As Baard staggered back into the inn, he realized he had turned from a stranger to a celebrity. The Blizzardshorers called him their savior, and Ruah, Elya, and Garmonea beamed with pride. Only Hareth looked resentful.

Although the locals mourned the kidnapped girls and the people who had died in the fight with the soldiers, they threw a feast in Baard’s honor. So many people slapped his back that he thought they would break his spine, and so much wine, ale, mead, gin, and brandy was placed on the table in front of him that his head would have exploded in the morning if he had drunk it all.

Recalling what liquor had done to his father, and keeping their quest in mind, he drank a bit of beer and furtively poured the other drinks under the table. It was easy to do, for nobody but he could see well in the common room. Fierran licked the liquor off the floor so diligently he could hardly make it upstairs when the feast was over.

While Baard shared a chamber with Hareth. Elya, Fierran, and the soothsayers occupied the adjacent room. Whenever a bad dream or a noise awakened him, he heard the women’s muffled voices through the wall. At one point, he thought they were chanting.

Since they didn’t seem to sleep at all, the bigger was Baard’s surprise when he and Hareth descended the stairs in the morning and saw them sitting at a large table on the sunlit porch, breaking their fast with bacon, eggs, cheese, ham, and bread.

The soothsayers smiled at them, but their smiles seemed nervous and forced. Elya perked at the sound of their footsteps, but then she quickly lowered her head. Baard feared they had learned something disturbing during the rite.

“What’s happening?” he asked as they sat, forcing himself to sound calm.

Ruah ran her hand over her forehead. “We have seen Diara in our vision. She was being taken with other girls in a large wheeled cage, which was just one of a long train of cages. There had to be at least a hundred girls altogether. Judging from their dresses, they had been snatched from all over Thorstorm.”

Baard suddenly felt as if he had drunk all the liquor he had been offered yesterday. Diara was in a cage like a tamed bear? “Where are they taking them? To Esgardia?”

“We don’t know how far into the future our vision reached, Baard,” Ruah said. “The soldiers who had raided Blizzardshore and Icecreek might have already landed and joined with the other raiders. But they are not going to stay in Esgardia.”

“Where are they going then?” Baard asked.

Ruah sighed. “I don’t know how to tell you this.”

She frowned and peered at her plate. Baard looked at Garmonea, who stared into oblivion as if lost in her own thoughts. Elya groped around the table, took a piece of bacon, and gave it to Fierran. A large drop of tear moistened her eyelashes. The crunching of the bacon between Fierran’s teeth grated on Baard’s nerves.

At last, Elya cleared her throat and said, “We believe that the girls are being taken to the Wrathlands, brother.”

Hareth gasped, and dread traced Baard’s spine with an icy claw.

“The Wrathlands?” he wheezed. “Why?”

“To appease Wrathlord Zaagretaah, darling,” Garmonea said.

Baard gawked, trying to process the information. A few days ago, he hadn’t even believed that the Wrathlords still existed. And now one of them was going to imprison Diara? He had been prepared to fight human soldiers, although he doubted he stood a chance. But how was he to fight an ageless monster?

Elya groped for Baard’s hand and squeezed it.

Ruah said, “The soldiers hope that Zaagretaah will take the girls and reverse the curse.” She sighed. “They are bloody fools.”

“Wrathlords never reverse curse,” Garmonea said. “They cannot.”

“So what will happen now?” Baard asked, forcing the words through a large lump that formed in his throat. He wanted Hareth to say something encouraging, but his friend only stared at his trembling hands, which clenched his empty plate as if he wanted to strangle it.

“I’m not sure what will happen, Baard,” Ruah said. “But Wrathlords are evil and treacherous . . .”

“But the Wrathlands are always cloudy!” Baard exclaimed, a spark of hope flickering in the darkness of his soul. “And the putrid soldiers are also affected by the curse. They won’t see a crap in there!”

“That’s true, brother,” Elya said, wincing. “But we believe they have an intermediary, perhaps a Daemorc or a Corpsentinel.

“Or undead creature: Middleman,” said Garmonea.

Ruah nodded. “The soldiers probably plan to hand the girls to the intermediary on the Forbidden Threshold, the border of our sunlit world and the misty Wrathlands. They hope the intermediary would take the girls to Zaagretaah’s palace, and that the Wrathlord would be so pleased he would reverse the curse. But it won’t be so.”

