by Ben Cassidy
A white-robed nurse rushed out of one door and scurried past them.
Grelda didn’t even glance at the commotion.
Maklavir tugged nervously at his cape. The hair stood up on the back of his neck. His nostrils twitched at the strange, disagreeable odors that filled the hall.
“This is where you put her?” Joseph stared askance at the hallway before them.
“Yes,” said Maklavir, trying to keep his voice down despite his rising anger. “It’s the finest Sanitarium within a hundred miles.”
Joseph glanced at a chamber pot that stood outside one of the doors. “Doesn’t seem like it,” he said gruffly.
Maklavir’s hand twitched. He was doubly glad he didn’t have his sword on him at the moment. “Well, you wouldn’t know, would you? You haven’t even been here to visit Kara once, have you?”
Joseph’s face flinched, but his eyes kept their flickering anger. “I was off helping Dutraad fight the war, Maklavir. How—?”
“Oh, yes,” said Maklavir sarcastically. “You always bring up how you’ve been heroically off fighting our war for us. What you seem to forget is that you left me high and dry here in Vorten, with Kara to care for and—” He stopped, suddenly noticing that Grelda was staring at them.
“Quiet,” she said with a finger over lips. “There are patients resting here.” She turned around and began walking again.
Maklavir snapped his mouth shut and bit down the rest of his anger.
Joseph pushed past without another word, his face clouded over.
Somewhere down the hall came the echoing sound of maniacal laughter.
Maklavir glanced behind him. The hairs prickled across the back of his neck.
“Here,” said Grelda at last. She gestured to a wooden door in the corridor, and stood off to one side. “I will see if she is up yet.”
Maklavir and Joseph stood awkwardly in the corridor for a moment, avoiding eye contact with each other.
Down the hall, a door slammed.
Maklavir almost jumped out of his skin at the noise.
Grelda came out again, her face stern. “Five minutes,” she reminded them. She held the door open and gestured inside.
Having come this far, both Joseph and Maklavir found themselves inexplicably hesitating.
Maklavir took a deep breath and stepped inside.
His heart jumped up into his throat.
Kara was there, sitting on the edge of her bed in a simple nightgown. Her once long, red hair had been cut incredibly short, so that it now barely went past her ears. Her skin was an unhealthy white. She stared at the wall of the room, twisting her hands over and over and muttering something to herself under breath.
Maklavir froze, unsure for a moment if Joseph had been right or not. Was this really Kara, or had Indigoru somehow remained in the girl’s mind and body? He cleared his throat. “Hello, Kara.”
The beautiful redhead didn’t look up. She kept her gaze focused on the wall. Her hands continued their strange twisting motion.
“So far she has been unresponsive to the nurses,” said Grelda unhelpfully.
Maklavir stared at the girl. He felt sick. There was no trace of the fiery, fiercely independent thief and world-class archer he had once known. It was like looking at a shell of his friend.
“I warned you that she had not yet recovered,” Grelda said in a quiet voice. There was something almost like sympathy in her words. “Kara is still…adjusting.”
Maklavir glanced over his shoulder.
Joseph stood in the doorway, as if afraid to enter the room. His eyes were fastened on Kara.
Kara didn’t look up at him, or at any of them. She kept muttering to herself.
Maklavir cleared his throat. “Kara,” he started to say, struggling to keep his tone steady, “I don’t know if you can hear me, but we are here for you. Joseph is here, and so am I. We—” He paused, momentarily surprised by the surge of emotion that was catching in his throat. “We aren’t going to leave you.”
“Fangs in the east,” Kara said, her voice barely above a whisper. She continued to stare at the wall. Her hands worked furiously.
Maklavir instinctively leaned in, barely catching her soft words. “Beg pardon?”
Grelda gave a dismissive wave. “It’s nonsense. The only thing she’s been saying since she came out of her coma.”
Joseph stared harder at Kara, but still didn’t come into the room. All the color was drained from his face.
“Fangs in the east,” Kara repeated. Her head tilted slightly. She muttered something else again, under her breath.
