“Here is where I first saw the rat.” He took the rat out of his pocket and placed it on the floor. It looked around, sniffing at the air, and then ran for a small crack at the base of the wall. Brelt walked over and knelt by the wall, bowing his head in concentration. Reyga could do nothing except wait.
*****
Lenai wrinkled her nose as they stepped out of the portal. The stench of death still hung in the air, even a month after the battle. It wasn't overpowering, but it was unmistakably present.
The odor brought memories of that day's events flooding through her mind. The Shanthi charge, and then their retreat after the Manarachs began using trapsilk to snare the invisible warriors. Seeing the ground crumble and disappear in front of them as they ran. She had been far enough away that she was in no danger of falling, but she had watched as familiar faces disappeared over the edge. Then, after that, realizing through the Bond that Jason was facing Bodann, and leaving the Shanthi contingent to race to his aid. She had arrived just in time to catch him before he fell into the pit Bodann had prepared for him. She never told him how close it had been.
Those memories led to more, the worst ones of that day. The image of Bodann running Jason through with his blade still upset her. And then, feeling his life slip away between her fingers as she tried to staunch the stream of blood from the wound. And yet, even with death reaching out to him, he still managed to heal Seerka, who had taken a blast of power intended for Gatlor. Actions such as that made the Bond a much less onerous burden than it could have been.
Carys stepped through and the portal winked out of existence. Lenai turned to her. “We will set up your camp just inside the tree line.” She scanned the immediate area, noting landmarks to guide them back. “Once we complete our mission, we will return here. If we have not returned within a sixday, tell Loremaster Reyga what has taken place.”
She motioned to Dokru, Sura, and Vashni. “Help her set up camp while Naruk and I check the battlefield.” They nodded and moved toward the trees with the apprentice.
She and Naruk made their way to the top of a small rise where they could survey the plain. As they crested the ridge, the breeze brought a fresh burst of the smell of decaying flesh.
Naruk coughed. “Pah! You would think the smell would have gone away by now.”
Although she did not answer, Lenai agreed that she would have expected the odor to have dissipated by now as well. It probably would have, were it not for the fresh kills littering the ground. From where they stood, she could see the gaping chasm that had swallowed her brother and so many others. It would be a simple matter to cross the plain to the pit. Or it would have been, except for what lay between them and their goal.
“This complicates matters,” Naruk said.
The remains from the battle had drawn scavengers, which had, in turn, lured hungry predators in search of food. Beja cats roamed the battlefield, picking at what was left of the bodies. Rippers swooped down and tore away shreds of flesh, launching themselves back into the air before the feline hunters could catch them. Occasional fights broke out between the cats and sandbarbs, teeth and claws against pincers that could cut a man in two and poisonous blades of bone at the end of twin slashing tails.
A large depression in the ground not far from the chasm showed that a pit demon had even been attracted by the array of potential meals that had gathered. As they watched, a tentacle whipped up and snatched a low-flying ripper out of the air, dragging the screeching avian under the sand. Yes, this definitely complicated matters.
“We may not be able to cross,” Naruk said.
“I will.” Lenai turned and walked back toward the camp. She would find a way to get to the pit. The others could go back if they chose. She would not quit until she had found Kelsu.
The others had just finished unpacking the last of the supplies when they walked up.
“So,” Sura said, “are we ready for a stroll across the sand and a jump into a pit from whence we may not return?” His tone was light, but she knew his words were only half spoken in jest.
“The stroll may be more dangerous than the jump,” Naruk answered. “We will not be alone on the plains.”
They looked at Lenai, questioning. She nodded. “The remains from the battle have attracted beja cats, sandbarbs, and rippers,” she said. “There is also a pit demon nearby.”
“How large?” Vashni asked.
“Large enough,” Lenai answered.
“Will we be able to get to the pit?” Sura asked.
Naruk looked at Lenai before answering. “It will be hazardous,” he said finally, when she did not answer. “The slightest misstep and we may end up as meals for the beasts.”
She had being going over possible strategies as they talked. Only one seemed viable. “We will have to cross the plain at night, while the creatures sleep.”
“The Grithor will be more likely to be active on the surface during the night,” Sura said. “Darkness would give them the upper hand should we be discovered.”
“I did not say it would be easy!” Lenai snapped. “If you are afraid, have Carys make you a portal back to our village.” Before the sound of her words died, she regretted her outburst.
Sura bristled. “I said nothing of fear,” he said. “I merely point out the need for caution.”
“I know,” she said. “Forgive me. I am merely frustrated at the obstacles between us and Kelsu. To be so close. It is as if fate is laughing at us. Laughing at me.”
No one spoke for a moment. Then Vashni stepped forward and placed a hand on Lenai’s shoulder. “Let your mind be at ease. Together we will overcome any obstacles fate lays before us,” she said.
“Aye,” Naruk nodded. “A pit demon shield would make a fine addition to my gear I think.”
Sura laughed. “Only if you get to it before I do.”
She had to smile. At this moment, she could think of no one among her people that she would rather have with her than these.