The lump in Baard’s throat had grown so big it threatened to suffocate him. Fierran nudged Elya with his snout to give him more bacon, but she ignored him. The soothsayers stared at their plates but never took another morsel. Nobody spoke for long minutes.

The townspeople resumed their work on the graves, and pickaxes clanged against hard soil to the thrump, phrum, thrump, phrum of shovels. Birds sang in the nearby trees, happily as if no monsters and evil soldiers plagued the world. The sun reflected cheerfully on the plates on the table. And Baard wanted to crawl under the table and cry.

“Tell about reason for curse, darling,” Garmonea told Ruah.

“Oh yes,” Ruah said. “There’s one more thing we have divined. Wrathlord Zaagretaah proposed marriage to the crown princess, Cantria, probably to become the overlord of this realm, ruling not only over Mid-Wrathlands but also over the humans. But King Otrex spurned him. And Zaagretaah cursed us to punish him. In my vision, I saw cracks appearing under Zaagretaah’s mount as he galloped through Esgardia. And from the cracks, dark fog billowed like smoke from unclean bonfires. The fog spread throughout the kingdom. And when it departed, it left us all blind. Almost.”

Baard clenched his hands into fists. So the king’s refusal had caused the curse. Did Otrex also order the soldiers to kidnap pretty maidens to appease Zaagretaah? Baard shuddered with sudden hatred for the king.

“We must go on with our plan in any case,” he said when he calmed. “We must set off for Grimwood. Now.”

The soothsayers exchanged a knowing look. Elya nodded with a slight smile; she seemed to be proud of him. Hareth breathed hard through his mouth as if he was going to be sick.

“We will set out right away,” Baard continued. “We will cross Grimwood and reach Esgardia. And then—” He paused, suddenly uncertain what to say. What were they going to do then?

Garmonea said, “To save Diara, you must break curse. Then people see. Diara be free. And you be legend.”

Baard stared at her and gulped. What is she saying?

“We know that all you care about is saving Diara, Baard,” Ruah said, gently. “But it is now certain that she has been kidnapped because of the curse. I told you that everything is more connected than it might seem.”

She took a deep breath and gave him one of her penetrating looks. “Since the soldiers destroyed the ships, you have no chance to catch up with them. They might reach the Forbidden Threshold before you even reach Esgardia. That means you cannot save Diara without facing Zaagretaah. And killing him.”

“Killing . . .?” Baard gulped. Just the thought made his stomach turn. “Hilts and blades! Is it even possible for a human to kill a Wrathlord?”

“It was done in empire,” Garmonea said. “I heard.”

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Ruah nodded. “It isn’t impossible. You showed incredible bravery yesterday, and you are now the only person who could see in the Wrathlands. Master Hareth would have to stay on the sunlit Forbidden Threshold, but Elya and Fierran will accompany you all the way to Zaagretaah’s palace and help you fight him.”

Baard thought that was poor consolation. Seven Wrathlords had been enough to conquer the realm and depopulate the eastern part of the island. And now he was supposed to kill one of them. He got Elya and Fierran while Zaagretaah had an army of Corpsentinels. And if he got killed, Baard would become one of the monsters he had lured yesterday into the woods.

“Magic Circle will help,” Garmonea said. “Seek them.”

“The Magic Circle?” Baard asked.

“A group of powerful mages who have sworn to fight the Wrathlords,” Elya said. “I’m sure they are now up in arms and devising ways to break the curse. They will help us.”

Baard nodded, the spark of hope flickering to life again. He guessed that mages meant witches and wizards.

Ruah frowned in thought. “I hate the idea of sending you alone through Grimwood. Perhaps I should go with you and help you find the mages once we reach Esgardia.”

“No!” Elya said. “You promised to take care of Mother. We will manage.” Her tone was uncompromising.

“Very well,” Ruah said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. “I will return.”

Hareth sighed in relief, to Baard’s surprise. Baard would expect him to welcome Ruah’s company.

“You should eat before you leave, youngsters,” Ruah said, gently, but firmly.

“Yes.” Garmonea nodded. “Eat.”

Baard shook his head, but Elya took another piece of bacon, broke it in half, and gave one piece to Fierran while she chewed on the other one. She looked worried yet determined. Hareth’s hand trembled as he reached for a wedge of hard cheese. Although Baard hoped it was from the excitement about the upcoming adventure, he feared it might be something else.

