

  As she rose to go, she heard voices frighteningly close to her. She pulled her cloak around her and loosened her long knife. It was too risky to swing her bow round and nock an arrow.

  “This is absurd, Ahad. I could walk into the camp and demand a feast.”

  Another voice laughed. “That you could, Shadow, but while you stuffed yourself with venison and boar, they would be sending a message back to your dear father. Maybe Shiftan already told him and has orders for when you surface.”

  “Do you think they are also here?”

  “Who?”

  “The elf and Shayth,” the first voice replied. “Aren’t they scouting out a route to get through the pass?”

  “They could be behind the next boulder, for all we know. They understand stealth, I imagine. If it was me, unless I had magical powers like some say the elf does, I would be climbing the peaks to go around the camp–not through it.”

  There was silence for a while, then the first voice, Shadow, spoke. “Ahad? Are you sure you can take him?”

  “The elf?”

  “No, Shayth. I know you can’t take the elf.”

  “Listen, Shadow. When I find the elf, I’m to alert the Emperor. He’s given me a way to do this so that he can fight the elf. You need to know that. I’m ordered to do so and won’t disobey a direct order from my liege.”

  “You’ve gone against him already by bringing me, and he’ll discover that when he arrives,” Shadow laughed and Sellia thought how young the voice she now knew to be the Crown Prince sounded.

  “I think he knows you’re here and approves. But do you understand what I just told you?”

  “Yes, yes. You’re so serious. We’ll leave the elf to my father. I’d like to see him in action, though by the time he organizes his retinue and travels here, it won’t only be the elf with white hair, and he will probably be long gone. Have you thought of that?”

  Ahad replied, “I believe you’ll discover that your father has secrets of his own. He’ll be here on time.”

  Sellia felt the atmosphere tense as the prince brooded. The Emperor’s secrets were apparently not his favorite topic. When he spoke, his voice was more serious. “What about Shayth?”

  “I’m a trained officer of the Emperor’s army.”

  “As was your father.”

  “I’m also a Master Assassin.”

  “Your father had experience that you don’t, and he was considered one of the greatest swordsmen in the land. It worries me that you are untried.”

  Now Ahad’s voice was hard. “My father had feelings for Shayth. I fear the traitor used that against him. I’m not vulnerable in this respect. Now come. If you want to eat, we should hunt. Tomorrow we will look for the elf and Shayth.”

  Back at the cave, Sellia shared the conversation that she had heard.

  “It really is the Crown Prince then?” Rhoddan was excited. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. He referred to the Emperor as his father.”

  They all looked at Shayth who was sharpening the dirk he kept in his boot. “Then the Crown Prince is here,” he confirmed. “His name is Phineus which he hates. I once got slapped a few times for using it. Admittedly, I knew exactly what I was doing.”

  “Weren’t you the charmer,” Rhoddan said.

  “You’ve no idea,” Shayth replied and actually smiled.

  “We should assume that he is as proficient as Ahad,” Rhoddan said. “He must have received the best training. This changes things, doesn’t it?”

  “A lot,” Shayth admitted, and all they heard for a long while was the methodical scrape of his dirk blade on the sharpening stone.

  “I have a suggestion,” Sellia said at last. “Don’t confront them. There are probably more highly-trained men in his entourage. The Emperor wouldn’t allow his only son to wander around unguarded with another boy like this. It’s too much for you. Let them think that Rhoddan is Seanchai. He’s done it before. They’ll give chase to the two of you. Lead them back to the dwarves. Hopefully, you’ll get an opportunity to capture or kill them.”

  “I’m tired of running,” Shayth said, his voice somewhat distant. “I’m ready to face them: Ahad, my cousin, and after that the Emperor.”

  “That’s not a fight you can win,” Sellia replied, staring at him. A pregnant silence descended before she spoke in barely more than a whisper. “But you know that, don’t you?”

  Shayth nodded. “I said I’m tired of running. Defeating Ahad, even if I can, won’t solve that.”

  “You’ll take Rhoddan down with you,” her tone was icy. “Have you considered that?”

  “I assumed he would go with you. It was supposed to be just me and Ahad, as it should.”

