A Crucible of Souls (Book One of the Sorcery Ascendant Sequence) (19 page)

Hooves striking the road snapped her thoughts back to the present. All activity in the camp ceased for a moment before Aidan met her gaze and gave a nod. He strode with determination toward the road.

Caitlyn gulped the rest of her tea, scalding her tongue. She collected her sword belt and strapped it on as she hurried after him. The scouts were returning, and as usual she liked to receive their report personally.

She made her way through the wet grass and stopped beside Aidan, who stood staring into the distance.

As the horses approached, Aidan gave a low whistle. The air from his mouth fogged as it came out. The temperature had dropped rapidly in the clear night sky.

Caitlyn heard one of the horses snort, then an answering whistle came in response.

She sighed, realizing she had been holding her breath, and her hand squeezed her sword hilt. She released it and stretched her aching fingers.

A few moments later, the scouts stopped their horses and dismounted. She nodded to both as they approached. Both men were tired, as usual. Spending the day trailing someone, constantly alert and on the lookout for danger, took its toll on even seasoned veterans.

The senior scout, Watkins, stepped forward and gave a short bow.

“
My lady, they’ve stopped for the night off the road. They didn’t find a very good spot and have a blazing fire going. It’s like they aren’t trying to keep a low profile.
”

Caitlyn smiled and nodded.
“
Thank you. Go and get yourselves a hot meal and some rest.
”

The two scouts shuffled toward the camp, leading their horses. Caitlyn stood still, staring up the road in the drizzle at a tiny orange glow, the telltale sign of a fire at night.

“
Why do you think they made no effort to keep their fire inconspicuous? They must know there could be bandits around.
”

Aidan chewed his lip, a habit she had given up on breaking him of.
“
I can’t say. You would think farmers would have done some hunting and know some bushcraft.
”

“
I don’t think we will know until we put them to the question. Make sure the men rest up tonight, so they’re ready in the morning. After the last few days’ hard riding to catch up with these two, we could all use the break.
”

“
We have enough to take them now. I could gather the men and…
”

Caitlyn cut him off.
“
In the dark and the rain? It’s likely they’ll hear us coming miles away and be gone before we make their camp. No. We hit them in the morning, hard and fast.
”

With a nod, Aidan agreed.
“
All right. You haven’t led us wrong the last few years.
”

“
I should hope not. You’ll see to the men, won’t you? Make sure they’re squared away for the night?
”

“
I will, my lady, though they miss the days when you did it. You could…
”
He waved a hand towards the camp.
“
…talk to them, like you used to. Show them the old you. They are looking to me more and more for commands you used to give.
”

“
I… I’ll think about it. I’m not as close as I used to be. Some of them… I think they don’t truly understand our cause.
”
She rubbed her temples.
“
And make sure we capture these alive. No accidents.
”

She sensed Aidan stiffen beside her. She closed her eyes and waited for his objection.

“
My lady, do we need to… question people so harshly?
”

He still struggles,
she thought. His weakness hung in the air between them. She let it linger for a few moments before she answered.

“
You know why we have to,
”
she said in a firm voice.
“
There are evil forces and people everywhere, and they won’t hold back if they have you in a similar position. Hard tasks mean hard methods. We cannot flinch or evil will prevail. You’ve seen the horrors of evil firsthand. Together, we have seen the depths people can sink to.
”
Her breath came in short gasps.
“
We cannot falter. We cannot stay our hand in trying to reach the heart of evil, no matter how distasteful the duty.
”

Caitlyn reached over and squeezed his shoulder.
“
If we show weakness and through that failing evil is allowed to flourish… then we have failed.
”

They stood still in the cold night air, breath misting in the rain.

“
But… how can we countenance committing immoral deeds ourselves?
”

She shook her head.
“
We must. Nothing is worse than letting a greater evil escape because we couldn’t bring ourselves to pass a lesser evil. Some things must be tolerated for the greater good.
”

“
I just… Sometimes I think we go too far.
”
He stared out into the night.
“
As with the villagers helping the jukari. They didn’t deserve to die.
”

“
Yes, they did.
”

“
It wasn’t right.
”

Caitlyn’s eyes hardened and she frowned.
“
Your compassionate nature does you credit, but we cannot falter in our duty lest the greater evils go free and unfettered.
”
She sighed.
“
Come, you need rest. Let’s go back to—
”

In the distance, the fire erupted into flashes of light. Thunder rent the dark night. Trees cracked. A blinding white flash split the darkness. Then another.

Spots swam before Caitlyn’s eyes.

Aidan tugged her back to the camp.
“
Horses all!
”
he bellowed.
“
Leave everything and mount up!
”

Some men stood staring at the flashes continuing in the distance. Cracking sounds and thunder reverberated in the darkness. A number of orange spots appeared — fires burning.

