Embers at Galdrilene

by Audra Trosper

  “I thought it was supposed to be quiet away from the city,” grumbled Kellinar.

  The constant hum and chirps of night bugs filled Serena’s ears. “I guess insect sounds aren’t supposed to count.”

  She heard him shift restlessly in the dark. “Why does it feel like we’re being watched?”

  “I think it’s just the dark. I never realized how much light the lamp posts put out.”

  “It’s as dark as dragon scales is what it is. I can’t see a flaming thing out here.”

  She rolled over and pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders. “Well, maybe that’s a good thing. If we can’t see anything, then no one can see us either, right?”

  “Maybe.”

  The sharp cries and howls of a pack of coyotes echoed somewhere in the distance. Sleep was going to be a long time coming.

  After leaving the cluster of towns near the walls of Trilene, the road ran alongside open fields. In many of these, horses pulled heavy iron plows while the farmer worked to hold the handles and keep it going straight. Kellinar watched with interest when they passed them. It looked like a difficult way to make a living.

  They walked into a tiny village as the sun set on their fifth day of travelling. The road ran straight through the middle and they shared it with only the local people, none of whom turned more than a curious eye on the strangers. A tiny inn sat on the far edge of the village. Only a single story building with a thatched roof, it couldn’t hold more than half a dozen rooms.

  Kellinar glanced at Serena. “Do you want stay at the inn for the night?”

  “It would be a lot nicer than the bushes.”

  “Do you think it’s safe?”

  She shrugged. “We haven’t seen a single Keeper since we left. A night in a bed and a plate of hot food would be wonderful. At some point we have to stop somewhere, it might as well be here.”

  They crossed a wide porch and walked through the door. Three long tables took up one side of the small, main room. The inn couldn’t possibly house as many guests as could sit at the tables. The locals probably gathered here on a regular basis. In the warmth of the afternoon, no fire burned in the large stone hearth behind the tables, though fresh wood for the evening was already stacked in it.

  A man with short gray hair and a web of fine lines on his face walked into the room. “What can I do for you?”

  Kellinar smiled. “We need rooms for the night and a meal.”

  The man’s eyes flicked to Serena and back again. “Rooms?”

  Kellinar heard the emphasis on the plural in the innkeeper’s question and guessed the confusion. He probably thought Serena to be Kellinar’s wife or lover. “Yes, rooms. Thank you.”

  The innkeeper glanced at Serena again and cleared his throat. “Of course, right this way.” They followed him through the main room and around the corner to a hallway that ran the length of the building. In one direction, six doors lined one side of the hall. The other direction looked like it led to the kitchen. The innkeeper gave him a room midway down the hall and Serena the one right next door.

  Kellinar set the bag with his extra knives and change of clothes on the floor. He glanced at the narrow bed. The mattress didn’t look lumpy; hopefully it wouldn’t be hard as a board. He walked to the small table, poured a little water from the pitcher into the wash basin, and rinsed the dust of travel from his hands and face.

  Once back in the main room, he stopped to pay the innkeeper for their stay. With the account settled, he joined Serena at a table where a middle aged woman served them their meal and pitcher of spiced wine. Only three other people occupied the room and the two of them had one long table to themselves.

  Kellinar ate the thick vegetable stew and heavy dark brown bread with relish. It was a welcome change from the cheese and pita bread. While he ate, he listened idly to the conversation between the innkeeper and one of the patrons. As he sopped up the last of the liquid in his bowl with the bread, the word ‘Keepers’ caught his attention.

  He pretended total concentration on soaking up every bit of liquid while he eavesdropped on the conversation. A brief glance at Serena showed him she had heard it too. She stiffened slightly, her hand frozen part way to her mouth. He tapped her foot with his own and gave a slight shake of his head. She finished putting the food in her mouth, her eyes on the stew in her bowl.

  “He escaped is what I heard,” the innkeeper said.