Maklavir couldn’t make out what it was. He stepped closer. “What is it, Kara? Fangs? What fangs?” He looked back to Joseph and Grelda. “Is she talking about the Despair in Vorten?”
Joseph didn’t respond. He looked as though he were seeing a ghost.
Grelda shrug. “It’s nonsense. Doesn’t mean anything at all.”
Maklavir ignored her. He kneeled down next to Kara, trying to catch her words.
“Fangs in the east,” the redhead said. Her voice was strange, almost in a sing-song or a chant. “Shadow in the south.”
Maklavir felt his flesh crawl. The air in the room seemed to suddenly grow chiller.
Kara still didn’t look at him. “A fire rises in the west,” she murmured.
Maklavir didn’t understand what Kara was saying. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t nonsense.
Grelda took a step forward. “Mr. Maklavir, we need to give Kara some space. I—”
Joseph’s hand shot out and snatched Grelda by the arm.
The old nurse looked back at Joseph in shock. “What? Let go of me at once—”
Maklavir leaned in, desperate to hear Kara’s words. “I’m here, Kara,” he said. He grabbed her cold hands in his own. “Talk to me.”
“Fangs in the east, shadow in the south, a fire rises in the west.” Kara still wouldn’t make eye contact with him, and her voice was still in the strange chant-like cadence. “To find the key, to defeat all three, seek the raven lost in the sea.”
Maklavir stared at her helplessly.
Grelda pulled her arm out of Joseph’s grip. “You see? Nonsense. Now I must ask the two of you to leave. Kara needs her rest.”
Maklavir stared hard at Kara, trying to get the girl to look at him.
Nothing. She repeated the words she had said before in a harsh whisper, her eyes set on the wall of the room.
“Gentlemen,” Grelda said impatiently.
“Maklavir,” Joseph said quietly, “she’s gone.”
Maklavir closed his eyes, gripping Kara’s hands tightly for a moment. He had so much to say to her. Now he would never be able to say anything at all. With a sick feeling he started back to his feet.
Kara leapt forward suddenly and grabbed both Maklavir’s arms.
Joseph started into the room, a look of wild fear on his face.
Maklavir froze. His heart hammered in his chest.
“Maklavir!” Kara said. She was looking right at him, her eyes glinting like a person suffering from fever. “Kendril! You have to find Kendril. He’s in great danger. I’ve seen it. He needs us. Fangs in the east, fangs in the east—” She fell back onto the bed, shuddering and convulsing.
“Kara!” Maklavir cried. He leapt forward and snatched her flailing arms.
She was in a full seizure. Her eyes were distant again, staring at the ceiling. She shook and trembled, her body out of control.
Grelda leapt out into the hall. “Nurses!” she shouted. In a heartbeat she was back in the room, right next to Kara at the bed. She looked up at Maklavir and Joseph. “Both of you out now!”
Like sheepish children, both Maklavir and Joseph obeyed without question. They moved out into the hall just as three white-robed nurses entered the room after them. The door slammed shut.
Maklavir removed his cap and ran a hand through his dark hair. “Great Eru,” he breathed. His hands were still shaking. He turned to Jo
seph. “Did you hear her?”
Joseph stared at the closed door for a long moment in silence. Then he looked at Maklavir. “I heard a woman who can seem to remember everyone’s name, even the man who shot her, except one. Mine.”
Maklavir opened his mouth, but had no answer.
Joseph turned and walked back towards the stairs.
Chapter 7
The seagulls were the first sign of approaching land. They wheeled high in the sky, shrieking as they glided on the wind and swooped down on the water.
Kendril scowled up at their white shapes, then cocked an eye towards the eastern horizon.
The day was cold but clear. The weather was holding remarkably well. It wasn’t uncommon for storms to sweep through the Strait of Jagara in the early spring, but so far their voyage had been relatively quiet.
Kendril disappeared below decks and sought out Simon.
The poor mule was in a stall smaller than any he had ever had to put up with on land. On top of that, had been unable to keep any food down during the voyage. He snorted unhappily as he saw Kendril.
The Ghostwalker shrugged. “I know, boy. But we’re almost to land. What was I supposed to do, leave you in New Marlin?”
Simon turned his head away.
