She led them through the gatehouse, gesturing at the rickety-looking hut standing on crow’s legs. “Who needs horses? We have the Crow Queen’s hut.”
* * *
In the midst of a lovely dream with bunnies, sunshine, and quiet forest glades, Tasha found herself awakened by a rude banging at her bedroom door. Several expletives raced through her mind before she remembered her situation. She threw off the covers, leaving the warm comfort of her bed, and shuffled to the door, yawning. What little sleep she managed seemed insufficient payment for the effort of moving the hut throughout the previous night.
Opening the door, she revealed Aveline as the source of the banging. Catching a glimpse at Tasha, her friend shook her head. “You look terrible. Are you sure you’re all right to keep going? You haven’t slept all night.”
“I’ll be fine.” She moved past Aveline, closing the door behind her. In the main room of the hut, she saw Torben by the window, Maxim by the door with his arms crossed, and two armored individuals she did not recognize. The knight-captain introduced them as Abigail and Lukas.
Greeting them, Tasha climbed into position above the stump. Ignoring the gasps of astonishment from the newcomers, she closed her eyes and focused on the hut itself. As she established her connection to the land once more and the hut stood ready to move, Tasha’s fatigue faded.
While the hut traveled, she remained aware of conversation occurring around her, but she managed to keep it from distracting her as she guided the hut over hill and dale. She had a vague sense of where the mine lay in relation to Dawnwatch. However, using her connection to the land, she steered the hut to intercept the creeping corruption extending to the east from Curton.
As the morning dragged on and clouds overtook the sun, Aveline retired to Tasha’s private bedroom, and the conversation in the main room lulled. Soon, the others in the hut drifted off to sleep, except for Torben, who maintained his vigil at the window. The next full moon, the Queen, rose the following night. She sensed his anticipation and anxiety at the upcoming event.
In control of his beast, Torben could change forms at will, but the urge would feel strongest during a full moon. She knew he’d be wise to not resist that change, else the next full moon could bring with it an involuntary one.
The clouds grew darker as the day progressed. She stopped a few times to allow her passengers the opportunity to relieve themselves and stretch their legs, but she encouraged them to keep delays to a minimum. Bad weather promised to make their task more difficult. From stories Tasha heard about previous Crow Queens, she understood she could wield some influence over local weather, but she feared doing so would overtax her in light of what they anticipated facing at the mine.
By the time Tasha and the hut overtook the corruption headed toward the mine, the sun neared the western horizon. She turned the hut to run parallel to the blight. Even though it felt to her like a thick ooze of death and decay, she noted the scourge seemed confined to a relatively narrow path, no wider, perhaps, than a horse-drawn cart. At its current pace, she estimated even if the blight continued moving through the night, it would not arrive at the mine until midday the following day.
Tasha increased the pace at which the hut traveled, passing the edge of the blight as she sped toward the mine. With luck, the draks had already begun excavating the cave. She hoped that, together, they could subdue the abomination long enough for them to expose the rift. In truth, Tasha did not know whether the ritual she studied could close it while it remained buried. She sensed there would be no time to explore that possibility.
With the sun gone and illumination from the King and Queen diminished by thick, rain-laden clouds, the glow from lanterns and fires in the new drak village provided the only indication they had arrived at the mine.
Tasha descended from her levitation spot. “We’re here. We beat the blight and that abomination, so feel free to stretch your legs outside. I’m going to check on the scourge before I talk to the draks.”
Aveline clapped her on the shoulder as she passed. “I’ll take care of apprising the draks.”
Torben stretched. “I’ll get us some fresh meat.”
“I’ll go with you.” Abigail stepped forward. “I’m handy with a bow.”
Torben held up his hand. “I hunt alone. Stay with the others.”
Ignoring her protests, he descended the stairs. Aveline led the others outside, and Tasha sat in front of the basin. She sought out the blight. As she suspected, its pace remained much slower than the hut. It had not yet reached the place where she, Aveline, and Vasco made camp the first time they ventured to the mine on horseback.