Ruah stood and stepped toward Baard. She peeled off the bandage and peered at the wound on his head. “It no longer needs to be wrapped. The wound must breathe to dry and finish healing.”

“Thank you, soothsayer,” he said.

Seeing that neither Elya nor Hareth reached for more food, Baard got up, eager to set off. “Nobody seems to have much appetite, so let’s ask the innkeeper to pack the food for us so we can depart.”

Ruah nodded. “You are right, Master Baard. There is no time to lose.”

As everyone stood, Garmonea said, “I tell innkeeper to get everything ready.”

Ruah said, “You boys get the horses. Get mine as well, please, while I talk to Elya.”

Baard nodded and turned toward the stables. Hareth followed with his head hung.

“So, the real adventure is about to begin, my friend,” Baard said, trying to sound cheerful. “That’s what we always dreamed of while hunting in the woods, didn’t we? Do you remember that, whenever we rode down Blizzardshore Road, we dreamed of going on all the way here to set sail for Esgardia or even farther south? And now . . .”

Baard trailed off. Hareth wasn’t responding, and Baard felt silly about trying to inspire an older boy, whom he had always looked up to. He hoped that once they had set forth, Hareth would recover his pluck.

Baard kept an eye on Hareth as the stable boys saddled the horses and led them outside. Hareth’s face was unreadable, but Baard guessed that something was terribly wrong. A servant girl brought a greasy bundle that smelled of bacon and stuffed it into Whitecap’s saddlebag. Another brought a large waterskin and a jug of wine. When everything was ready, the boys joined Elya and the soothsayers in front of the inn.

Ruah sighed as she turned to the twins and Hareth. “The rivers of our lives have flown side by side ever since you were born. But now they must fork, for how long I cannot tell. Take good care of yourselves, my dear youngsters, and watch your every step. The Gravelackers are senseless and blind. They go after the scent of blood, and they are easy to fool. But there are others: Daemorcs and Corpsentinels, and, well, the Wrathlord.”

Suddenly, Hareth fell to his knees in front of Ruah. “Please take me with you, soothsayer!” he begged, tears gushing from his eyes. “I cannot go on and face . . . any of this. I cannot cross Grimwood! I cannot get anywhere near the Forbidden Threshold!”

Ruah stepped away from him as she would from a barking dog. Everybody stared at him in disbelief. Strangely, Baard’s cheeks burned with shame.

“I have thought of everything, Ruah!” Hareth exclaimed fervently. “I will talk to my father and he will let you stay in the inn. And I’ll make a palisade all around the inn so the Gravelackers cannot get at us. If you take me safely to Icecreek, I will keep you safe there!”

“Please, get up, Master Corwyn,” Ruah said, sternly. “You are embarrassing all of us.”

After a while, Hareth stood. He wiped his eyes and stared at the ground.

Disappointment crushed Baard like a fallen boulder. The hero he had worshipped had turned out to be a craven. Hareth was to abandon him and let him spend three days and two nights in Grimwood with Elya and Fierran only. Baard thought of pleading with him, of reminding him that Diara was his sister, about to be taken to the Wrathlands. And suddenly, he was glad that Hareth wouldn’t come along.

Perhaps he had long suspected that Hareth was full of empty bravado—which Elya and even Diara had often hinted at—and the confirmation came as a relief.

Baard looked at Elya, happy that she was there. She was brave, loyal, and determined, and she would never fail him. Besides, she had a powerful Might and a link to Ruah, which could guide them along the way.

As if she knew what he was thinking, Elya groped for his hand and gave it a strong, reassuring squeeze.

Ruah peered at Hareth with scorn on her face. “Very well, Master Corwyn. I will take you back home, although I—or anybody else—cannot guarantee safety in these times. I won’t stay in the inn but return to my dwelling. But we will make that palisade. It will go around the whole village, however, so everybody can feel safer. And you will get the wood and organize the workforce. And you will be working harder than the others.”

“Yes, yes,” Hareth said fervently. “Whatever you say.”

Elya said, “You should give Baard your sword, Hareth.” With derision in her voice she added, “He will have much more need for it than you.”

“It’s my sword!” Hareth snapped, clenching the hilt.

He looked ashamed yet determined, as if he had decided that now that he had disgraced himself, he would do it thoroughly. He glanced at Ruah as if afraid that his outburst would make her change her mind.

