Blue Moon Rising (Darkwood) (7 page)

Some time later they reached a small clearing, and stopped for a while, to get what rest they could before continuing. Julia built a fire in the middle of the clearing while Rupert set torches to mark the perimeter. The need for caution was past; it was clear the demons could find the party whenever they chose. Rupert lit the last torch and retreated quickly back to the blazing fire. The leaping flames threw back the dark, and the fire’s warmth eased the chill in his bones. Rupert frowned as he sank wearily down beside Julia; he didn’t remember the Darkwood being this cold on his first journey through. He didn’t remember this clearing, either. He shrugged, added another branch to the crackling fire, and pulled his cloak tightly about him. On the other side of the fire, the unicorn lay dozing in the shadows. The dragon was off in the dark somewhere, probably frightening demons. Rupert glanced covertly at Julia. The Princess sat huddled under the only spare blanket, shivering and holding out her hands to the dancing flames.

“Here,” said Rupert brusquely, taking off his cloak. “You’re cold.”

“So are you,” said Julia. “I’m all right.”

“You sure?”

“Really.”

Rupert didn’t press the point.

“How much longer before we get out of the Darkwood?” asked Julia, as Rupert refastened his cloak.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Time passes differently here. On my first trip it could have been days or weeks; you lose all track of time in the dark. At least this time we’ve food and water and firewood. That should make a difference.”

“You crossed the Darkwood without light or provisions?” Julia looked at Rupert with something like respect, and then looked quickly away. When she spoke again, her voice was carefully neutral. “What’s your Castle like, Rupert?”

“Old,” said Rupert, and smiled. “You’ll like it.”

“Will I?”

“Of course. Everyone’ll make you very welcome.”

“Why should they?” said Julia softly, staring into the fire. “I’m just another Princess without a dowry. Seven sisters stand between me and the throne, even assuming the elders would have me back. And they won’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because …” Julia looked at him sternly. “You won’t laugh?”

“I promise.”

“I ran away. They wanted me to marry some Prince I’d never met, for political reasons. You know.”

“I know,” said Rupert. “Bloodlines.”

“So I ran away. I didn’t even reach the frontier. They already had seven Princesses, and they didn’t need an eighth, so they sent me to the dragon’s cave.” Julia glared into the fire. “My father signed the warrant. My own father.”

Rupert put a comforting hand on her arm, but she jerked away.

“Don’t worry,” he said lamely. “Everything’ll work out. I’ll find a way to get you home again.”

“I don’t want to go home; as far as they’re concerned I’m dead! And sometimes I wish I was!”

She jumped up and ran off into the darkness. Rupert got up to go after her.

“Don’t.”

Rupert looked round to find the dragon watching from the shadows. “Why not?”

“She doesn’t want you to see her crying,” said the dragon.

“Oh.” Rupert shuffled uncertainly, and then sat down again.

“She’ll be back in a while,” said the dragon, moving forward to squat beside him.

“Yes. I’d help her if I could.”

“Of course you would. Julia’s not a bad sort. For a human.”

Rupert almost smiled. “We all have our problems.”

“You, too?”

“Of course; why do you think I came on this damn quest?”

“Honor, glory, love of adventure?”

Rupert just looked at him.

“Sorry,” said the dragon.

“I’m a second son,” said Rupert. “I can’t inherit as long as my brother’s alive.”

“And you didn’t want to kill your own brother.” The dragon nodded understandingly.

Rupert snorted. “Can’t stand the fellow. But if I declare against him, the Forest Land would be split by civil war. That’s why my father sent me on this quest. You were supposed to kill me and rid him of a vexing problem.”

“Your own father sent you out to die?”

“Yes,” said Rupert softly. “My own father. Officially, it was a quest to prove me worthy to the throne, but everyone knew. Including me.”

“But then, why did you go through with it? You didn’t have to face me.”

“I’m a Prince of the Forest Kingdom,” said Rupert. “I’d given my word. Besides …”

“Yes?”

Rupert shrugged. “My family’s other major problem is money. We’re broke.”

“Broke? But you rule the country! How can you be broke?”

“The Land’s just had its second famine in a row, the Barons are refusing to pay taxes, and if our currency was any more debased you could use it as bottle caps.”

“Oh,” said the dragon.

“Right. Oh.”

“So bringing me back alive isn’t going to help you much.”

“Not really,” admitted the Prince. “Apart from the hoard you were supposed to have, dragon’s hide is worth a lot of money, you know. So are dragon’s teeth. And as for dragon’s …”

“I know what they’re worth, thank you,” said the dragon huffily. “I value them myself, rather.”

