Armies of the Silver Mage (36 page)

“Everything all right?” Hallis asked.

Dakeb smiled weakly. “Yes.”

Hallis nodded once and rode on. He left Dakeb to deal with his own miseries. They had five days to reach the morbid throne of Gren and end Sidian’s threat. Between them and success lay a slew of obstacles, the least of which being a series of rolling foothills and a great swamp bordering Gren. The ten of them filed out into the wild. Dakeb hoped the Silver Mage wouldn’t learn of them too soon, for he had agents in every land, from Antheneon to the deserts of Jebel. His darkness was spilling into the west, poisoning and corrupting the weak minded.

Steam rose from the sheets of ice blanketing Thuil Lake. The storm left over a foot of ice on the lake and huge snow drifts everywhere else. Thick pine trees littered the land in their eternal green. Clumps of ice and snow weighed the branches down, adding a depressed feel to the day. Black squirrels with fluffed white tails darted among the boughs, pausing occasionally to peer down on the invaders of their territory.

Tarren looked up at the tiny trickles of snow coming down and smiled. She felt her cheeks burn from the wind and her nose was slightly numb despite the intermittent sunlight poking through. She watched her breath come out in heavy plumes of steam. Her fingertips, lodged deep within fur lined gloves, were getting colder. It didn’t take long for the comforts of Ipn Shal to fade from her memory. But this time the hardships of winter travel didn’t bother her so much. She had Delin and he was her pillar of strength. She honestly wouldn’t know what to do without him.

The very thought of Delin brought a smile. She watched the way his curly hair framed his round face. His eyes were captivating, holding a love so deep and clear. Tarren had no doubt they were meant for each other. She confided her feelings in her mother not too long ago and her mother hugged her tightly and cried. It’s love, her mother said, and no better feeling is there in all the world. Whatever destiny the Fates had in store, she was glad they would meet it together.

He was as much her strength as she was his. Weeks of loneliness on the road served to intensify his feelings towards her. That first night in Ipn Shal was almost a dream. They embraced and never let go. It was the first time they’d made love and both were awkward and hesitant in their excitement. Eventually they fell asleep in each others arms.

It pained Delin to watch her suffer with the rest of them. She deserved better and he knew he couldn’t give it to her, not now. He’d promised Fennic to see this matter through and he aimed to keep his word. He laughed to himself. All they had to do was destroy the most powerful man in all Malweir and escape a land teeming with Goblins and worse. He caught her looking at him and blushed. Tarren did her best to stifle a giggle.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, his hopes of his embarrassment going unnoticed quickly faded.

“Did you ever think we’d be weeks from home in the company of so many strange folk marching into the very heart of darkness?” she asked to quickly change the subject rather than explain her amusement.

He confessed. “I’ve always dreamed of taking off like this to find my own adventures. You know that. The stories of the old times did it I think. If you only knew how I longed to ride into battle and be the hero. The glory, the fame. There was a time when I found it all intoxicating, but no more. My own adventures are dark and filled with nightmares. I don’t wish them on anyone, Tarren. I just want to go home now.”

“I never wanted to leave to begin with. Momma always said you boys were going to get me into trouble one day,” she said with a sly grin. “You’ve taken me halfway around the world, Delin and I’m not going to let you get away again. There’s only one way you can fix this mess.”

He was almost afraid to ask. “How’s that?”

“Take me home and never leave my side again.” The finality in her voice left little room for doubt. Delin’s heart swelled with joy.

Dakeb called a halt as the sun was dropping over the far horizon. He held hast conference with them all. Hallis and the Elves left to scout the surrounding areas while the others made a hasty camp. Dakeb waited until they returned with negative reports before letting them start a small cook fire. They ate in relative silence, intent on the heat of the almost timid flames licking at them. Most of them listened to the forests. Every crack or snap was a potential foe. Caution was their greatest ally now.

“How long will we be stopping for each night?” Fennic asked.

“Long enough to eat and relieve yourselves,” Dakeb said. “I want to get into the foothills before we stop today at least. Remember Fennic, time is against us.”

A wolf bayed in the distance.