  “Why would anyone want to escape? If it was me, I would be running for the gallows. Gives me chills just thinking about something like that.” The other man shivered.

  The innkeeper bobbed his head. “I agree. No way would I want to live with that.”

  The serving woman passed by and Kellinar heard her hiss at the innkeeper, “Arivin, what are you doing discussing such things in the main room? You should know better.”

  Arivin shifted uneasily under her scowl. “It’s not just me. The pigeon came in less than an hour ago. The whole village is talking about it.”

  “It still doesn’t make it proper main room conversation. We have guests and I doubt they want to hear about it.” She turned before the innkeeper could answer and stalked away.

  Arivin looked at Kellinar and Serena. “I apologize. She’s right. I shouldn’t be disturbing your evening with that kind of talk. You have no need to worry about escaped magic users. We wouldn’t let such as them in here.”

  Kellinar resisted the urge to ask the man how he would know if he had a magic user under his roof. He finished the spiced wine in his cup slowly. Someone watched them. He set the cup down and looked carefully around the room. No one appeared to be looking in his direction.

  The feeling passed only to be replaced by a familiar itch between his shoulder blades. The same instincts that had always kept him just ahead of trouble, now screamed at him to get out of the inn. The hum in his mind quieted as if it waited to see what would happen.

  Serena wiped her bowl with the last of her bread and popped it into her mouth. He looked at her and whispered, “We need to leave. Now.”

  Her eyes filled with alarm and she started to turn to look around. He caught her wrist. “Don’t.” He glanced toward the door of the inn. That wasn’t the way to go, they needed another way out. “Get up and walk to your room like there is nothing wrong.”

  She studied his face. “Is there something wrong?”

  He gave the barest nod of his head. “I think so.”

  Kellinar followed her when she stood up and walked across the room. The tension in his shoulders eased a little after they rounded the corner and were in the hall. At the far end, a window stood open to let the breeze through. “Get your bag and meet me back here.”

  She didn’t protest or ask questions, she just nodded and disappeared into her room. It only took a moment for Kellinar to grab his bag and step back into the hall. Outside the front of the inn, he heard the sound of horses and men. Serena stepped into the hall and without a word he led her to the window.

  They slipped silently over the low sill and huddled against the wall. He was grateful for the trees and bushes that screened them from view. “Stay here.” He started toward the front of the inn.

  She grabbed his shoulder. “Where are you going?”

  “To see what’s going on.”

  “If we’re in danger, don’t you think it would be best to get as far away as fast as we can?”

  He shook his head. “We have to know what we’re up against.” He flashed her a smile. “Don’t worry so much. I’ll be right back.”

  Kellinar ignored her sigh, the one that said she thought he was a fool and crazy, and if he got caught it was his own fault. It always amazed him how a woman could make such a small sound say so much.

  On hands and knees, he crept through the low bushes and peered around the corner. Five horses stood at the front of the inn. The red and yellow saddle cloths of the Keepers visible even in the fading light. A bead of sweat rolled down his face despite the cool evening. He needed a way to
make sure they weren’t seen. Power pulsed in his mind and body, and he felt the air currents stir around him. He saw the tiny droplets of moisture in the last rays of the sun. Without knowing how, he wove the currents and droplets together, condensing them.

  The power receded and he sat leaning against the side of the inn. What had he done? He wasn’t sure, but he felt as if he had spent the last hour running. Ignoring the sudden exhaustion, he slipped back into the deepening shadows of the bushes and made his way back to Serena.

  “Keepers,” he said in answer to her questioning look. Tendrils of fog rose from the ground. Little wisps at first, they began to grow as they drifted into the night air. Not a dense, heavy fog, yet when combined with the oncoming night, provided a good enough shield.

  Serena looked at the fog as it threaded its way across the ground and began to fill the night. “Where did this come from?” she whispered.

  “I think from me. I did it with my magic.”