Ruah only sighed. “Well, no matter. Even a sword can be substituted in certain cases.”

She reached under the neckline of her tunic and produced a black pendant on a leather string. It was shaped like a dragon wing, similar to that Baard had seen embroidered on Ruah’s winter cloak. She put it in Elya’s hand.

“This is a powerful amulet,” she said. “Although it looks like a stone, it’s actually made from a dragon bone.”

“A dragon bone?” Elya asked as she ran her fingers over the edges.

Baard’s mind flashed to the enormous creature that had overflown them the day they had met Al’Anark. He hoped that, if their paths crossed again, the dragon wouldn’t devour Elya for wearing the remnant of his brethren.

Ruah said, “Put it around your neck, my dear.”

As Elya complied, the soothsayer glanced at Baard and said, “May it protect both of you, my brave travelers. This amulet won’t do anything against the Wrathlords and Corpsentinels, for they are too intelligent. But primitive creatures like the monsters’ warhorses, Gravelackers, and perhaps even Daemorcs might be affected by its magic.”

Her words eased Baard’s misgivings about crossing Grimwood and facing whatever waited beyond it.

“Thank you so much, dear Ruah,” Elya said, stroking the amulet.

Ruah smiled and said, “A pleasure.” With a sigh she added, “But now it’s time to say goodbye.”

She turned to Baard and stretched out her hand. As Baard reached for it to shake it, she gave a little shrug and embraced him.

“Goodbye, dear Baard,” she said. “Farewell, fearless young man. Farewell, prophesied hero!”

“Goodbye, Ruah,” Baard said, feeling warmth and affection for the woman for the first time in his life.

Ruah let go of him and embraced Elya. “Take good care of yourself and your brother, my dearest.”

“Be safe wherever you go, my dear teacher,” Elya said. “Please, take care of dearest Mother. And tell her that we love her, and that we will return soon.”

“Yes,” Baard said, feeling he should have said that while embracing Ruah. Elya had always been better at saying the right thing.

The locals noticed the farewells and approached, standing in a loose circle around the group.

Hareth turned to Baard and produced an awkward grin. “Good luck, brother-in-law.”

Baard nodded. “Farewell, Hareth.” He’d said it more coldly than he had intended. Hareth cleared his throat, looked toward the road, and fiddled with his horse’s reins.

When Ruah and Elya broke their embrace, Ruah kneeled by Fierran and hugged him. Fierran whined and licked her face. Garmonea patted the wolf’s large head as she turned to Baard and Elya, an encouraging smile on her lips. “Farewell, valiant twins,” she said, her beautiful dark eyes radiating warmth. “Cross town and fields to enter Grimwood. Try to keep sea always in sight. Perhaps, merchant road still there . . . And remember: trees can be dangerous in Grimwood.”

When Ruah stood, Garmonea told her, “I accompany you to crossroads. You should hurry so shadows don’t catch you before Icecreek.”

The soothsayers nodded to the twins and turned their back to them. Baard felt that was the moment he had truly become a man. The women walked toward the woods, with Hareth a few steps behind them, leading his and Ruah’s horses.

The locals approached. Although Baard thought they were coming to see off the soothsayers, they walked straight to him and Elya. An old woman offered Baard a golden coin, and when Baard smiled and shook his head, she slipped the coin into Whitecap’s saddlebag. Baard was about to protest when other people approached and stuffed the saddlebag with food and gifts as if Whitecap was a sacred icon.

“Thank you,” Baard said, not knowing what else to say. “Thank you all.”

“We thank you,” the innkeeper said, pulling at his long, curly beard with a fat hand. “We wouldn’t be here without you. Not all of us, in any case.”

Feeling his cheeks burn, Baard smiled, nodded, and helped Elya into the saddle. With an awkward wave to the crowd, he mounted and nudged Whitecap.

“Goodbye our savior,” a woman called. Others echoed the call.

Baard turned around and waved, hoping that he was already too far for the half-blind townspeople to see his red face.

Elya patted his knee and said, “Yesterday, you entered Blizzardshore as an outlander. And now you’re leaving as a local hero.”

He opened his mouth to say she was exaggerating, but she continued. “Now it’s time you became a hero of the whole realm, Baard. The hero we have been awaiting for a millennium.”