Scrying verified the creeping blight had not veered from its course; it headed straight for the mine, or, more properly, the chaos rift within the mine. Attempting to focus more closely on the blight filled her with unease. Its form, although unnatural, felt familiar. The world itself formed from raw chaos eons ago, and, as her research indicated, it would eventually return to chaos. The blight represented an acceleration of that decay; yet, it also possessed the familiar presence of both Koloman and the wizard she’d encountered in the mine. Merely approaching it via scrying caused her to feel as if it left an oily film coating her body that then consumed her skin.
After severing contact, the room spun around her. Fighting a wave of nausea, she clutched the sides of the stump. After steadying herself, she released her grip and went outside. The air, although cooler than it had been during the day, felt laden with the promise of rain.
The group had built a small fire a short distance away from the hut. Tasha saw no sign of either Torben or Aveline.
Maxim rose as she approached. “Ah, Crow Queen. I have to admit, that was a most remarkable journey.”
“It was very taxing.” The warmth of the fire made Tasha want to curl up in bed.
“I hope that Watchman returns with meat before it rains.” Abigail sat near the fire, hammering a dent out of her breastplate.
“He shouldn’t be long. The rain won’t arrive until after midnight.” Tasha paused, unsure of how she knew that.
“He has wicked eyes.” Lukas frowned, accentuating his frightful jowls. “Like a hungry wolf.”
“Torben is one of my closest friends, and I trust him with my life.” Tasha hoped Aveline had not shared Torben’s story with Maxim or his soldiers, and she expected her endorsement, though overstating the nature of their relationship a bit, settled the matter.
“That’s good enough for me.” Maxim glanced at Lukas.
The burly man shrugged. “If he fights with us, I don’t care what he looks like.”
“When Aveline returns, please have her come up to my room. The rest of you can sleep in the main room. I’m sorry there isn’t more space; I don’t have the energy to reconfigure the hut right now.”
“Aren’t you going to eat?” Abigail gestured at the fire. “You need your strength.”
“There’s food in the larder. Tell Aveline she can raid it to supplement whatever meat Torben returns with. I’m going to sleep now.”
It took significant effort not to stumble up the stairs. Every step upward felt encumbered by a ball and chain. Her vision blurred as she forced her eyes to remain open. She shut the door to her room as soon as she passed through the doorway, falling into bed as exhaustion took her.
Chapter 66
Aveline returned from her meeting with the drak elders to find Maxim sitting with Lukas and Abigail on the opposite side of the fire from Torben. The haunch of an animal suspended above the fire, hissed, spitting fat as it roasted.
“Ah, Lady Aveline.” Maxim gestured at the cooking meat. “Fresh mutton. It shan’t be long now. Your friend here wouldn’t tell us where the rest of the sheep went.
She glanced at Torben. The dancing firelight reflected in his amber eyes. “Hm, I wonder.”
Torben met her gaze, then returned his attention to the fire.
Maxim cleared his throat. “The Crow Queen wants to see you in her room. Sh
e said to help yourself to the larder to supplement this fine meal.”
“Fine. The draks have begun excavating, but they don’t think they’ll finish by tomorrow afternoon, even if they go all night, which they’re reluctant to do.” Aveline watched the flames dance under the haunch. The aroma of rendering mutton fat made her mouth water. “I’ll be back shortly.”
Aveline entered the hut. She knocked on the door to Tasha’s room. Upon hearing no response, she cracked the door open. She found her sprawled across the bed. After closing the door behind her, Aveline sat on the edge of the bed.
She shook the Crow Queen’s shoulder gently. “Tasha. You wanted to see me?”
Groaning, the Crow Queen opened one eye. “Oh good, you’re back.” She stifled a yawn, inciting Aveline to do the same.
“Torben brought back a mutton haunch. The others are puzzled about where the rest of the sheep is. I assume he ate it.”
Tasha sat up, nodding. “Probably. Feel free to get more food from the larder. There’s bread, cheese, fruit, even ale, I think.”