  “I will stand by you,” Rhoddan said, his voice firm.

  Shayth didn’t answer. He returned his dirk to his boot and unsheathed his sword. It sparkled, and Sellia know it was already sharp. But Shayth went to work on it with a vengeance. “I told you when we met that I’m not good at working with others.”

  “But you swore to join me,” Seanchai said, appearing behind Sellia. They had assumed he was asleep. “If you don’t swear now that you will never willingly let yourself die, then I will stay here and fight with you instead of going through the pass.”

  “Don’t guilt me,” Shayth snapped, jumping to his feet.

  Seanchai stepped closer. “Swear to me,” he said, his voice quiet but firm.

  Shayth glared into Seanchai’s eyes and they locked on each other. It was Shayth who finally looked away. “Your ancient language doesn’t bind me,” he snarled.

  “No, but your honor does,” Seanchai replied. “You have a destiny, Shayth. You are seeing it unfold before you. You cannot give in now. Swear to me.”

  Sellia had never heard Seanchai speak like this. His voice was iron, and he never flinched from Shayth’s glare. She looked over at Shayth. His chest was heaving, and he clenched his sword with white knuckles. Finally, he turned from the Wycaan and stared down at the fire.

  “Ashbar,” he said quietly, and they all knew he had bound himself.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  They decided that Seanchai and Sellia would cross the army camp about two hours before dawn, when there wasn’t much activity. Shayth and Rhoddan had spent a cold, cramped night watching to see when the sentries swapped out. There was only one guard change, so those on duty when Seanchai crossed would be especially tired.

  Seanchai spent most of the day sleeping, drinking his mushroom tea, and doing his standing exercises. He was not interested in practicing the darkness exercise any more. He had to prepare himself as best he could and trusted his attunement with the elements.

  He and Sellia filled their bags carefully, packing as much food and water as possible. No one had any idea what the terrain would be like–whether it would be cold or hot, arid or with fresh water. They could only hope to be able to hunt.

  On the other hand, if they were forced to run, any weight would be a disadvantage. But at that point, Shayth said, they should drop their bags and flee. Rhoddan and Shayth accompanied them to the road that led into the camp.

  “There is no time for goodbyes,” Shayth said quickly.

  Seanchai stared at him. “I will be back, and we’ll fight side-by-side to free Odessiya and find you the peace you crave. I promise.”

&nbs
p; “Get out of here before I make you swear oaths,” Shayth said, but he did not object as Seanchai suddenly reached out and hugged him.

  “You are important to me,” the elf whispered in his ear and then loudly, about Rhoddan: “And try to keep this chump out of trouble.”

  “Now you ask too much,” Shayth replied.

  Seanchai turned to Rhoddan. “I’m sorry you can’t join us. I wish you could, for both of us.”

  “Just do what you have to do,” Rhoddan replied. “I’d hate for you to miss all the fun on this side of the pass.”

  They hugged, and then Sellia and Rhoddan hugged. Sellia turned to Shayth and held out her arms. He hesitated.

  “You want me to say what I have to say out loud?” she asked. Shayth shrugged, and she pointed a finger at him. “Be the person you were destined to be, Prince Shindell, and stop wasting so much energy trying to deny what everyone else sees so clearly.”

  Seanchai was stunned by Sellia’s audacity, but he noted Rhoddan nodded in agreement and Shayth actually didn’t scowl. Seanchai put his pack on his back and then his swords. He watched as Sellia adjusted her bow and quiver over her pack.

  He and Sellia walked a short distance away so Seanchai could summon the energy around them. He closed his eyes and began to call the darkness. Chashichot. Chashichot. Chashichot. He could feel the connection even though he couldn’t see it, and held to it fast. He nodded to Sellia, whose eyes were wide with wonder, as he soundlessly repeated the word.

  “Can you see us?” Sellia called out.

  “I can’t see Seanchai,” Rhoddan said, “but I think I can see a bit of you.”

  Seanchai tried to project the darkness, and a minute later he heard Rhoddan. “That’s better. I can’t see anything now.”

  “Go,” Shayth said. “May the gods walk beside you.”