Math kept his arm around Thea’s shoulders as they walked back. Her body shook from time to time, but part of him was thankful for that. Her tremors disguised his own shaking.
He and Khel had both picked up the faint cries of the woman in feigned distress. Setting off towards the sound independently, they had reached the scene at the same time. Khel hadn’t flinched when he saw Thea on the ground, the man with the axe raised. He had drawn and fired with lightning speed, taking the man dead center in the back of his neck. Math had been a little slower and a little less accurate, taking his target in the side of the chest. Khel had nocked another arrow, drawn, and put a second shaft into the man’s face faster than Math thought possible.
Seeing Thea under attack had taken away hesitation. He hadn’t given it a thought as he was drawing and firing. He supposed that was the point of Khel’s endless drilling. Apparently, it worked. But he wasn’t prepared for the aftereffects. He had never fully considered that they were training to take lives. He had never killed a man before, and regardless of the fact that he was defending Thea, he felt sickened.
Khel was several yards ahead, keeping a sharp eye in all directions as they hurried back to camp. When they got close, he let out one of the low whistles Math recognized as Sidhe signals. Within moments he heard someone crashing through the brush, and Brand ran into view. Nyla trailed just after him, following his wake through the underbrush.
As soon as he spotted the trio, and Thea’s bloody face, he was at her other side. He and Nyla gave her a quick inspection, then they surrounded her as they headed to camp.
“What happened?” Nyla asked.
“Bandits,” Khel replied.
“Bandits? Here? Since when?” Brand asked. “This area hasn’t had a bandit problem in decades.”
“I know. Who knows what drove them to it. We don’t know that it’s any sort of widespread problem, but no more separating when we go off. We stick together, and stay watchful,” Khel said.
The smell of smoke greeted them as they got to camp. Arik was awake and moving and had started a small fire to take away some of the chill while they packed the camp and waited for the archers to return from training. Math walked Thea over to the fire and sat down beside her. Khel threw a blanket over the two of them while Nyla went to work with a cloth dampened with water warmed by the fire. The blood and dirt were cleaned up in no time, exposing only a small cut above her eyebrow. Thea had stopped shivering and, to Math’s great relief, so had he.
“Never killed anyone before, huh?” Brand asked, perceptive yet blunt. Math and Thea both shook their heads. “Well, saving your own life from someone who was trying to take it is different than taking a life in cold blood. Those bandits would have taken yours and not thought twice. Don’t let yourself sit awake wallowing in guilt.”
“I know,” Thea said. “Just makes me feel a little sick is all.”
“And it should,” Nyla said. “Don’t ever take it lightly. But also don’t ever be hesitant to do it to someone about to take yours.”
“We’ll break early today, and rest for the afternoon,” Khel said. “We can miss a day of training, let you guys recompose yourselves.”
“No way,” Thea said. “We’re training. Especially now that this happened. I’ll be fine.”
Brand and Arik laughed. “Thatta girl,” Brand said.
Arik passed out dried fruit and jerky for breakfast. He was limping and moving noticeably slower, but it was a definite improvement over yesterday’s semi-conscious slump. They washed the meal down with a few swallows of wine that Brand produced from a skin he had been keeping in reserve. “To calm your nerves a bit,” he said.
As soon as they finished, they strapped on their packs and got underway. The narrow path they started on widened before long, then intersected with a well-traveled road heading south to north. To the south, Math knew, they would eventually find Tameron, and east of that town would be home. The road ran fairly flat, just west of the foothills of the Eastern Wall. The mountains were easily visible now that the trees were cleared for the road. Far to the north and nestled into the Wall would be Vulcan’s Furnace, their destination.
It was easier going once they got to the road; they made better time even though Arik was still not fully up to speed. Travelers were sparse with winter closing in, but they passed a few small groups heading south. They traded gossip of no real importance. None of them had run into any bandit troubles. None of the others planned to head inland, so Khel didn’t mention the Kobali. If he had, most of the travelers would have written him off as crazy and instantly become more wary of him.
Math tried to start a conversation with Thea but couldn’t get her to return more than grunts and shrugs. He wasn’t sure if she was still upset by the bandit attack or if he had made her uncomfortable somehow. He hadn’t meant to look so long when their eyes met, or cling so long when she hugged him. He shouldn’t have been feeling the pull that he felt. He resolved to be more resistant to those urges in the future.