“We will, thanks. Do you want me to bring you anything?”
“No.” Shaking her head, Tasha yawned again. “I need sleep. That abomination will be here sometime tomorrow afternoon. I’d like you to stay here with me when you’re finished eating. Make sure I’m up not too long after dawn. What’s going on with the draks?”
Aveline rubbed the back of her neck. “They’ve started work, but it’s slow going. It’s going to be here before they’ve exposed the rift, I think.”
“That’s unfortunate. I’ll see if there’s something I can do in the morning. I’m just too tired right now, Aveline.”
She put her hand on Tasha’s shoulder. “You’ve done plenty for now. Sleep. I’ll be in soon.”
Leaving her friend to her well-earned rest, Aveline returned to the fireside with two loaves of bread, a handful of fruit, and bottles of ale for all. While they ate, Aveline told them about her previous experience at the mine. She included her capture at the hands of the wizard’s minions, but she omitted the part about Therkla’s aggression toward her.
Mutton juices streamed into Maxim’s beard. After wiping his mouth, he waved a bone at Aveline. “What happened to this oroq woman? And the Watchman she was with? They seem like they would have been useful companions now.”
“They returned south before I knew we needed to come here.” Aveline remained uncertain she would have hired them to help, especially since Maxim regarded his assistance as a duty. “The woman, at least, joined the oroq expedition west, to find Ankor, I think. I don’t know what became of Aerik.”
“What about you?” Abigail nodded at Torben. “Do you know the Watchman’s whereabouts?”
“How would I know?” Torben glowered. “Do you think we’re all acquainted down in the Four Watches?”
Abigail looked away, licking her fingers. “I guess it was a foolish question.”
“What more can you tell us of this abomination that’s destroying the land?” Maxim tossed his bone into the fire before reaching for a nearby loaf of bread.
“I can’t tell you what it is, exactly. Koloman swelled up, burst open, and the flesh melted off his bones. From the mess, this… thing rose. It grew two heads before it liquefied and ate through the stone floor of the jail cell. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen. Tasha says it’s all related to the chaos rift. Anything can happen.” Aveline shuddered at the memory.
“Can it spray acid on us? Or fire?” Lukas reclined against a stump, his fingers laced across his belly.
“Maybe. I don’t know.” Aveline sighed. “I can’t tell you what the possibilities are when they are literally endless.”
“It matters not.” Maxim thrust out his chin. “We are two knights of Etrunia and three more accomplished warriors. Along with the Crow Queen, I’m confident we will be victorious.”
Aveline hoped Maxim had not misplaced his confidence.
* * *
Tasha slept from utter exhaustion, never noticing when Aveline returned and crawled into bed next to her. She only became aware of the world again when her friend shook her gently the following morning. At once, she became conscious of the rain pounding on the roof of the hut.
She rolled out of bed on the opposite side from Aveline. “It’s going to be a quagmire out there.”
“We’ll deal with it.” Aveline pulled on her tunic and breeches. “You’ll need your strength for the rift and that thing that’s coming.”
After freshening up a bit and dressing, Tasha and Aveline joined the others in the main room of the hut. Abigail, moving beside Torben at the window, gazed at the deluge.
“I don’t suppose the rain will keep that thing away?” Aveline retrieved several cured sausages from the larder. After cutting each in half, she distributed the meat among the six of them.
“I doubt it.” Tasha peered into the basin, focusing her mind on the abomination that was Koloman. After taking a moment to get her bearings, she noticed with dismay its proximity to the mine. “It looks like it kept moving all night, and it’s awfully close now. Much closer than I expected.”
She looked up from the basin. “We need to get busy.”
They scrambled to finish their meal while Tasha moved the hut in front of the cave behind the mine. Once she settled the hut in position, they entered the downpour, joining the draks who excavated the entrance. Tasha observed their progress, but it was precious little. The air filled with the clank-clank-clank of draks attacking fallen rocks with pickaxes. Other draks collected small pieces, and, after loading them into baskets, they carried them away. Still others, using axes to shape deadfall, reinforced the tunnel extending into the hillside. The troupe of humans sheltered in the entrance, briefly escaping from the pelting precipitation.