Rupert blushed and looked away. “Well, you see my problem.”

“I’ll think about it,” said the dragon.

“Will you two shut up and let me sleep,” muttered the unicorn blearily.

The Princess came back out of the darkness with slightly puffy eyes that nobody commented on, and settled herself by the fire.

“What were you two talking about?” she asked.

“It seems the Prince’s family is financially embarassed,” said the dragon.

“Broke,” said the unicorn.

“Maybe when this is over I should go on another quest,” Rupert said gloomily. “Look for a pot of gold at the Rainbow’s End.”

“If you do, you can walk,” said the unicorn.

“Rainbow’s End,” said the dragon slowly. “It’s not just a legend.”

“You mean it’s real?” asked Julia.

The dragon hesitated. “Sometimes.”

“How do I find it?” asked Rupert.

“You don’t; it finds you.” The dragon frowned, struggling for the right words. “Rainbow’s End is a state of mind as much as a place. If you reach it, you can find your heart’s desire, but that may not be what you think it is. There’s a spell …”

Everyone froze as a branch snapped somewhere out in the dark, and then they surged to their feet. Rupert drew his sword and Julia pulled a wicked-looking dagger from her boot. The unicorn pressed close beside the dragon, nervously pawing the ground. And then, one by one, the torches at the clearing’s perimeter guttered and went out, and darkness welled forward like a tide.

“They’ve found us again,” said Rupert.

A figure stepped into the clearing. Tall, spindly and corpse-pale, it squatted at the edge of the firelight, clawed hands twitching restlessly at its sides. Faintly glowing eyes stared unblinkingly from a broad toadlike head. As the company watched in horrified fascination, more demons crept forward out of the dark. Some walked on two legs, some on four, and some crawled on their bellies in the dirt. Firelight gleamed redly on claw and fang. No one creature was shaped like any other, but all had the mark of foulness on them, a darkness in the soul. Rupert raised his sword and moved forward, and the toad demon came to meet him, loping horribly fast across the uneven ground. Rupert dropped into his fighting stance, and then swayed aside at the last moment to let the demon rush by him. His sword swung out in a long arc and bit deeply into the creature’s back. Dark blood spurted, and the demon fell, writhing silently on the ground until the unicorn slammed down a well-placed hoof. The watching shapes melted back into the darkness.

“What are our chances?” muttered Julia.

“Not good,” Rupert admitted, swinging his sword back and forth before him. “There’s too many of them.”

“But we’ve got a dragon with us,” Julia protested. “Everyone knows dragons can’t be killed, except by heroes whose hearts are pure.”

“Legends,” said the dragon wearily. “I’m old, Julia. Older than you can imagine. My eyesight’s poor, my bones ache in the winter, and I haven’t breathed fire in years. Don’t even know if I still can. No, Julia; dragons die just as easily as any other creature.”

“Are you saying we’ve no chance at all?” asked Julia softly.

“There’s always a chance,” said Rupert, hefting his sword.

“Not that way,” said the dragon. “You’ll have to make the Rainbow Run.”

“What are you talking about?” snapped Rupert, eyes still fixed on the lurking shadows among the rotting trees.

“Rainbow’s End. I know a spell that will take you right to it. If you’re strong enough. Any man who can run down the Rainbow will find his heart’s desire; whatever that might be.”

“Try the spell,” said Julia. “I won’t let those things take me alive. I’ve heard stories.”

Rupert nodded grimly. He’d heard stories, too.

“Look out!” yelled Julia. Rupert howled his battle cry and swung his sword two-handed as demons burst from the Darkwood’s concealing shadows. His blade flashed in short, vicious arcs, slicing through his opponents like overripe wheat. Blood flew on the air, but the demons never made a sound, even when they died. The Darkwood silence was broken only by the stamp of feet on earth, and the chunk of Rupert’s blade as it bit into flesh. The dragon reared up to his full height and slammed into the demons, rending and tearing. The dead and the dying lay piled around him on the bloodied earth, and still they came. Julia drove her dagger into a demon’s bulging eye and kicked the twisting corpse aside. The unicorn moved quickly in to protect her, his hooves and horn already dripping gore. Rupert spun and danced, his sword tearing through flesh with murderous skill, but for every demon that fell another rose out of the dark to take its place. A growing ache burned in his arms and back, and every time he swung his sword it seemed a little heavier. Rupert didn’t give a damn. The bottled-up frustration of months on end found an outlet in his fury, and he grinned like a wolf as his sword rose and fell in steady butchery.