  “Won’t this raise their suspicions?”

  He shrugged. “Fog isn’t that unusual this time of year.”

  She followed close behind as he crawled to the rear of the inn. Behind it, they passed a small stable yard they could barely make out through the screen of moisture. The narrow belt of trees and bushes continued along one side of the yard. Under the cover of the fog and the gathering darkness, they crept out into the night. When they were well past the village, they abandoned the trees for the road again.

  Serena glanced back several times even though there was nothing to see. “Do you think they will try to follow us tonight?”

  Kellinar didn’t bother to look back. “No. I’m pretty sure they don’t even know we were there. Most likely they were there for the same reason we were.”

  “I wonder how far they plan on searching.”

  Kellinar shrugged. “It depends. We couldn’t stay there without them recognizing us, but at the same time, our leaving will arouse suspicion.” His eyes strained to see the road in the dark. “When we don’t come to the main room in the morning and our rooms are found empty, the innkeeper might comment on it to the Keepers. Or, he might not.”

  They walked for a while longer before they finally left the road for the trees again. This time they managed to find a place that wasn’t so hard under the bushes and did their best to sleep. Kellinar lay for a long time, feeling the fog against his face. Amazement that he had made it warred with a sick feeling in his stomach. Serena had used her powers for a year unharmed. Was that really proof magic wouldn’t harm him?

  He dozed off and on until the first hint of dawn stained the eastern sky. He couldn’t shake the feeling that someone followed them though he didn’t think it was connected to the Keepers. He woke Serena and they began walking again. They needed to leave the road except he didn’t know where they would end up if they took off across country.

  The feeling of being followed persisted, creating a nervous twist in his stomach. Power built in him again as magic flowed through him and into the air. Not again. He had to get control of this, but he didn’t know how. The air around him came alive. He saw every air current and felt their every movement. He felt their…curiosity?

  They swirled around him, their feather-light touch upon his skin. They streamed out behind him… reaching… searching. He felt them the moment they returned. He glanced at Serena out of the corner of his eye. She didn’t seem to notice the currents. Not even her hair stirred at their light passing.

  This time, as they moved around him, he understood them. Something felt familiar in the information they brought. Whoever followed meant no harm. He looked at Serena again. Should he tell her? It would probably sound ridiculous. He sighed; he couldn’t keep information from her. “Someone follows us.”

  “What?” She spun around so fast she stumbled. He reached out and caught her arm to keep her from falling.

  “Whoever it is, they mean us no harm.”

  A furrow appeared between her eyes. “How do you know? Did you see who it was?”

  He took a deep breath and let go of her arm. “The air currents told me.” Yep, it sounded ridiculous.

  She stared at him for a long moment. “The air currents told you? What air currents, there isn’t even a breeze.”

  He swallowed. “I can feel them. I can…understand them. Do you think I’m crazy?” It sounded crazy to him.

  She shook her head. “No, I think you are finding out more about your magic. Like when you made the fog. An interesting manifestation. Can you still feel them?”

  He ran a hand through his hair and looked around. “No, I can’t seem to control any of it. They were here, all around me, and now they’re gone. I did something with my magic to make the air currents show themselves, but I don’t know what it was.”

  Serena looked back down the road again. “Well, I don’t see anyone. I guess whoever it was will eventually reveal themselves. Even if they don’t intend to hurt us, we should continue putting space between us and those that do.”

  As the sun began to set, a sense of unease once again settled over Kellinar, raising the hairs on the back of his neck. This was different than what he’d felt the night before. He glanced over his shoulder and saw nothing. The empty road stretched out behind them. In his mind, the hum turned to a rumble of warning. “Do you feel something wrong?”

  Serena shivered and looked around. “It’s almost as if we are being followed or watched.”

  “So it isn’t just me?” he asked.

  “No, I feel it, too.”

