The Quest for the Lost Shards of Power

by F M Andrews

  Eventually the nagging voice inside her head, telling her that she needed all the sleep she could get tonight, became so loud and insistent that she could no longer ignore it. Sighing with regret she sat up straight, still mesmerised by the flames, not really wanting to break the spell. “I suppose I should go to bed, I will need all my wits around me tomorrow. I have a feeling that it is going to be longest day of my life,” she murmured.

  Anssan gave her shoulder a squeeze. “I know it won’t be mine. At least tomorrow I will be able to see you and protect you, but once Errin sends you away to another world, all I will be able to do is worry about you.” He paused, as if stealing himself for something then he turned to face her, looking at her intently. “I will miss you so much that every moment will be purgatory,” he whispered, his sad eyes piercing her heart.

  Suddenly everything come into sharp focus for Hezrill. It was as if a cloud had lifted and she could see clearly for the first time. The thought of never seeing those expressive eyes again put everything in perspective. It hurt. It was a physical pain that gripped her heart tight in a vice. How was it that she had not realised how much this man had come to mean to her?

  Hezrill lifted her hand to gently touch his cheek. “I will be back, and I will expect you to be waiting. I will also expect you to then go and ask my father if you can court me or else I will make your life so bad you will wish I never returned,” she told him sternly, a tremolos smile on her lips. She saw his lips twitch also, in the beginnings of a smile and before she could talk herself out of it she drew him to her and kissed him, so softly, so tenderly, giving herself so totally, lingering just a moment too long before parting; however, in that moment, everything changed forever. For, from that moment on, their two lives would travel a completely different road than they had been travelling before and, she had to admit, she was looking forward to it.

  Tearing herself away from those intense eyes, she stood. “See you tomorrow, then.”

  “Tomorrow, my lady,” he replied with a mock bow and an ecstatic smile.

  #

  The next morning was so cold that the very air sparkled with ice crystals. Everything was crisp and clear. The horizon between the empty, pale blue sky and the snow covered earth was sharply defined and the fresh snow squeaked underfoot. The world was beautiful, so peaceful. Turrin stared out into the wilderness, devoid of life and wondered what today would bring. There was no point dragging their departure out, so after a quick but satisfying breakfast everyone collected their mounts and prepared to ride. Errin had had a fit when Turrin first approached with his horse, dressed and ready to ride but Turrin was prepared. He knew Errin could not deny Lutex anything and had arranged a little countermeasure with the boy earlier. “Oh, no young man! Not this time,” Errin had exclaimed.

  Turrin had looked disappointed but then, drawing Lutex closer, he had played his trump card. “But Lutex asked me especially if I would come and keep him company.” To his credit Lutex put on his best pleading smile that left Errin sputtering.

  Fortunately something else came along that required Errin’s attention just at that moment, and she rushed off to attend to it. Turrin knew that technically she hadn’t said that he could ride out today, but on the other hand, she had not said that he couldn’t, either. He slapped Lutex on the back. “Thanks. I owe you one.” Lutex just shook his head in disbelief as if to say ‘if you are foolish enough to want to come along on this insane journey then I am not going to stop you.’

  At Dissan’s signal, they mounted in silence. Everyone here was used to travelling by now and it was almost routine to be riding out each morning. Silently they juggled themselves into formation, Nyssan in the centre, the seekers, Errin and Turrin surrounding him and the twelve knights chosen for their combat abilities plus Dissan, Anssan and Hexrick on the outside. It was bitterly cold and all were muffled with scarfs, hats, gloves and thick cloaks so it was understandable that the twins were not missed until just before the group began to ride out and Errin conducted a last head count.

  Frustrated disbelief was expressed in many different forms by everyone present. So typical, thought Turrin, never where they should be and never on time. Runners were sent to the twins’ tent but returned empty handed. Other runners, who had been sent to the picket line to see if their horses were there, also returned shaking their heads. Errin was fuming. Word was sent to the sentries to ask if any had seen the girls riding out. Fenrick, who had come to fare them well started muttering under his breath and the phrase “Blasted girls” was repeated often.