“Do not fear them. With as many enemies as we have, the wolves may be counted as friends,” Dakeb said when he noticed Delin shiver from the sound.

Soon enough they were saddled up and weaving through the land. The smallest sliver of moon shone down in the chill night. Level ground began to give way to rolling slopes and ravines. Scrub brush and boulders were looming shadows in the half light. They’d finally reached the foot hills, and the boundary with Gren.

FORTY-EIGHT

The moon crept higher into the night sky, almost gaining its zenith before Dakeb called a halt for the night. Hallis and the Elves immediately left to recon the area. Dakeb reasoned that this close to Gren meant Sidian had wards in place to warn him of invaders. They set camp atop a snow covered knoll just high enough to make it difficult for attackers to reach them in time and not give the defenders too much of a silhouette. The high ground wouldn’t be a deterrent for the frenzied Goblins, but it would at least delay them enough for the small group to flee. The horses were tethered to a stand of white birch trees. Hallis set the guard schedule and one by one they bedded down and went to sleep.

There was no fire that night. Smoke and open flames traveled far in the chill winter air and would be an open invitation to the monsters in this part of the land. It was Dakeb’s hope that they’d reach Aingaard undetected. That’s when their troubles would begin. Cheap disguises and petty tricks wouldn’t prevent Sidian from finding and capturing them. Any use of magic was a dead giveaway. Not for the first time did Dakeb find his powers to be more damnation than gift. The dilemma kept the old mage awake for the rest of the night. He had to find a way to breech Sidian’s defenses before it was too late. As it stood now, there were only four and a half days remaining until the time of the ceremony.

The Elves were the last to return and once the last arrived they began quietly discussing what they’d seen with Hallis and Dakeb.

“We found nothing to the south,” Derlith told the mage.

“Nor to the east,” Llem, the third Elf said.

Dakeb found his report surprising considering east was the direction they were heading.

“That doesn’t make sense. We’ll enter Gren tomorrow,” Hallis said. “I doubt the Silver Mage will leave an open avenue into his lands.”

“Unless they’re expecting us,” Celegon said. “I saw signs about a half league back. We’re being tracked.”

Hallis nodded grimly. “I saw the same to the north. The enemy knows we are moving again.”

“Then they will attack soon,” Derlith added. His almond eyes pierced the surrounding darkness for signs of the enemy.

“Perhaps not,” Hallis offered.

“Why wouldn’t they? Sidian has to know by now the threat we pose. He may not know where the fourth shard is, but he will have learned of the Star Silver sword by now. He must have spies and legions out searching for us by now,” Celegon said.

Dakeb finally spoke up. “That would imply trust in his subordinates. Sidian has none of that. He knows he stole Gren and there are many who would seek to supplant him as the dictator. His rule of fear and terror has seen to that. We are being followed, yes, and watched closely. Perhaps he even has a spy within our own ranks.”

“I’ve felt the same since finding those Gnaals hunting you south of the Old Forest. Someone had to be leading them,” Celegon told them. “The noose is tightening.”

“The ranger doesn’t feel right to me, Dakeb,” he went on. “I’ve met some of the rangers of Averon. Something tells me this man is not who he pretends to be.”

“We’ve kept a steady watch on him since that first night, but he’s shown no signs of treachery yet,” Derlith said. “Say the word and it will be my pleasure to make him talk now.”

He ran a long finger down the rune etched blade of his dagger.

“No,” Dakeb ordered. “Make no move against him. If he is working for Sidian we don’t want to tip our hand just yet. Keep watching him from a distance and when the time comes we shall be in place to deal with him. Keep a close watch on the Goblins tracking us. Part of me thinks they’re driving us in the direction they want us to go. We are fortunate not to have a Gnaal too close right now.”

“The Gnaal is far behind,” Celegon announced. “I saw a dark taint in the ground where his tracks were. How many there are I do not know. They clearly are in fear of the boy and his sword. We need to use that to our advantage.”

“Do we circle back and try to kill it?” Llem asked nervously.

He was afraid of the beasts, and for good reason. No one should ever witness the horrors of what he saw during the battle at the Old Forest. There’d been times in the

days since he felt sure death was stalking him. The fear nagged at the back of his mind, haunting his actions. It whispered to him to give up while the choice remained his.