Khel convinced the largest of the groups to part with a decent-sized canvas tent. Something changed hands in return, but Math couldn’t see what. This was a fortunate find, as flakes of snow were beginning to drift downward when they finally stopped for the evening. The three Sidhe elders went to work getting the tent up and a fire going. Khel pulled out the wooden swords and led them out onto the road to take advantage of the wide, fairly flat surface.
As they raised their swords and faced off, Thea finally met his eyes again. He couldn’t tell if he saw confusion there, or sadness, or anger. He could tell there was meaning to her glance, but he didn’t know what to make of it. She stepped into a tentative attack. He moved for an easy parry, but her sword was no longer there, swinging around with suddenly blinding speed. The feint almost caught him, but he dodged backwards, and it passed inches in front of him. Then the fight was on.
They went back and forth until they were both winded and dripping with sweat, breath fogging in the cold air. Then they spent time drilling Khel’s endless training exercises, working on whatever tiny detail in their technique that Khel saw a flaw in. After they had repeated the drills over and over and over, Khel finally let them break and head back to the others.
The three elders had erected the tent and gotten a good fire burning just outside the entrance. The canvas was tattered and dirty, but enough to keep the wind out and their body heat in. There was no way it would sleep all six of them, but four might just be able to cram in if two rotated out by the fire on watch.
That was their routine for the next five days. Wake up, shoot, eat, and hit the road. They took lunch on foot as they walked. They avoided the need to hunt by resupplying out of a wagon or two that passed them by. Arik turned out to have a talent for getting a good deal. The two brothers were talkative on a regular day, but when it came time to buy or sell Arik turned it on like a born merchant.
The good luck that brought opportunities to resupply also meant that they didn’t need to hunt or forage or search out water at night. That left plenty of time for the Sidhe to start teaching them other things, how to start a fire being the most important. They also started teaching the two to hunt. The first couple days were a frustrating failure, but on the third Thea managed to take down a squirrel. The group was still thankful for the small supplement to their trail rations.
And always there was more practice. Math and Thea both noticed that they could fight longer and harder now, and get less winded. The constant drills had them feeling stronger and faster, regardless of the bumps and bruises and occasional stiff muscles.
As they made their way north the temperature dropped. By the third night snow dusted the ground. By the fourth night it was inches deep. Math couldn’t imagine what they’d have done if they hadn’t found the tent. They began constructing a small lean-to for the watchers just outside the tent. The crude shelter was simple but effective. It blocked the wind and caught the heat from the fire, reflecting it back on whoever was sitting awake.
On the fifth day they had passed through a small town. They all spent a welcome evening in the common room eating a warm meal and sitting in front of a blazing hearth. Then they spent a welcome night in a real bed, in a real room, out of reach of the elements. They were able to gather more supplies, mostly warm furs, heavy cloaks and thick boots.
The next morning, they were back on the road. The schedule continued, training and walking in the cold. Just when Math had remembered what it was like to be warm, the wind and snow erased it from his memory again.
That afternoon they left the road, and the going got slower and harder. They trudged through the snow, winding their way between trees and pushing through undergrowth. They were going noticeably uphill, entering the foothills of the Wall. They felt the added effort when they stopped a little earlier to give themselves more time to set up camp. Even so, Khel still had them up and training. “What, you think you’ll never have to fight in the snow?” he had said.
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By noon the next day the hills were steeper and higher. The mountain range didn’t earn the name ‘The Wall’ by gradually rising over many miles. The foothills seemed to be almost an afterthought of the gods. The group sought out the passes between and threaded their way between the highest hills, wondering if it wouldn’t be long before what they were doing could be considered more climbing than walking.
That night, he and Thea drew a watch together. They crouched in front of the lean-to to keep the wind gusts off their backs. They kept the fire high, soaking up as much heat as they could but getting just as much warmth from each other, huddled underneath a blanket. The wind picked up and the snow fell heavier.
Math tried to think of something to say but couldn’t, so he just sat there. Thea was silent next to him. After a short time, warmth and fatigue relaxed them both. Thea leaned against him, and without thinking his arm went around her shoulders. He glanced down and saw her looking up at him, eyes dark, lips slightly parted. He felt a pull that was magnetic, pinning his gaze on hers. He didn’t even realize he was bending down to kiss her until their lips met.