“I hate fighting in the rain.” Abigail scowled, making a rude gesture toward the sky.
“I love it.” Lukas swung his maul in a practice arc. “Things go further in mud.”
A drak approached them, his white scales glistening like ice in the rain. “I am Klatt the Younger, my sire put me in charge of the excavation. I’m sorry, Crow Queen, we’ve worked through the night, but we just can’t move enough of these rocks. We’ll be digging another week at least.”
“I don’t think that thing is going to wait a week, Tasha.” Aveline held her shield over her head, allowing the rain to pour off it behind her.
Tasha felt the mud and grass squish between her toes. “I didn’t want to try this because I’ve never done it, but perhaps the Earth Mother can help me move this debris out of the way. Klatt, please order all your people to a safe distance. Aveline, help them. Make sure they’re not in the direct path of the blight, if you can. And be wary, other creatures may emerge from the rift; it’s the only way chaos beasts can enter this world. They’ll be drawn to it from the other side.”
She wiggled her toes, digging them deeper into the muddy earth. Spreading her arms, she closed her eyes. Tasha warned her birds to stay as far away as possible. She visualized the collapsed cave before her. The life-force of the draks beaconed as they scurried away from the worksite. She waited until they joined Aveline and the others at the far side of the hut.
Besides earth and mud, piles of granite boulders the size of livestock blocked the rift. The fissure’s ever-shifting presence thrummed in the foreground of her perception, as if beckoning her forward. She felt the abomination that was Koloman approaching. Not quite to the grove where she waited with the horses the first night, but close.
While unsure where to start at first, Tasha remembered two things capable of breaking rocks given time: water and roots. She could do nothing with water. Roots, however, pervaded the area. Trees in the forest surrounding the mine were old, and their roots ran deep. Grasses, shrubs, and bushes also bore roots which could aid her.
She visualized the roots as fingers, curling around the rocks and earth that blocked her way. Resisting her at first, the roots soon became accustomed to her touch
and submitted to the power behind it. Roots of shrubs and young trees writhed their way deeper into the earth around her path. Roots of older trees surrounded the boulders.
A scream of primal rage filled her consciousness. Lights shimmered in her mind, like the play of colors on oil-slicked water. The abomination, too, felt her power. Understanding her purpose, it passed through the campsite where she and Aveline had stayed during that first trip to the mine. Trees blackened and withered at the abomination’s touch, transforming healthy, full-grown timbers into decaying stumps. Tasha felt the world itself howl in anguish.
Cresting the hill overlooking the mine, the abomination, tempted by the small village of draks, changed course. Tasha redoubled her efforts, reaching out to it.
That’s not me. If you want to stop me, you have to come here. Straight here, not around the mountain.
Without knowing if it could hear her thoughts or even understand her, she continued taunting it. Just before making contact with the first hut, it veered off.
Suddenly, the earth shuddered as it split above the chaos rift.
The roots weren’t deep or strong enough yet to fully excavate the land obscuring her objective. She urged them to work faster.
Mustering enough energy to interrupt her focus, Tasha shouted, “It’s here!”
Chapter 67
“What is she doing?” Scowling, Abigail regarded Tasha standing motionless in the rain.
“Crow Queen stuff.” Aveline trusted Tasha, but she’d be hard-pressed to explain Tasha’s methods to anyone.
“Can you not feel it?” Torben gazed at Tasha. Water streamed down his face, dripping off his beard. “She calls upon the Earth Mother to rend the earth and expose the rift.”
“I just hope she has enough left to close it when she’s finished.” Aveline glanced at the collapsed cave opening, searching for a sign of movement before returning her gaze to her friend.
From where they waited, the landscape appeared unaffected by Tasha’s efforts, no matter how long they observed her. Water droplets pinged off Aveline’s armor and shield, a constant high-pitched drumming accented by the occasional rumble of thunder.
Summer of Crows Page 48