  He glanced over his shoulder again. A coal black horse walked down the road bearing a rider swathed in a cloak as dark as his mount. Kellinar’s skin tightened as every hair on his body stood on end. Malevolence radiated from the rider as if he carried evil like a banner. Early spring leaves on the trees near the road curled and died as the horse and rider passed. No sound marked the horseman’s approach, no crunch of hooves on gravel, no swish of tail or jingle of bit. The horseman passed beneath the shadow of the trees and in the dimmer light, the horse’s eyes glowed red.

  Kellinar reached out and grabbed Serena’s arm in a tight grip. She started to protest, but stopped when she saw the look on his face. Turning, she followed his gaze. Her eyes widened and fear drained the color from her face. A light breeze ruffled the dark cloak of the figure, revealing a skeletal hand and gleaming eyes that matched those of the horse. She stumbled backward, dragging Kellinar with her. “What is it?” she gasped.

  He only shook his head, unable to take his eyes from the horseman. He barely felt Serena tugging on him as she tried to get him to run. All the while the horseman continued to advance. He watched, in a detached kind of way, while the grasses along the edges of the road turned brown and died. A shiver ran through him.

  The horse stopped a few paces from them. “I am here for you and it would be best if you come willingly. If not, you will have to die. You cannot be allowed to walk this world free. Choose.”

  Kellinar’s heart thundered in his ears and the hum in his mind turned into a deep growl. His breath came in shallow gasps as his chest constricted. The evil that rolled off the horseman made Kellinar’s stomach churn. He had never felt such fear. “I’m not going anywhere with whatever you are.”

  Beside him, Serena shivered. He spared her a brief glance. “Run, Serena. I’ll try to distract it.”

  “Don’t start trying to be a knight in shining armor. Stick to being a thief, it’s what you’re good at,” she said hoarsely.

  The dark rider’s eyes blazed. A skeletal hand extended from the sleeve of its cloak, a black sphere balanced on its open palm. Kellinar froze. The sphere filled his vision–his world–with a silence so thick it pushed away the growl in his mind, smothering the world and him with it.

  With a small cry, Serena turned and bolted down the road. Her action freed him from the paralyzing effects of the sphere and he ran after her. The pounding of his heart echoed in his ears. The sphere still pulled at him, making him feel weak. He ch
anced a look back in time to see the horseman throw a long bladed dagger with its other hand. Serena screamed and fell as it struck between her shoulder blades.

  “Serena!” Kellinar skidded to a halt and dropped to his knees next to her. Blood flowed from around the blade. He tried to stem it with his hands. Looking down the road, he watched the rider advance on them in the same unnatural silence, the sphere still balanced on its palm. Weakness washed over him.

  He stood on shaky legs as the horse drew near. He pulled two of his daggers and braced himself. The sphere was killing him somehow, but the Fates be damned if he wouldn’t take a piece of the rider with him when he died. “Come on you flaming get of a dragon,” he yelled. He tried to reach for his magic, air that threw people would be useful right then, but it kept slipping away.

  A woman riding a huge gray horse charged past him, nearly knocking him from his feet. The gray stopped, standing between him and the dark rider.

  The dark horse came to a stop at a yank from the reins and its rider’s eyes widened in shock. “All these years…you are supposed to be dead.”

  The woman laughed softly. “Is that so? Apparently you have been misinformed. But then, you and the rest of the Benduiren never were well informed were you, Alden.”

  Snarling in rage the dark horseman backed away, his eyes first sweeping both sides of the road, then the sky. The horses circled each other as their riders faced off. Kellinar reached for Serena. He needed to move her before she was stepped on by the horses. Blood ran from her mouth when he rolled her onto her side. His head jerked in surprise when a dark haired man knelt to help him. The man lifted her with ease and carried her to the side of the road.

  The woman spoke again, her voice like velvet covered steel, “These are not for you, Alden. You know this. You may want them; however, they would never do what you require of them. They are above that and beyond you.”