She turned from the refugees and looked around at the forest surrounding her. Despite living in Redtower most of her life she had never ventured into the forest itself but if what she saw was representational then the forest would be disappointing. The road cut through it in a ten foot wide swath of cleared land and the trees near the edges looked sickly and broken. Branches were dead and leaves hung towards the ground or had already fallen completely from the trees. Feces and trash littered the sides of the road and Selth thanked The Provider once more for the fact that it was Autumn and the smell wasn’t too bad. The ground at the outer edges of the forest was trampled to mud as well, making the road seem more a part of the forest than it really was. Selth couldn’t hear any animals from the inside of the forest over the sounds of tramping feet and with a sigh she turned her attention to the horse underneath her. At least that wouldn’t be a disappointment. With a cry she lost her concentration on the beast and it nearly bucked her off before she reasserted control. She scowled angrily down at the saddle again and sank into a slouch. She could hear Kant’s laugh from the other side of the road and Aren was failing miserably at hiding amusement of his own. This journey was not starting off well.
By the time the four of them reached their first stopping point, a small town stationed ten miles along the road from Redtower, Selth was in a black mood. She waited impatiently while Kant and Aren negotiated for rooms with the fat little innkeeper then threw herself into her bed, exhausted. She came down briefly to get the food the innkeeper had promised them, a tasty rabbit stew, then moved back up to her room.
Her three companions looked as though they were having a wonderful time in the common room, chatting away with the locals and listening to their tales, but Selth didn’t think she could take that sort of thing. Her whole backside felt like one big bruise from riding her horse the whole afternoon and the prospect of Kant’s barely veiled insults and Mattle’s curious looks were too much for her to deal with. Instead she fell asleep as soon as possible, collapsing across the small, hay filled bed.
The following days passed in a similar manner, and as days turned into weeks Selth felt herself growing more and more distant from her companions. Aren had assimilated himself with the Inquisitors through his easy manner in a way that she envied but couldn’t duplicate. Instead she spent her time slouching in her saddle sullenly and slowly teaching herself how to ride without coming out of it as one big bruise. Each night she stalked to her room and each morning she mounted without a word to her companions, except maybe for a brief greeting to Aren. More and more refugees clogged the road as they moved forward and the forest all around them became more and more broken and disgusting thanks to the carelessness of the people trying to escape the war with Mardule.
After three weeks had passed traveling directly along the road, Kant changed their direction. “We need to head slightly off course for a couple of days. There’s been disturbances in the forest two days northeast of here and I need to check them out since I’m in the area.” he explained as he turned them off the road and into the forest. Selth thought about voicing a complaint, after all this was her and Aren’s journey and the Inquisitor had no right to change what it was about. But Aren said nothing in reply and she wasn’t sure if he would side with her or with Kant after she had been so sullen over the course of the trip.
As they moved into the forest though, she instantly changed her mind over what the Inquisitor had suggested. All her life she had been in the city of Redtower or on the tame grounds of the academy. Even the road and the towns they had stopped in were civilized to the point where pure nature had been destroyed for miles all around. This forest was something entirely different. Massive trees thrust out of the ground, leaves a combination of green, red and yellow as Autumn affected the growth. Flowers burst from the forest floor all around her and it seemed as though mankind had never existed. Looking back towards the road Selth realized it was already completely obscured just a few hundred yards into the forest. The two Inquisitors seemed to flicker in and out of sight as their cloaks blended with the trees and the soft sounds of nature washed over her as the four of them rode forward.
For the first time since the trip started, Selth felt a smile curl its way onto her lips. The trees grew larger and larger all around them as the last vestiges of humanity faded to nothing and it seemed to her as though they might never find their way out again. She wasn’t sure that would be such a bad thing but Kant’s direction never wavered. He seemed to know exactly where he was supposed to go. As the sun began to set he stopped in a large clearing and called to set up camp, it was the first time they were going to sleep outside since the journey had started. There wasn’t much to do, Mattle disappeared into the forest to gather firewood and Kant went off to hunt something for their meal. Aren and Selth were left on their own in the clearing.
“I don’t like them.” she said when she was sure they wouldn’t be overheard.
Aren looked over at her, amused. “Yes, I know. And so does everyone who saw us on the road.” she flushed with shame, “I didn’t say anything because we’ve been surrounded by other people up until now but what you’re doing is foolish. You’ve wasted weeks because the Inquisitor managed to anger you the first day. Did you ever think that might be a test? That he wanted to see how you reacted?”
Selth colored even more deeply as confusion and shame piled on top of one another. “Well, No.” she stuttered out, “But, it was just that . . . he was . . .” she trailed off under Aren’s flat stare.
“You’ve moped over this enough.” he said calmly, “From now on you will become a part of this group instead of a sullen outsider. Who knows, you may even find there’s something to like about the people I chose to accompany us.”
She swallowed hard but nodded her agreement. “Where do you think Kant’s taking us now?” she asked, trying to change the subject.