“Very well,” she said. “We will wait for darkness, and then we will free my brother.”
*****
“They are here? Beneath our very feet?” Brin asked.
“Apparently,” Reyga answered. “Delani believes Regor may have created their cell somewhere in the rock below Lore’s Haven for the sole purpose of holding them.”
The remaining members of the Circle had gathered in Seryn’s chambers. If Regor knew of the friendship between him and Jason, he did not want to risk the Shadow Lord finding them in his quarters since the Altered would be more likely to look there than here.
“How do we free them?” Seryn asked.
“Before we can make the attempt, we must determine more precisely where they are. We also need to speed the evacuation of the Haven. Regor will not be happy if we are successful in rescuing them. I do not want any more people remaining here than must be. Some will pay the price for our defiance. I wish it were not so, but I see no way to avoid it.”
“And their power is ineffective?” Jarril asked.
“It would appear so,” Reyga said.
“Then how do we know our power will be of any use?”
“We do not. But I am not content to simply wait here for Regor’s pleasure.”
“Agreed,” Brin seconded with a firm nod. “It also may be that the stone will respond to my power where it would not to theirs.”
“So what do we do now?” Seryn asked.
“For now,” Reyga said, “we continue to wait. In the morning, after Delani has rested, Brelt and I will attempt to determine more closely where they are being held. The rest of you need to begin preparing to leave the Haven. Pass the word to the people that they need to prepare to leave quickly at a word from us.” He turned to Brin. “If you would, please speak with Captain Gatlor. Have him prepare his warriors to abandon the keep at our signal.”
“To where?” Brin asked.
“For now, tell them to go to the original rally point at the edge of the Scorched Plains. Amethyst saiken
should go with them. Once there, they need to break into groups and take shelter in the woods as best they can. Make sure each group has a saiken and a hawk with them. They will need to be able to watch for any sign from us.”
“And where will we be?” Jarril asked.
“At the moment, I do not know,” Reyga said. “But if we know where they are, we will be able to go to them if and when we need.”
*****
“Well, well. And how are we today, my dear?”
Nyala didn't look up. She sat on what passed for a floor in this place, head down, thinking about what the Altered could be doing to Teleria. She'd known it would only be a matter of time before Regor came to gloat. If he expected her to beg to be released, he would be disappointed.
“What? No words of welcome for your husband?”
She did look at him then. His shadowy disguise was gone. This place where they had imprisoned her prevented them from holding their Altered appearances. There were no walls here, no ceiling. Only an endless expanse of pure white light. A mocking smile twisted his lips as he waited for her answer. That expression used to anger her. Now she felt nothing at all.
“The man I married is gone,” she said. “He doesn't exist anymore.”
He put a hand to his heart and pretended to stagger. “Ah, you wound me!” Then he folded his arms across his chest. “You know, you have only yourself to blame for this.”
“Myself. And why is that?”
“You could have simply stepped aside. We weren't forcing you to join us, merely to stand aside and not interfere. But when you decided to challenge our plans, you left us no choice.”
“There is always a choice,” she said. “You choose to pretend to be gods to these people, and I choose to oppose you.”
“And this is the result of that choice.”
“How many have already died because they refused to bow down to you and the others?”
“You know as well as I do that in any major shift in power there will be casualties. It's inevitable.”
“You act as if it doesn't matter that people have died. Probably even some by your own hand.”
“I still don't understand why it matters to you. What difference is it to you what we do? We're not asking you to do it.”
"Because we were like them once! We were human once. If it hadn't been for that rift we would have stayed that way.”
“The rift? Oh, let's be honest here, shall we? Don't you mean your technology?”
She ducked her head as sudden tears blurred her vision. He still knew how to use words like knives. She couldn't even deny it because he was right. If she hadn't developed the technology used in the war, none of this would have happened. Her grand idea that had started out so promising only to be turned into a nightmare by their leaders. Right or not though, she wasn't about to let him know how deeply his words had pierced her. She blinked away the tears before raising her head.
“We shouldn't have survived. It was only because of the power that came through the rift that we did.”
“My point exactly!” He took a deep breath and lowered his voice. “How can you not see it? Fate intended for us to be this way. Just think, out of all of the millions of people on Teleria, only we seven were chosen.”
“Chosen? Fate? More like misfortune. I'm not the one who isn't seeing here. All the power in the world doesn't mean anything if you lose everything that's important to you, if you lose your soul.”
“I haven't lost anything.”
She shook her head slowly as she looked at him. “Haven't you?” It was pointless arguing with him, but she had to try. “Think back before the war. Back to when we were first married. Would that man agree with what you're doing now? Would he agree with what you've done to me?”
“That man didn't have the capacity to understand the implications of a change like this. He couldn't see past tomorrow, much less a millennia. He was too blinded by love to consider the bigger picture.”
“Blinded by love. And now?”
“My eyes have been opened. Yours could be too if you would just accept that there's nothing you can do to stop us.”
“If there's nothing I can do, why keep me in here? Why not let me go?”