  The horses were becoming restless and the tight formation was losing its shape as people moved to talk with each other, all the time scanning the countryside looking for the two errant girls. Errin tapping her hand on her saddle muttered to herself, “I am sure that giving me those two girls to deal with is the universe's idea of a cruel joke. If I could do this without them I would.” Turrin had never heard her so cross. Just when Turrin thought he might go back and grab some more breakfast he heard the sound of galloping horses. Everyone turned to look as two small dark dots could be seen rapidly approaching from the tree line off to the left.

  Dissan gave the signal to reform and when the two grinning girls finally arrived they received a very chilly reception. No one spoke, instead Dissan just pointed to their place in the formation and gave the order to ride out. As usual the girls were not phased at all and continued chatting excitedly to each other as they slotted in between Nyssan and Hexrick. There was a muffled farewell from the small group who had come to see them off, and then, as one, they turned their horses towards the wilderness and rode out.

  Errin moved in closer to the twins and Turrin knew what was going to happen next, he was so glad it was not going to happen to him. Listening intently whilst not appearing to, was a trick he had learned a long time ago and it now became very useful.

  “I am not even going to ask where you were or why you chose this time to go there,” Errin began, glaring at the girls. “But it worries me that you put so little importance on the survival of Feld that you do not take your part in its rescue seriously.” She now had the girls’ full attention and two beautiful, flushed faces turned her way. “Time is running out fast, we do not have enough of it left for you two to hold us up like this. There is no one more annoyed that Feld has to depend on you two than me but I had no choice in the matter and we are stuck with you. The four shards that need to be retrieved, combine to make a single whole which will not work if it is incomplete. If we only recover three shards the mission will have been for nothing, so like it or not, we need you. We will only get one chance to send all five seekers as I am sure my magic will be detected and his attention will be turned this way. With your silly stunt this morning, you could have doomed not only Feld but all the other worlds he has conquered as well.”

  Turrin was shocked, he had never heard Errin so angry. The twins were still staring up at her but now both actually looked upset, their large eyes swam with tears and their chins were trembling. “We…” Ema began, “We didn’t think we had gone so far.”

  “That is your problem,” Errin cut her short. “You don’t think of anyone but yourselves.” Errin was in full flight now and actual tears could be seen tracking down the girls’ rosy cheeks, freezing into small balls of ice on their chins. “I hope for all our sakes that you can grow up enough to take this mission seriously,” Errin snapped. The girls were stunned into silence.

  Errin glared at them a moment longer before turning to stare out into the white world surrounding them. Turrin saw her shoulders rise as she took a deep, steadying, breath and then the anger seemed to leave her and she almost physically appeared to deflate as she turned back to face the girls. “Look, you both have an incredible talent but we need that talent to be focused.” She spoke softly now, sounding tired. “I have faith that you can do what is asked of you as long as you don’t let things distract you. You are both crazy but, I have to admit that, crazy might be just what we need to pull th
is thing off.” She bent down to look both girls intently in the eye. “Promise me you will stay focused for the whole time you are away as, honestly, this is our one and only chance to get this right.”

  Both girls nodded in unison, sniffing.

  “I can ask no more,” Errin finished, smiling sadly.

  Turrin took a quick glance sideways at the girls and noticed they were now both quite subdued, wiping their eyes with the back of their gloved hands. He was impressed. This was the first time that he had seen them contrite and he wondered if Errin had used a tiny bit of her ability to reach into people’s minds to show them the seriousness of their actions. He wouldn’t put it past her.

  There was nothing to mark the moment when they left the protective safety of the boundary but except the sudden lack of trees and bird life.