Aren shrugged his shoulders, evidently happy to let her escape with just the simple reprimand he had given, “Probably just a wolf or bear that’s scaring the locals. It’s not too far out of the way and if he has to do it then I can’t hold it against him.” Selth nodded in a show of agreement but said nothing. She didn’t want to give him any other reasons to treat her like a fool.
Mattle broke the awkward silence that had settled over the camp when he returned with the firewood and dropped it in a pile in front of them. He bent down with his tinderbox but Aren called him off. The gem at the top of his staff glowed briefly and a fire burst into light. Mattle smiled, “I wish Kant would do that. He’s always saying that magic shouldn’t be used except as a last resort.” Suddenly his face colored pink. “I shouldn’t have said that.” he muttered.
Aren burst out laughing, “It’s fine, I already know that Kant can use magic. You can too for that matter, just a little. A specific talent, perhaps, but you can use it.”
Mattle looked up in shock, “How do you know that? Nobody knows that.” His hand started creeping towards the sword at his side but at that moment Kant came back.
“Stop acting like a fool boy, the man’s a mage not a Mardulian spy. He can tell when other magic users are around and apparently he can tell how talented they are.”
Mattle dropped his hand from his sword hilt, “Sorry Kant.” he muttered quietly.
Kant nodded in approval, “Start practicing with the bow. I want you to fire at those three trees, changing which one you fire at randomly.” The trees he had chosen were a good two hundred paces off and Selth didn’t know how anybody could actually hit those targets but Mattle soon proved her wrong, firing arrows with astonishing accuracy and rapidity.
“I thought it was just a myth, how good the Inquisitors were with their bows.” she said in astonishment.
Kant looked over, amused, “So you’ve decided to stop skulking have you.” Selth felt her cheeks color again but she nodded stoically. She would deal with whatever insults he had planned and move forward as part of the group. But the Inquisitor surprised her, “Good
.” he said, then motioned back at Mattle, “If you practiced six hours a day at anything I think you’d be pretty good as well.”
She breathed a deep sigh of relief when Kant didn’t push the advantage he had over her. “Are you just as good with your sword?” she asked, curious and hoping to keep his attention off anything that had to do with her. He looked at her thoughtfully then drew his blade and began moving through a complicated series of forms, the blade seeming to flicker in his hand. He moved with a grace that Selth had never seen before, as though the sword itself was simply an extension of his being. “What about daggers?” she asked, thinking about her own set of shadow blades. Kant started to answer but Aren cut in first.
“Why don’t you try to fight him with swords, Selth?” she spun to protest but he kept talking, “I’m curious to see if you have any talent with them.”
Kant broke in angrily, “I’m not going to fight someone who’s probably never touched a blade before. Even Mattle had to train for seven months before I felt him ready enough to spar.”
Aren waved his hand lazily, reclining against a rock in front of the fire, “Yes, but Selth is special. I think it’s quite possible that she has some natural talent.” Selth and Kant both glared at him but he crossed his arms, “Do it or I swear to The Provider that I’ll burn this whole damned forest to the ground with us in it.”
Kant rolled his eyes and grabbed a stick from the ground angrily. He tossed it to Selth and picked up one of his own. “Sorry.” she mouthed to him. He just shrugged his shoulders before moving forward like lightning. She tried to use her knife fighting skills but it was no use; she was lying flat on her back in ten seconds with Kant’s stick pointing at her throat. She looked over at Aren and shrugged helplessly, “I guess I don’t know how to fight with swords.”
Aren shook his head, “Maybe not right now. But you do, you’re just missing something. It’s like those daggers, you needed them before you could start knife fighting.”
“What daggers?” Kant broke in, curiosity bringing him down from the aloof state he had assumed after dealing with Selth so easily. She glanced at Aren who shrugged his shoulders as if to say it was her decision. Smiling to herself, she broke her stick in half and sprang upright as though she was holding a pair of daggers.
“Beat me and I’ll show you.” she said mockingly. Kant snapped his stick in half as well and dropped into a crouch. He leapt forward, swinging the two sticks in a complicated pattern, expecting her to go down as easily as with the sword. She ducked under one of his blades and parried the other so that a shock ran up the Inquisitor’s arm, causing him to drop it. A casual duck and spin sent his returning stroke a bare millimeter over her head and she planted a powerful kick directly into his solar plexus. He went flying back and crashed to the ground, groaning.
Mattle had stopped firing and was staring with an open mouth at the two of them. “How’d you do that?” he broke out in a garbled fashion, “I’ve never seen anyone beat Kant in a fight!”
Kant rolled onto his knees and looked with annoyance at his apprentice, “Don’t you have something to do, besides staring at me like a dolt?” Mattle looked embarrassed and returned to firing arrows. Kant looked over at Selth, still standing in a relaxed position as though the fight had taken the barest of exertions, with a new respect. “He’s right you know. Even the other Inquisitors are wary about crossing blades with me.” he shook his head slowly, “I’d love to see these daggers you mentioned, if they gave you such talent it might be possible for them to do the same for others.”
