Light Chasers (The World of Lasniniar Book 0)

by Jacquelyn Smith

  — Chapter Twenty-Five —

  Following the Trail

  Iadrawyn hated the dark lands. Their wrongness ate at her like a disease, sometimes making her physically ill. She hid it from her companions as much as possible. They had enough to worry about without adding another complication. She was the only one who could lead them to the Quenya. She reminded herself of this every time she went off to retch the meager contents of her stomach in whatever cover she could find.

  Daroandir sensed something was wrong. He gave her the privacy she needed, but watched her with concern in his eyes. Lodariel was too focused on protecting her charges from outside harm to sense anything amiss. Valanandir was too wrapped up in himself to notice anything.

  He had been withdrawn since they had been dropped off by Malarin. Iadrawyn sensed he was struggling to contain a growing fury. If she were not overwhelmed by her own weakness, she would have approached him about it, but it was all she could do to get herself through each passing day.

  Malarin had dropped them off on the southern coast, as close to the mountains as she could manage without being detected. The flight had been wondrous. To be in the sky, weaving through the clouds was intoxicating, even in the permanent gloom that covered the land. Now they traveled through the mountains, leaving the cracked plains of the Pelo Goro behind. Iadrawyn hoped they had brought enough water to reach their destination. They had yet to find any sources of fresh water, and even if they did, Iadrawyn was unsure whether it would be fit to drink. This land was poison.

  Chilled by a sudden fear she could not name, Iadrawyn threw herself onto the rocky ground, pulling Daroandir with her. She heard cursing and scrabbling as Valanandir and Lodariel did the same. They crawled to lie beside her.

  For several long moments, nothing happened. Iadrawyn lay completely still atop a rough outcropping in the path, her mouth dry with foul dust. The jagged mountains loomed overhead like the teeth they were named for, making her feel as though she were inside an enormous, gaping maw. Her heart hammered in her chest.

  Huge, dark shadows came out of the mountains in the west to loom overhead. The giant black creature leading them was unmistakable: Nargaz. Beside her, Iadrawyn could feel Valanandir shaking. She reached out to squeeze his hand.

  Showing no fear, Lodariel crawled on her stomach to the edge of the narrow path they were traveling to look down on the main pass below. She looked over her shoulder at the rest of them and silently beckoned them to join her. Doing her best to ignore the threat from overhead, Iadrawyn slithered forward to the edge. Although she knew they were only four elves in nondescript gray cloaks, she felt horribly vulnerable.

  Elbow to elbow with Lodariel, Iadrawyn gripped the rock at the edge of the path and peered over. Far below them, another shadow was moving. Her eyes narrowed. An army of drakhalu marched below. Whatever long-term plans Vlaz and Nargaz had for the Quenya, they had set aside their differences to respond to the elven invasion of their homeland. It was exactly as Valanandir had planned. The dark creatures had taken the bait, leaving only a token defense behind. She tried not to think about how many lives it would cost for their plan to succeed.

  Iadrawyn couldn’t say how long they waited for the army to pass. Under the sunless sky, it seemed like an eternity. There could be no doubt the dark creatures planned to annihilate the elves and their dragon allies. The invading force was paltry by comparison.

  Once the shadows in the sky moved to the east and the pass below them cleared, Iadrawyn stood, brushing herself off. A sense of urgency overtook her. They must find the Quenya. Every moment of delay meant countless lives would be lost. She looked back at her companions.

  “Come,” she said. “It is time to go.”

  “Is there no way we can warn the others?” Lodariel asked, looking eastward.

  “They knew it would come to this,” Valanandir said. His expression was grim. “We have done all we can. We must take this opportunity while we have it.”

  “But—”

  “Even if one of us went to give warning, it would come too late,” Valanandir said. “Do you trust your own warriors so little?”

  “I would never leave you, but it’s hard knowing the largest battle Ralvaniar has ever seen will be waged without me there to oversee it.” Lodariel sighed. “You are right. We should go.”