  Time slid by and they all quietly came to terms with their new world. The wilderness itself was eerily silent. The only noise was the creak of leather, the jingle of metal, the sound of plodding hooves through the snow and the occasional snorting horse. No one was talking, there was not even any wind. The tension began to build as all eyes scanned the wasteland looking for any sign of trouble, but by mid-morning all they had encountered was boredom and cold feet.

  Dissan called a stop at a rocky outcrop to give the horses a break and a feed. Blankets were spread over the rock, food was produced from the saddle bags and water was passed around but no one relaxed. They were in enemy territory now and anything could happen.

  Not long after they had begun to ride again, Errin pointed out a small rise in the distance with the broken ruins of a wall encircling the top, and announced that this was their destination. There were other crumbling ruins scattered across the landscape, as if this had once been a small city but the road lead straight through them like an arrow pointing to the hill crowned with the wall. They said goodbye to Nyssan with the understanding that he would ride towards the hill at their signal, a flag on a lance waved at the gap in the wall, and plodded onwards. It was hard to believe that all their long moons of preparation were just about at an end.

  The moment they moved out of Nyssan’s protective field was immediately obvious. All four of the seekers suddenly gasped at once in surprise. Myssan clutched his saddle as if to steady himself and the twins shared a wide-eyed look, as if neither of them could quite believe just what they were experiencing. Hezrill suddenly sat up straight, sucking in a deep breath, her hand reaching for her heart and Lutex’s smile was so wide it stretched from ear to ear. Even Turrin could detect it – a power, a presence that pervaded everything, that wove itself through the ground, air and even through his soul. If he could feel it, how much more powerful must it be for the seekers? Errin quickly checked to see how all the seekers were handling this invasion of their senses and was rewarded with smiles all round. Opening her arms wide, she flung her head back and shouted. “I had forgotten how wonderful it is to touch the power of the universe. I have missed it so,” she called to the sky, laughing with pure joy.

  Turrin stared at the unassuming mound and thought that it didn’t look very exciting for something that was now going to be part of history. Mind you, he thought, the whole wilderness was very unexciting, really. He took a scan around at the rest of the ruins, underwhelmed. As they rode closer to them, Turrin could see a structure that might have once been a castle made of stone. One wall, two stories high with empty, staring windows still stood but the rest was just a pile of rubble. Imagining what the castle must have looked like when it was lived in, he added turrets and a pointed roof where flags flew, a drawbridge and a defensive moat. It became so real that he actually thought he saw people in the windows. People with bows pointing at them. He blinked. This was not imagination, there actually was someone at the window.

  Before[CL20] he had a chance to scream, a warning an arrow struck the snow just in front of his horse and the next few moments dissolved into chaos. It was obviously not a lone archer as a volley of arrows suddenly appeared, whistling just before thudding into their targets. A horse screamed, a man grunted yet Dissan’s calm order to ride for the hill cut through it all and as one they pressed their tired horses into a gallop, making for the safety of the walls that surrounded the top of the hill.

  A quick look back, assured Turrin that no one had been left behind, a miracle really, but what he did see made his heart miss a beat. Pouring out of the ruins were trolls, more trolls than he had ever seen in one place, and they were running after the horses. This was crazy. The trolls would never be able to catch the horses so why were they bothering? Turrin silently begged them to give up the chase but they just kept coming.

  The snow lay thick against the lee side of the hill and the horses began to flounder. Dissan gave the order to slow down and approach this difficult terrain with caution. No point injuring the horses, they would be their only chance of escape. For Turrin, everything slowed down. He was now in a world of soft yielding snow, impossible to get purchase in, where effort was costly and gained you very little reward. His laboured breathing sounded loud in his ears as he struggled to urge his poor struggling horse on. Looking back he could see the trolls as a dark mass against the whiteness. They were gaining.

  “Come on, I know you can do it,” he pleaded, leaning low over his horse's neck and whispering in her ear. She floundered for a few more strides and then, as if to answer his prayers her front hooves found solid ground and once again they were galloping up the hill towards that beckoning gap in the wall.