Kendril gave the beast an affectionate rub on his muzzle. “You’ll feel better once you’ve got your hooves on dry land again, I promise.”
Simon flicked his tail, and gave Kendril a gentle nudge.
Kendril’s face darkened. “I haven’t told them. There hasn’t been a chance to.”
Simon gave Kendril a reproving look.
The Ghostwalker sighed. “Alright, I haven’t made a chance. It’s just Marley and Tomas, boy, and neither of them need to know. It would be different if it was Joseph or Maklavir or—” He stopped mid-sentence, unable to say the final name. “If any of them were here right now.”
Simon brayed softly.
“That’s not fair,” said Kendril sharply. “Joseph told me to go, and Eru knows he didn’t want me anywhere around Kara. Not after what happened. And Bronwyn was on the run. I’m a Ghostwalker, Simon, you know that. The mission always comes first. That’s what we signed up for.”
Simon lowered his head with a whine.
Kendril scratched his mane. “I know, boy,” he said in a whisper. “I miss them too.”
From above decks came a shouted call.
Simon lifted his head up.
Kendril gave him one last pat. “Land. You’ll be out in no time, pal. Just hang in there.” He turned and headed back to the deck.
The long gray shape of land was just beginning to form to the east. Spitting rain was pelting the boat. The sky above had quickly clouded over.
Kendril shuddered and pulled on his black gloves. He watched the crew for a moment, then noticed Marley coming up behind him.
“Oh, my aching back,” the old sailor said. “I’ve been sleeping on a sack of potatoes, Mr. Kendril.”
“Oh, quit your complaining, Marls.” Kendril instinctively checked that his flintlock pistols were snug in their holsters. “Besides, how often do you get passage on a sea voyage without having to work your way across?”
Marley scratched his scratchy white beard. “Sure you have that right, Mr. Kendril. And I don’t mean to complain none. But I’ll be happy enough even to have a decent hammock to put my aching back into.”
Kendril took a deep breath of the salt air. “I’m with you there. I wonder if any of the inns in Redemption have a genuine feather bed?”
Marley gave a good-natured shrug of his shoulders. “Sure as I don’t know, Mr. Kendril. I imagine we’ll find out soon enough.” He peered through the pelting raindrops at the gray coastline that was growing steadily larger. “Ah, Jothland. Been a while since I laid eyes on it. A cold land with cold people, they say. Rain and rocks and trees aplenty.”
Kendril stared straight ahead, but didn’t reply.
“Here now, what’s that there?” Marley pointed off the port side of the vessel.
A tumble of white blocks stood on the top of the nearby cliffs. Time and age had stained them almost brown, and many were cracked and broken. Still, their great size was evident. Even in its ruined condition the stack of old stones stretched several dozen feet high.
Kendril cast an appraising eye at the blocks. “That’s the old Rajathan lighthouse. There are ancient ruins all over Jothland, all the way to the Wall and beyond.”
Marley cocked an eyebrow. “This was their homeland, wasn’t it? The Rajathan Empire? You’ll forgive my ignorance, sir. I’m just a humble sailor, after all. Not much schooling.”
Kendril hid a smile. “Yes. The Rajathans were a great people once. Until the First Despair came and destroyed them.” He nodded towards the growing coastland. “The Forbidden City is inland, hundreds of miles from here. Ruined temples, manor houses, great markets. All overgrown and abandoned, haunted by wolves and vultures.”
Marley made a sign against evil across his chest. “The Forbidden City? They say the place is haunted with the spirits of the dead. There’s a curse on that place, sir, if you don’t mind me saying so.”
Kendril gave a pensive nod of his head. “I suppose so. But there’s beauty and grandeur too. Even in its fallen state, The Forbidden City burns itself into your mind. Makes you wonder how much we have really advanced over the centuries.”
Marley gave a nervous laugh. “You talk almost as if you’ve seen the city for yourself, Mr. Kendril.”
Kendril glowered at the coast, but didn’t respond.
“That’s because he has, Marley.” Tomas stepped up next to them, his approach as silent as a cat’s. “Haven’t you, Kendril?”
Kendril’s face twitched with irritation. “Once. A long time ago.”