Caitlyn threw her saddle on her horse and tightened the cinch while one of her men slipped the bridle on. All around the camp men were stomping out the cooking fires and preparing their own mounts. A few horses shied at another thunderous clap.

“
Let’s go!
”
she yelled.
“
Gather whoever is ready, and let’s get there as quick as we can.
”

Aidan nodded and stood in his stirrups.
“
All to me and the lady!
”
he roared. He spurred forward and out of the camp with Caitlyn close behind.

On the road, Caitlyn urged her mount to a canter, guiding it along in the dark by making sure the trees stayed on either side. Close behind rode six of her men with torches, the quickest to react. She knew without looking that Anshul cel Rau and Chalayan would be among them.

They raced towards the farmhands’ camp, cold wind across their faces, clouds of hot breath exhaling from the horses’ nostrils. Shadows flickered across the road, and in the trees, wavering torchlight lent the dash an eerie appearance.

As they approached the fires, motionless shapes revealed themselves in the dim light. Two forms lay on the side of the road to the left, where a stone-ringed campfire burned, as well as a number of spot fires in the scrub. Three more bodies lay scattered on the road and one further ahead.

Steam rose from the corpses, and the scent of roasted flesh was heavy in the air. Flickering torchlight revealed clothing blackened and melted onto skin, faces a mass of tiny blisters, hair burned to stubble.

Caitlyn surveyed the scene and gave a string of orders.
“
Find the farmhands. Bring the bodies to the campfire. We need more light.
”

She strode to the fire. Bodies were dragged across the ground to where she stood with Aidan and Chalayan. Anshul cel Rau stood quietly in the background, saying nothing as usual, though he scanned the bush around them. Chalayan stood nervously, eyes constantly in motion. He clutched his
trinket
.

The six bodies were examined. Scraps of unburned cloth showed their clothes were of poor quality and bore signs of heavy wear. Next to the bodies were deposited a pile of weapons, all black and warm to the touch, a few cheap swords, some knives and a club. Whatever had killed the men had been hot enough to blacken steel and heat the weapons.

“
Bandits’ gear and weapons,
”
said Aidan.

Caitlyn grunted assent.
“
The farmhands, where are they?
”

“
These are the only bodies we found. The farmhands were either taken or ran off. Their horses are gone.
”
He looked into the shadows.
“
From the look of what happened here, I would say they got away.
”

“
Chalayan is spooked. I’ve never seen him like this. I’m guessing the bandits bit off more than they could chew.
”

Aidan nodded.
“
I agree.
”

“
Which means the farmhands are definitely more than they seem. And they don’t hesitate to use brutal force when they need to. We have to be careful.
”

Caitlyn’s eyes followed Chalayan, who had taken a few steps towards the abandoned campfire. He knelt before it and placed a hand on the earth. After a moment, he stood and brushed his hands, a puzzled look on his face.

Caitlyn strode over to the sorcerer and took his arm, leading him away from the rest of the men. He looked ashen.

“
What happened here?
”
she demanded in a whisper.

Chalayan shook his head.
“
I don’t know. It’s not possible.
”

“
It bloody well is. It happened. Now what’s going on?
”

Chalayan shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He glanced ahead at the fires in the distance then over to the left, where a thick tree had fallen across the road as if pushed over. He licked his lips.

“
If I were to hazard a guess…
”
he started.

“
Please do.
”

“
Then… this has to be alchemical. A mixture of chemicals caused a massive reaction and release of energy… except…
”
He hesitated.

“
What is it?
”

“
There is no residue, no smell of alchemical ingredients. And… there is a residue of sorcery.
”

Caitlyn’s breath caught in her throat.
What unholy power had she unearthed?
“
Sorcery did this?
”
She gestured at the body and the fires.

Chalayan shook his head, troubled.
“
It isn’t possible. There has to be another explanation.
”

“
In the absence of another one, we have to assume they are powerful sorcerers, whose abilities surpass any we have seen before.
”
She stood and wiped her hands on her pants.
“
What a mess.
”

Swallowing, Chalayan closed his eyes.
“
All around, there is sorcerous residue, as if a powerful
crafting
was performed, but… nothing like I’ve ever experienced.
”
Caitlyn could see him shaking.
“
It’s as if someone tried to draw from their well and lost control, but when that happens the sorcerer is consumed, and when they die the well closes. Here, it’s like a deliberate
crafting
, a destructive
crafting
.
”

“
That’s not possible.
”

Chalayan smiled wanly.
“
That’s what I said.
”
He shuddered, though at the same time he wrung his hands together, and she saw a gleam come to his eyes.

“
This isn’t good,
”
she said.
“
Sorcery shouldn’t be used to destroy; it’s against all we know. Evil cannot be allowed such an advantage.
”

“
But we could use it, too! Think of what we could accomplish, the good we could do.
”