  Five knights peeled off to stay behind as a first line of defence and the rest of the group rode to the centre of the circle, breathing heavily. “Not good,” Dissan stated the obvious. “Is everyone okay?”

  People, still gulping in air could only nod. “I….” Hezrill gasped before she silently fell forward and slid lifelessly to the ground leaving a red smear down her horse’s shoulder.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Hezrill!” Anssan cried as he leapt off his horse and ran to her.

  Errin had dismounted and was cradling the girl’s head in her lap before anyone had moved. Anssan was close behind. Hezrill was grey. Turrin could only stare as Errin quickly but gently searched for her injury. He knew when she had found it by the look on her face. He did not have to see her blood-stained hand to know it was serious.

  An arrow had punched into Hezrill’s back. The shaft must have broken off and all that was left was the head buried deep. Turrin watched the emotions play across Errin’s face as the frustration caused by the reality of a failed mission was immediately replaced with grief at the possible loss of a beautiful, young life and the fact that she was responsible for it. Anssan was on his knees, beside her, looking pleadingly at Errin. Errin placed her fingers on Hezrill’s pulse and everyone held their breath.

  “She lives. But only just and I don’t know for how long. I fear she has lost too much blood and the arrow has punctured her lung,” she said sadly, shaking her head as if she wanted to deny her findings. Anssan’s head was in his hands as he rocked back and forth.

  “No. No this isn’t happening,” he sobbed. “She was riding next to me. I should have saved her. I should have ...”

  Errin placed a hand on his arm to console him and then gently passed Hezrill to him and stood looking down at her bloodied hands, visibly crying.

  “The trolls have done Zail’s work. Without Hezrill we cannot regain the shards. Our only option is to try again if Hezrill recovers or,” she paused, deliberately not looking at anyone. “When we have a new seeker.”

  Dissan walked up to Errin and took her in his arms. “I suppose you can’t risk using your talent to save her, can you?” he murmured.

  Errin just shook her head. “I wish I could but it would take a lot of magic over a long time to do the operation just using talent alone and I would be certain to announce, loud and clear, that I am here.” She didn’t need to say anymore, everyone knew the consequences of that. “Our only hope is to get her back to Feld as quickly and gently as
possible and hope that she is strong enough to survive.” Myssan, the twins and Lutex stood staring, unsure as to what to do next, forgotten, as the terrible events unfolded around them.

  Turrin grabbed the healing bag from his saddle and ran to Hezrill. They had to do everything in their power to save her. Carefully Anssan and Turrin turned her onto her side as Errin lifted her cloak and pressed a pad made from one of their blankets onto the wound then strapped it into place with bandages. More blankets were laid on the ground next to the fire that had been quickly set and Anssan gently carried her over to them.

  “I will give her some herbs to make her sleep and to take away the pain,” Errin said rummaging in her healing bag.

  The sound of fighting coming from the wall reminded them all that to get Hezrill home again was not going to be an easy task. Hexrick gathered the knights and ran to give aid. Turrin sat back on his heels as despair threatened to overwhelm him. Tears blurred his vision and he blinked rapidly to clear them, cross with himself. This was not the time to give into his emotions, this was a time for action. Wiping his eyes impatiently he looked away from the still, pale girl lying in the snow and stared at his surroundings properly for the first time.

  The walls were in ruins but mostly they were still four to six times the height of a man except in a few places where they had crumbled to about half that height. If the trolls circled round the outside of the wall they might be able to strike on several fronts. Dissan’s knight were too few to be able to defend this type of attack. Turrin closed his eyes, wishing that this was all one of his nightmares and that he would wake soon. A warning cry dispelled that hope and he opened his eyes to see dark shapes scrambling over a low point in the wall only a lance throw away. It was all too much. It was just so unfair. They had been so close to sending the seekers and now all hope had vanished and it was all these monsters fault.