Marley’s face drained white.
“Oh get a hold of yourself,” Kendril shot back at the sailor. “Maybe I’m cursed and maybe I’m not, but at least I didn’t call on Eru to strike me dead with lightning.”
Marley cringed back and threw a quick glance up at the glowering sky.
Trees appeared on the shoreline, clustered on the tops of the tall gray cliffs. They were the tall, green firs and pines common to Jothland. The ocean crashed and heaved on the rocky shores in great frothing white explosions. The rain increased in tempo, rattling hard on the deck of the ship.
Tomas pulled up his hood against the driving rain. “There it is,” he said with a nod of his head. “Dancing Harbor.”
Ahead and to the left there was a large opening in the otherwise impassible cliff walls. As the ship sailed closer the gap became larger and more pronounced. It curved in to the east, making a wide passage. The rocks at the base of the cliffs were covered with the long, gray shapes of sea lions. Chittering cries in the thousands came from swarms of seabirds that covered the side of the cliff itself.
Kendril swallowed. There was a swell of uneasiness inside him. Now he knew what it must have been like for Maklavir that day they had crossed over into Valmingaard from Merewith.
“You think we’ll find her in Redemption?” Tomas asked, almost casually. “It’s not a big town, from what I remember.”
Kendril nodded his head, pulling himself back into the present moment. “No, it’s not. Nothing like New Marlin. If she’s holed up somewhere inside the walls I think we can ferret her out easily enough.”
Tomas watched curiously as the ship began to turn into the mouth of the harbor. “I can’t help but wonder why she would come here at all.” He turned his head to gaze at the bellowing sea lions as they sailed past. “This is practically the back-end of civilization. Not a lot of places to hide.”
“She didn’t come here to hide.” Kendril felt a tightness in his throat as he watched the familiar approach to Redemption loom ahead. “I think it’s connected with the Despair. She knows something, and we’re going to find out what it is.”
Marley gave a moan from behind them.
Kendril turned around in surprise. He had half-forgotten
the old man was there.
“Despairs and demons,” the sailor muttered. “It’s my own death you’re dragging me to, Mr. Kendril, and no mistake about that. “
Kendril sniffed. “If it’s any consolation to you, Marley, I’m fairly certain that if I’m dragging you to your death than I’m also dragging us to ours as well.”
“Well I know that makes me feel better,” Tomas said snippishly.
“I thought you weren’t supposed to lie,” Kendril said with a grin.
“Not lies. Sarcasm. Totally different.”
Kendril looked ahead. The entrance to the rocky harbor curved to the right, heading south. Just around that bend, he knew, would be the first glimpse of the town of Redemption.
A tall, fortified manor appeared on the hill as the ship made its way around the bend. It was gray with age, but was still magnificent.
Marley gazed at the large house. “I’d love to be the bloke that lives in that place.”
“The old Ravenbrook estate,” said Kendril tightly. “It’s abandoned now.”
Tomas glanced over at his fellow Ghostwalker. “Ravenbrook?”
Kendril strolled restlessly on the deck, watching the curving harbor entrance restlessly. “One of the two main families that built Redemption. There, you can see the old Ravenbrook saw mill there.”
A large, run-down wooden building had appeared on the hill, just down the slope from the estate. A long, flat grade ran down the hill from the mill to the rocky beach at the water’s edge. The remains of several shacks and wooden buildings clustered around the edges of the grade.
Tomas inclined his head. “What’s that?”
“The old log road,” Kendril said darkly. “That’s where they would move the logs down into the water.”
Tomas arched an eyebrow. “You seem to know a lot about Jothland, Kendril.”
Kendril didn’t respond.
The ship swung to the right. Rain rippled off the gray water of the harbor. Gulls screamed in the whipping wind.
And there was Redemption.
The town itself was up on a large hill that dominated the harbor. It was surrounded by a palisade wall, thick heavy logs with sharpened tops. Tall, round towers were positioned strategically along the wall itself, providing points of defense. The roofs of dozens of buildings were just visible over the top wall. Smoke curled and drifted up from numerous chimneys, dark and gray in the cold air.