  They turned westward and continued on their way with Iadrawyn in the lead. She followed the faint tug of the Quenya. The presence of the Levniquenya in her pack seemed to make it stronger. The closer they got, the more powerful it became. Before it had only been a vague sensation, like the heat of the sun through the clouds on an overcast day, but now it was a magnet, drawing her like a scrap of metal. The others followed her without question.

  How long had they been walking? Iadrawyn did not know. With no sun or moon, the world was a timeless void. They rested only briefly, driven by the urgency of the battle taking place to the northeast. How many had already died? How many could still be saved?

  They were stumbling along the narrow path when Iadrawyn noticed the mountain looming before them. It was Hamadi Glaurinu, the peak where Nargaz and his minions made their lair. Now that she had a clear line of sight, Iadrawyn knew this was their destination.

  “The Quenya lies there.” She pointed in the mountain’s direction.

  Valanandir frowned. “Are you certain? I would have thought that Vlaz would keep it in his caverns.”

  “Now that we’re so close and we are through the mountains, there can be no doubt,” she said.

  “Could it be a trick? Is there any way the dark creatures could have created a false trail for you to follow, using the power of the Quenya?” Iadrawyn did not like the hungry look in Valanandir’s eyes as he spoke.

  “The dark creatures could not have known we were coming,” Lodariel said. “It’s unlikely to be a trap.”

  “I also doubt they were able to do much more with the Quenya than create the darkness,” Daroandir added. “We still don’t know how they did it, but it must have been difficult. Otherwise, they would not have hesitated to use the Quenya against us again in some other way.”

  Valanandir sighed. “Very well. Hamadi Glaurinu it is then.”

  Descent from the mountains was treacherous on the small path they were traveling. It took all Iadrawyn’s concentration to make sure her footing was sound before each step. By the time they reached the bottom, they were covered with a grimy sweat and were short of breath. Strands of Iadrawyn’s hair stuck to her face. She had long since managed to ignore them.

  The next stage would be much more dangerous. The scorched plain ringing the mountain held no cover. It was a wide expanse of cracked and pitted earth. Nothing grew here. Iadrawyn fought down another wave of nausea at the sense of sickness coming from the earth. She took a small swallow from her waterskin, hoping she still had enough to complete the journey. There was still no water to be seen.

  The mountains loomed in an ominous, ragged circle around the plain. Between their group and the large mountain at the center, it felt as though there were countless unseen eyes watching the barren ring of land. For several moments, no one moved. They huddled close, waiting for their breath and courage to return. The pure silence of the area was chilling. Not a single bird or beast roamed these lands. There was no mistaking the signs that they had entered predator territory.

  A rumble and flicker of fiery light from the east startled them into movement. The skies were calm. This was not the result of any storm; it was dragon fire. The two armies had met and the battle had begun. Iadrawyn stumbled into the open, the others falling in line behind her. They had to keep moving.

  Iadrawyn focused on moving one foot in front of the other, pushing her fear into the background. Her world narrowed to the space on the ground directly in front of her. No one spoke.

  As much as she kept expecting it, no alarm was raised as they trudged across the naked plain. The dark creatures must have emptied the area, just as the elves had. But even the dark drag
ons had hatchlings. Doubtless they would be protected by those who were considered unfit for battle. Even a wounded or elderly dragon wasn’t something she cared to face, particularly in their own lair. They would have to cross that bridge when they got to it.

  With each step Iadrawyn took, the pull of the Quenya became even stronger. When she wanted to collapse in exhaustion, it was that radiating sense of presence that pushed her to keep going. She couldn’t say how much time had passed when the ground in front of her suddenly sloped upward. Dazed, she blinked and looked up. They had reached the base of Hamadi Glaurinu.

  Iadrawyn felt a small surge of relief as she wiped her damp brow. They had managed to approach their target undetected. Whether they could infiltrate the mountain without raising alarm might be another story. She looked to the others, who were only a few steps behind. Lodariel and Daroandir wore similar exhausted expressions, their faces streaked with gray dust. Iadrawyn’s gaze roved past them to the empty plain that stretched behind them. Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach.

  Valanandir was gone.