The twisted smile reappeared. “Why, to give you time to open your eyes, of course. But even if I wanted to release you, which I don't, I couldn't. When we created this place, we created it so that it would take two Altered to set you free.”
“Are you afraid that I might not be the only one who disagrees with you?”
“Of course not, but I also don't underestimate your powers of persuasion. This way, you would have to convince two of us to set you free, and I'm afraid I don't see that happening.” He squatted down in front of her. “Do yourself a favor and stop living in the past. The world you're mourning has been dead for fifteen centuries. The Altered rule Teleria now, and there's nothing you, or Jason Bennett, or the Circle can do about it.”
Then she was alone, with only his parting words echoing in her mind. As she thought about their conversation, a tiny seed of anger took root deep inside her soul, growing steadily and blossoming with promises of a quick harvest.
“Don't be so sure,” she said into the silence.
Family Ties
Lenai watched the glow coming from behind the distant mountain range to the east, willing it to grow stronger. The night had dragged on longer than she would have thought possible. After what seemed an eternity, the sun sent a gleaming ray streaming between the lowest peaks. Soon they would make their descent into the pit, hopefully to return with Kelsu.
Irritation with Naruk still grumbled around in the back of her mind. They had made the crossing without incident, and she had been ready to enter the Grithor tunnels at first light. Then Naruk insisted on scouting the tunnels by himself first, before all five of them went in. The only weapon she could use to argue against his proposal was her own impatience, and even she knew that was not a good enough reason to go in blind.
Her annoyance was not because of his plan. In any other situation, she would have suggested the same thing. It was because he had not returned until the sun was almost touching the horizon, which meant they would have to wait through yet another night before going in. Thoughts of Kelsu on the verge of death tormented her, even though she knew they were only the products of her fears. Knowing that did nothing to ease her mind. The wait also gave her time to think about the emptiness caused by Jason's absence. Between the two, she knew she was not thinking as clearly as she should.
She could not argue, however, that Naruk's foray had served no purpose. He returned with valuable information that would speed their way today. He also brought back some articles of Grithor clothing for them to attempt to mask their scent. The Grithor, being dark dwellers, had exceptional senses of hearing and smell to make up for their weak eyes. Although they would not be able to wear the Grithor clothing, as it did not possess the color shifting qualities of Shanthi materials, they could still try to transfer some of the scent from the cloth to their own bodies.
Naruk spoke up behind her. “As the light filters down into the pit, the Grithor will move back into their tunnels, leaving only a couple of sentinels on watch at the tunnel entrances. We should begin making our way toward the edge of the pit to be ready.”
“Does everyone have their gear ready?” Lenai asked.
“We await only your word,” Vashni said, as she, Sura, and Dokru walked up.
Lenai scanned the brightening sky, and then peered over the edge of the pit. In the shadows below, she could still see movement, but it appeared to be going in the general direction of the tunnels at the base of the far wall.
“Very well, let us prepare. Naruk, we need the clothing.”
After wetting the dirty, sweat-stained cloth down to aid with the transfer of the scent, they divided it between them, taking care to wipe it over their exposed skin and on their clothing. She suppressed a cough as she worked. The pungent odor would take some getting used t
o. When they finished, Lenai surveyed the pit again. The increasing light showed that the Grithor had retreated into their tunnels. She could barely make out the sentries standing just inside the entrances. She looked at the others.
“Time to go.”
They matched their coloration to the earthen shades of the plains and made their way down the wall of the pit, moving slowly in order to make as little sound as possible. Lenai tried to ignore the feeling of being exposed. She knew the sentries would not be able to tell them apart from the rock thanks to the light now flooding the pit. Once they reached the bottom, they crept toward the tunnel entrances, keeping close to the side of the pit.
When they were within fifty paces, she signaled for them to stop. Vashni nocked an arrow in her bow while Sura picked up several small rocks. At a nod from Lenai, Sura tossed one of the rocks high into the air so that it landed a few paces from the entrance, with an audible crack. Shortly, one of the sentries poked his face around the corner, his eyes heavily wrapped in dark cloth to block out most of the light. Sura sent another rock sailing so that it bounced down the side of the wall. The guard took another couple of steps into the open. Sura threw again, rolling the rock down the wall a little further from the tunnel. The sentry took a few more steps away from the entrance, looking up at the edge of the pit above, obviously thinking someone was at the top. Once he had moved out of sight of anyone inside, Vashni put her arrow through his heart, dropping him instantly.
Naruk pulled a length of cloth out of his pack and moved quickly over to the dead Grithor. When he got there, he covered the body with the fabric and changed its color to that of the pit floor. Then they moved back and waited.
Before too long, another head poked out of the tunnel. They could see the second sentry sniffing at the air, obviously able to smell the first, but unable to see or hear him. Sura lifted his arm to toss another rock, but Lenai motioned for him to wait. The sentry seemed nervous. She was afraid he might retreat into the tunnel and return with reinforcements if they made a wrong move. She hoped the silence and absence of the other sentry would pull him into the open.
Altered Intentions Page 6