“We avoid the Gnaal as best as possible,” Celegon told his friend. “There’s no sense in risking everything until we get closer to Aingaard. Those boys are our biggest asset and it would be ill to use them uselessly against a foe with night unlimited resources.”

“Agreed,” Hallis said. “I say we march on as planned. We can’t stop and fight every detachment of Goblins along the way.”

“Get some rest now, friends,” Dakeb told them. “I will stand the watch, for there is much I need to think on tonight. We break camp before the dawn.”

His gaze lingered to where the three villagers from obscure Fel Darrins slept. That’s when he noticed Tarren and Scarn were both missing.

Tarren shivered as she pulled her trouser back up and laced them. The night was much colder than she remembered. Then again, she’d never been so far north in the winter. Either way, the chilled buried to her bones. Tightening her cloak, Tarren headed back to Delin and her sleeping bag. The moon turned the world around her to a shimmering dream of a pale enchantment. She remembered being a little girl and sneaking out of the house on nights the moon was full. She’d count the stars until sleep took her. Her parents knew she did because she always woke up tucked into her bed the next morning. She wished she were home again. As far away from the war as possible.

The shadows suddenly came to life and fell on her.

“I… I didn’t mean to startle you,” Scarn said after stepping back to let her see him. “I am merely on my way to do the same thing you just did.”

She waited for her heart to settle, but the beat remained fast and strong. If it were anyone but him, she thought. “I thought I was the only one still up. Good night.”

Tarren hurriedly brushed past him, not wanting to be caught alone with the man so far from immediate help.

“Wait,” he called.

Her legs betrayed her. Tarren stopped and turned. For a moment they stood and stared at each other.

“I disturb you, don’t I?” Scarn asked her, and took a step forward. “I’d really like to know. This is a dangerous time and we need to be able to trust one another if the mage’s plan is going to work. Please don’t fear me.”

“I’m not afraid,” she replied, her voice barely a whisper.

Scarn eased closer, his boots crunching through the thin layer of ice covering the snow. His eyes burned into hers, almost seducing her to keep looking. “Aren’t you? I wonder. I can smell fear on you, girl. It’s in your eyes. The way you watch me. The way your body tenses when I’m near. Tell me what you’re afraid of. You can trust me.”

He moved closer still, until he was directly in front of her.

“You want to hurt us,” she said with in an almost trance-like voice. “Why else would you follow us so far from Fel Darrins?”

He smiled, toothy and demanding.

“I know nothing of those boys and didn’t see them for the first time until the battle at the Thorn River. They’re not my concern, nor was your little village. I was hired by a nobleman from the east to find his wayward grandfather,” he lied. “The trail merely went through your village. Sadly, I found him dead in Rellin Werd.”

“You don’t believe me?” he innocently asked.

Scarn took his index finger and traced a line from her soft lips down past her jaw. He lightly touched her flesh down her neck and stopped at the top of her blouse. her mouth trembled. The cloak slipped from her shoulders, leaving her exposed to his lingering gaze. Fear coursed through her but there was something else. Something primal deep inside. Could it be arousal? She wasn’t sure but her mouth involuntarily opened when he brought a finger back to her lips.

“Tell me you believe me, Tarren,” he whispered in her ear.

She answered without hesitation, “yes. I believe you.”

“Good girl,” he cooed. “Now I want you to go back and sleep. Forget this conversation even happened.”

Or things might not go so well the next time, he thought.

Tarren snatched up her cloak and ran off. The moment was already fading from memory. She curled up next to Delin and drifted off to sleep. Her dagger was clutched to her breast the entire night.

Tolis Scarn collapsed once she was out of sight. Blood trickled from his nose onto the pure white snow, making it look violent. He looked around and wondered why he was so far from camp and the fire. It didn’t make sense. The last thing he remembered was wanting to confront Tarren and find out what she knew about him. And now he was lying in snow covered bushes far from the others. Reluctantly, he picked himself up and went back to his bedroll. Sleep didn’t come to him for the rest of the night. He was too busy plotting.