He had read silly stories about princes and princesses and the power contained in a kiss. He suddenly knew what they meant. His head spun. Their lips moved gently together. His fingers closed around her hair, and she pressed a hand to his cheek. The world went away, he knew nothing but the softness in front of him as their tongues lightly danced together. They kissed for seconds, or minutes, or an hour, he couldn’t tell. The snow fell thicker and the wind blew harder, and he didn’t care. The blizzard didn’t exist.
An inhuman howl cut through the wail of the wind and the ecstasy of the kiss. They broke apart abruptly. A second wailing cry sounded from a different direction. It was like the howl of a wolf, but deeper, more savage and guttural. And it was filled with an unmistakable rage.
Math and Thea both leaped to their feet and grabbed bow and arrow.
“Wake up!” Math said, smacking the canvas tent flap. His warning was not necessary, the commotion inside the tent was a clear sign that everyone had heard that supernatural cry. The four of them stumbled out, pulling swords from scabbards without bothering to strap them to their backs. They stood with drawn swords, facing away from the fire, trying to see what might be approaching.
The attack came quickly and silently. One moment the four Sidhe stood in front of Math and Thea, the next a red streak shot out of the furiously swirling snow and struck Brand full in the chest. The big redhead when down hard. Some sort of giant blood-red wolf or dog snapped at his face, teeth dripping blood closing inches away from his throat. The thing looked like it was coated in flowing blood. The fur was drenched, shifting and amorphous. The teeth and tongue were crimson, the teeth seeming to lengthen and shorten, the tongue a liquid tentacle. Even the eyes were smooth dark red fluid rubies, no hint of either black pupil or white sclera. Blood dripped from every surface, a bloody trail leading back into the dark woods.
Math had less than a second to wonder at the strange beast when the second one shot through the woods with a snarl and launched itself at the Sidhe just starting to react. The extra sliver of time was enough for them to prepare, and the three of them met the attacker with drawn swords. Math moved to help Brand, lunging forward and plunging his sword into the thing’s flank. It slid in like it was cutting through water. The lack of physical resistance caught Math off guard, and he stumbled forward. The wolf beast snapped at Brand’s throat again and he met it with the fist clutching the hilt of his sword. Flesh and metal hit the side of the animal’s jaw, penetrating the writhing liquid mass. Math pulled out his sword as Brand withdrew his hand. The red liquid flesh closed instantly over the slit made by Math’s blade. The wolf paused for a moment, and the head began to reform, tendrils of blood knitting back together into the shape of the head.
Brand took the moment to roll violently into the wolf, raising one shoulder into it and pivoting out from under. Math stabbed again, the steel having no more effect the second time it passed through the thing’s body. But his attack and Brand’s scramble to his feet put Math in front of the slavering jaws as they knitted themselves fully back together. From the corner of his eye he could see Thea, Nyla and Arik surrounding the second bloody creature, hacking and stabbing. Their blows were just as futile, the thing ignoring them and spinning to snap and lunge at each of them. With Thea helping keep the second attacker at bay, Khel had turned to help with the first. He clasped Brand’s wrist and pulled him quickly to his feet.
Before Brand could get his feet fully under him, the thing lunged at Math. He intercepted it easily with the point of the sword, but the blood wolf paid no attention. It impaled itself on the Sidhe blade, the metal passing through and exiting where the spine of an animal of flesh would have been. The sanguine mass struck Math, sending him flailing backwards into the blizzard.
He pulled his sword free and managed to keep his feet, though he stumbled back a few yards. The darkness of the howling blizzard swallowed the firelight, only a dim glow still visible from even that short distance away. The thing followed, springing at him again. Math ducked to the side of a tree, letting the wolf’s momentum carry it into the thick trunk. It left a swatch of dripping blood on the bark but kept its feet. Math heard Brand and Khel shouting as they followed, trying to keep up through the blinding snow.
Now the uncanny wolf switched tactics. Rather than relentlessly attacking, it began to stalk. Math and his ineffective blade stepped backwards as it advanced, growling, disconcerting featureless eyes fixed on him, a trail of blood a dark stain behind it. Math stuck near the trees, taking a quick hop back from the protection of one to the shelter of the next, always making sure he had a solid barrier to jump behind if the thing leaped at him again. But still it stalked, relentlessly.
Finally, Brand ran forward out of the blizzard, Khel right behind, following the wide trail of blood.
“Come get me, shithead!” Brand bellowed at the top of his lungs, swinging his blade through fluid flesh and skipping to one side of the stalking wolf.
“Hey! Over here!” Khel roared just as loudly as he went to the thing’s other side.