And then it was over. The demons melted back into the safety of the darkness, leaving their dead behind them. Rupert stared about him as he slowly lowered his sword, his harsh breathing aching in his chest. Blood and death lay scattered across the clearing, and as his anger ebbed away, Rupert felt tired and cold and just a little sick. He’d been taught the use of a sword, as befitted his station, but his newfound joy in killing disturbed him. To take pleasure in slaughter was the demon’s way. The blood dripping from his blade suddenly disgusted him, and he sheathed his sword without bothering to clean it. He swallowed dryly, and looked round to check how his companions had fared in the battle. The dragon seemed pretty much unscathed, though his claws and teeth gleamed with a fresh crimson sheen. The unicorn’s white coat was dappled with blood, little of it his own. Julia was cleaning her dagger in a businesslike way, but her hands were shaking. Rupert shook his head slowly. Without rage to keep him moving, fatigue left him weak and trembling, but already he could hear faint rustlings and stirrings in the dark beyond the clearing. He turned to the dragon.

“Use the damned spell,” he said gratingly. “Another rush like that, and they’ll roll right over us.”

The dragon nodded. “It’s all down to you, Rupert. First you’ll see a light in the distance, like a beacon, and then the Wild Magic will show you a path. Follow it. That’s the Rainbow Run. What you’ll find depends on you.”

Rupert stared out into the dark, and a voice deep inside him said,
I can’t.
It had been hard enough to go back into the Darkwood armed with light and friends, but to give them up and go off into the darkness on his own …
Haven’t I done enough? I can’t go back into the dark! I’m afraid!

“Rupert?”

I’m afraid!

“Set the spell,” said Rupert.

“Get ready,” said the dragon. “I need a moment to prepare.”

Rupert nodded stiffly and moved away to join the unicorn.

“Look after the Princess for me, will you?”

“With my life,” promised the unicorn. “When there’s no other choice, I can be heroic, too, you know.”

“I never doubted it.” The Prince smiled.

The unicorn shuffled his feet uncertainly. “All in all, I’ve been on worse quests, Sire.”

“I hate to think what they must have been like.”

“Will you shut up,” said the unicorn affectionately. “And mind your back on the Rainbow Run. I’ve grown accustomed to having you around to gripe at.”

Rupert hugged the unicorn’s neck, and turned away to find Julia waiting for him. She offered him a handkerchief.

“A lady’s favor,” she said. “The hero always carries a lady’s favor.”

“I always wanted one,” said Rupert softly. He tucked the silk square inside his tattered leather jerkin. “I’ll bring it back safely.”

“Bring back some help, that’s the main thing.” She leaned forward suddenly and kissed him. “And come back safe yourself, or I’ll never forgive you.”

She hurried off into the shadows. The Prince raised a hand to his lips. There was one thing the minstrels hadn’t lied about. The dragon came forward.

“Are you ready?”

Rupert looked out into the darkness.
I’m afraid. But I gave my word.

“Ready as I’ll ever be. You?”

The dragon nodded. “The spell is set.”

Rupert drew his sword, hefted it, and then handed it to the dragon. “Give this to Julia. It’ll only slow me down when I’m running.”

“Of course,” said the dragon.

“A light!” yelled the unicorn. Rupert whirled to look. A crimson glare showed deep in the Darkwood.

“That’s it!” cried the dragon, but Rupert was already off and running. He burst through the demons at the clearing’s edge and was gone before they could stop him. A trail formed before him in the darkness, seeming to glow and sparkle beneath his pounding feet. A demon leapt out of the dark to block his path, only to scream and fall back as light flared up from the trail to engulf it. Rupert shot a quick glance at the motionless body and ran on. Behind him he heard the first sounds of battle as the demon host fell on his companions. He forced himself to run faster. The Darkwood trees rushed past him. The path glowed bright against the dark. Breath burned in his lungs, ached in his chest, and a cold sweat ran down his sides as his arms pumped, but he was beyond pain, beyond fear, driven only by a desperate need to somehow save his friends. He didn’t know how long he’d been running, but the trail still shimmered ahead of him, and the beacon seemed to draw no nearer.
It’s not how fast you run
, a voice whispered inside him,
It’s how badly you need it.
Fatigue shivered through his aching legs, and he saw with horror that the path was slowly fading away. He drove himself even harder, crying aloud at the pain that stabbed through him, and then he tripped and fell headlong as the path guttered and went out.