Selth laughed and ignored Kant’s implied question. She went to sit with Aren by the fire instead. He looked just as amused as she felt on the inside. “Did you have to beat him quite so handily?” he asked. He was trying for a serious voice but as soon as the question was out of his mouth he broke into gales of laughter. Selth started laughing as well. She stood back up and walked to where Kant was pulling himself off the ground.
“I doubt the daggers would work for another person,” she said, “after all, they’re nothing that you can touch.” Kant pulled himself up with interest and glanced at Selth’s hands and belts, trying to find where she kept them. She smirked and summoned the daggers to her hands. His eyes widened when they appeared out of nowhere.
“Interesting talent, that,” he muttered, “anything else you can do?”
Selth smiled, “A few things but I’m not sure I feel like telling you about them. Maybe if I decide I like you during the rest of the trip.” she turned and walked back toward Aren.
“This is why I hate working with magi,” she heard Kant grumble behind her, “They always leave you guessing. Never there when you need them.”
The rest of the night passed without any more prodding from Aren or demonstrations from her. Kant and Mattle sparred with practice swords and Selth found herself watching in fascination. Both men moved back and forth with astonishing speed and grace but every time the dust settled it was Mattle lying on the ground with Kant’s sword at his throat. When the two Inquisitors were done sparring Mattle cooked the three hares that Kant had shot and the four of them ate in silence, savoring the meal which was far better than anything they had received at the inns they had stopped at. Soon after they were all wrapping themselves in their cloaks and drifting off to sleep.
13
Strange Occurrences
I have created a new entity of power, a new god! Before the might we can now assemble Az’emon will fall!
– Shattrenlix to the five original entities
The next day was overcast and rainy, nobody was in a good mood except for Aren who seemed to be thriving on their annoyance over the fact that he wouldn’t stop the rain. “The forest needs this more than you want it to stop.” he said to their demands and refused to say anything more on the matter but his continual smiles and glances in their direction, along with his completely dry body, undercut his point. Kant had shaken his head and muttered about how impossible it was to work with magi before leading them on.
The leaves scattered across the ground crunched as the horses stepped on them and the mud squelched annoyingly underfoot. Even the trees looked less inviting than they had the day before. Rather than representing a beautiful land of untouched potential they seemed to be leaning down to grab at Selth. At midday, they reached a river that tore through the forest at high speeds and Kant smiled. “We’re here,” he said, “Mattle and I will go ahead and explore. The two of you do whatever you want but meet back here before sundown.” he scaled a tree to Selth’s left and started moving along a hidden rope that connected to the other side of the river. Mattle followed behind him and soon the two had vanished into the forest on the other bank. As soon as they were out of sight she dropped off her horse.
“I’m going exploring.” she said to Aren who was dismounting just as quickly.
“So am I.” he said, “Just meet back here before they get back.” With a wave of his staff the raging river froze over and he moved across it without any trouble. Selth fell back into darkness and appeared on the other side, dashing off into the forest.
An hour later she was regretting her decision. There wasn’t actually anything to do in the forest on her own. She’d killed a hare when it ran across her path but immediately felt terrible so she hadn’t done that again. Fighting or even killing something that was evil was fine with her but the rabbit had done nothing to her. What right did she have to take its life? Just as she was about to go back to the horses, Selth felt something. It was as though a barrier of cold had passed over her – it felt wrong. She shuddered and backed up . . . and stopped. She couldn’t go back; it was as though that barrier she had passed through had solidified behind her.
Selth fell back into darkness but as she teleported it was as if someone had taken a knife and was cutting her open from head to tail. With a scream she materialized, still inside of the barrier. Glancing around her she started forward. Maybe the barrier was just a small wall which she could walk around if she mov
ed far enough in one direction or the other. She hadn’t gone hundred yards when a massive wolf leapt from behind a tree and tackled her to the ground. She screamed and fell back into darkness, but that same cold barrier hit her and she reappeared directly under the beast. With a shaking hand she reached out and touched the air in front of her, the same cold barrier from before blocked her path. “Hello Selthraxadinian.” a voice that had a low guttural growl, like she would imagine from wolf, resounded through her head.
Her jaw dropped open in shock. A wolf had just spoken to her; that was impossible. But the wolf was staring down at her expectantly, not at all as though it wanted to eat her, and she’d seen a lot of strange things since she’d gone to the academy. “I’m sorry,” she said, “But I’m afraid you must be mistaken. I’m not Selthraxadinian,” her mind flashed back to her dream all that time ago, she had been Selthraxadinian then, but she angrily shook that off, “No, I’m not Selthraxadinian. I’m just Selth, I grew up in Redtower.”
The wolf looked highly amused, “Hello Just Selth, I’m Cereus, but don’t worry, I’m not serious, just Cereus.”
Selth felt a bubble of laughter rise up through her, even though the wolf’s joke hadn’t been all that funny. For some reason she didn’t feel as though she was in any danger. In fact, as the shock of seeing the wolf jump on her faded, she began to feel almost safe. “Hello Cereus, why did you call me Selthraxadinian?” she asked, shifting under the invisible barrier which trapped her to the ground.
The God in the Shadows (The Story at the Heart of the Void Book 1) Page 14