The wolf spun from one shouting assailant to the other. Khel stepped too close and the thing caught his leg in its jaws. He yelled in surprised pain as Math and Brand closed in on its flanks hacking and swinging. Ineffective though the metal was on the amorphous beast, it relaxed its hold enough for Khel to wrench his leg free and stumble backwards.
“How do we kill the damn thing?” Brand yelled over the wind between shouts at the wolf beast. The three of them were tiring fast, fighting while slogging through the drifting snow and struggling against the howling wind. The creature showed no such signs.
Math felt the rumble in his bones before he heard it. A deep, grinding vibration that set his teeth on edge. The deafening roar followed an instant later, a harsh cacophony of sound like a continuous peal of thunder roaring down the mountain. Brand and Khel both froze, heads cocked, looks of fear spreading across both their faces. The blood wolf stopped its relentless stalk.
“What is it?” Math yelled. The creature between them was melting away, fur and features dissolving into a stream of blood flowing rapidly back into the blizzard it had emerged from. Brand and Khel were also bolting into action, running towards Math.
“Move!” Brand shouted. “Run! Downhill, fast!”
“Cut an angle across the slope! Try to get out of the path!” Khel added.
Math followed their lead, bounding through the snow as best he could. The roar got louder still, until Math could barely hear his own panting, an army of roaring dragons bearing down on his back. A glance over his shoulder revealed a wall of snow bearing down on him, trees falling before it, seconds from engulfing them.
Math prepared for the impact, trying to remember what he knew of avalanches. Nothing about surviving them came to mind. He plowed a couple more steps through the snow, and then the ground opened up beneath him. He pitched forward and down, hitting the ground hard. The impact stunned him and took his breath. The ground he hit was a steep slope back the way he had come and he slid fast, turning and rolling, snow and rock pummeling him as he skidded.
The slope evened out shortly, still graded downhill but shallow enough that the friction of his body slowed him to a stop. Two successive impacts to the side of his body sent shocks of pain through his ribs and his battered limbs. The grunts accompanying the impacts letting him know that Khel and Brand had fallen with him.
“By the Great Emperor Khel-Dain, what the fuck just happened?” Brand cursed. Nobody answered. Math was gingerly testing arms and legs, sitting up with a grimace. He wondered if he had any skin left on his body after the abrasive trip down the rock tunnel.
“Some sort of old tunnel,” Khel replied. “It’s been carved out and reinforced, it’s not a cave.”
Math blinked in the darkness. “How do you know that?” he asked. “It’s pitch black in here.”
“Give your eyes a few, they’ll adjust,” Khel replied.
The gloom was absolute. Math could only listen to his companions as they shifted around in the blackness, scuffling on the floor and grunting as they examined their own scrapes and bruises. After a few minutes he did think he could make out some dim movement. A few more and he could see the faint outlines of Khel and Brand, and the vague shape of the tunnel extending back into the mountain, sloping down. An almost imperceptibly faint glow shone dimly from patches scattered around the walls and ceiling of the tunnel.
“What is this? What is that glow?”
“It’s an old Sidhe tunnel,” Brand answered. “The glow is from a lichen. We cultivate it and use it to provide just enough light for our Sidhe eyes to make out our surroundings. It’s not much, and it’s so faint an outsider would not even see it. But it’s enough for us.”
“Someone is cultivating this?” Math asked.
“At some point, yes. At this point, it’s just grown wild. This tunnel doesn’t look like it’s been used in ages.”
“Well it’s going to get used now. There must be a ton of snow above us,” Khel said. Math turned towards his voice and was just able to make out his silhouette probing at the mound of snow that was blocking the tunnel behind them.
“Too much to dig out?” Math asked.
“We fell and slid a decent way,” Khel replied. “And the snow followed us all the way in. It’ll take days to dig out.”
“What about the camp? How far away were the others?” Math asked, concerned.
“If they were back at the camp, they’re likely fine. That wolf thing had driven us a good distance out. But if they followed us, there’s no telling.”
“I don’t think they followed us,” Brand said. Math at first thought the big man was trying to alleviate his concern. “They had their hands full with their own beast, I’d be more worried about that,” he continued. Math’s concern was not alleviated.
“You think the lichen grows throughout?” Khel asked nobody in particular.
“I think we’re going to be finding out,” Brand replied.
Khel grunted his agreement. “Well, let’s move then.”
Math took one look back at the dim wall of ice, rock, and snow that barred their escape, then followed Khel and Brand into the dark.