2 To Light A Candle.13 (90 page)

Kellen finished his tea and put on his armor—apparently he'd cleaned both before passing out yesterday, though he didn't remember doing it—and put on a fresh surcoat. The bundle Idalia had dropped was his coldwarg-fur cloak, mended.

I have to remember to thank her for that—if she won't take my head off for it.

PETARIEL was in the dining tent, and Kellen got a more detailed version of the slaughter of the Goblins from him as he worked his way through a platterful of food.

"I wish I'd been there," he said, surprised to find it was true.

"Well, we can't let you have all the fun," Petariel said reprovingly. "It made a nice change from riding picket around the Heart of the Forest, I assure you. We return Nironoshan to you, incidentally—while we thank you for the warning, if you've lost any Shadowed Elves, I assure you, we haven't found them."

"They've probably run off to some other rat-hole," Kellen said darkly. "Just… in case they haven't…"

"We'll continue to look for them," Petariel assured him. "But I don't think I can promise to return them to you in the condition you last saw them."

Kellen shook his head, smiling painfully. He knew Petariel's lightly-mocking words were a mask for the grief that all the Elves shared at being forced to execute those they thought of as their own kind.

He understood it better than he would have once. Petariel had offered Kellen neither sympathy nor acknowledgment for the members of his troop he had lost in the battle, though he was sure Petariel knew about them, and for that, Kellen was profoundly grateful. If Petariel had, Kellen wasn't sure he'd have been able to stand it.

"I wouldn't dream of asking you to return them at all," he said, striving to match his friend's tone. "One does not ask for the return of a gift."

"Since you have given me such a rich gift, I shall have to ask Gesade what I may gift you with in suitable recompense," Petariel said. "But you must go now, else you will be late for the day's interesting events."

WHEN Kellen arrived in Redhelwar's pavilion, the senior commanders, Idalia, Vestakia—in her scarlet armor—and Jermayan were already there. Once he would have fretted about being late. Now Kellen simply assumed that if Redhel-war had wanted him earlier, he would have sent someone to fetch him.

"Kellen Knight-Mage," Redhelwar greeted him. "It is now time to finish what we have begun. Vestakia must lead us to the Shadowed Elf village."

Kellen thought about it for a moment. "Will it work?" he asked bluntly. "I know you can sense Taint, Vestakia, but the Shadowed Elves aren't the only Tainted things still in there—even without Goblins."

Vestakia nodded. "I know I can't tell one kind of Tainted creature from another, but from what Jermayan says about the duergar, if we go in lit with Cold-fire, they'll sense it and get as far away from us as possible—and the Shadowed Elves won't."

We hope, Kellen thought grimly.

"We've killed all—or nearly all—the Goblins, and most of the fighting males," Redhelwar said. "What you should face today should be only females and young, though in greater numbers than you have faced before."

Kellen nodded. "Then Vestakia will be able to lead us to the village. And once she's found it, she'll return to the surface immediately."

"I won't object," Vestakia said with a rueful smile.

JERMAYAN and Ancaladar were waiting for them at the cavern mouth. The day was dark, and even cold as it was, the air felt heavy instead of crisp. Kellen remembered what the other Wildmages had said about the weather. Because of that—and because clearing the caverns of all their Tainted inhabitants would probably not be the work of a single day, Redhelwar would be making a second, temporary, camp here, once the battlefield had been cleared. The Elves were still working to remove the bodies of the slain Shadowed Elves as the fighting force rode through, and everywhere Kellen looked the snow was churned and stained. He found himself looking forward to the snow to come.

Before they'd arrived, Jermayan had improved the path to the cavern mouth—now it was a long gentle slope instead of the steep twisting path the Shadowed Elves had carved. As those who would enter the cavern began to dismount, he banished the shield of ice that had barred the entrance.

"First ranks, take your shields," Adaerion ordered.

The supply wagon with Artenel's experimental shields stood ready and waiting. Kellen collected his and hefted it. Artenel had made some improvements, including a shoulder-piece that would allow the shield's weight to be more evenly-distributed. There weren't enough shields for everyone, but at least those in front would have greater protection than before from the Shadowed Elves' preferred weapons.

They ascended into the cavern. Kellen and Isinwen led, with Idalia and Ves-takia directly behind him. As before, the passageway was straight at first, and narrow enough that only two Elven Knights could walk side-by-side. Kellen walked carefully, alert for trip-wires. Just because they didn't expect this lair to be catch-trapped didn't mean it might not be. And a quickly prepared trap could be just as lethal as one that had been moontums in the making.

But he saw nothing at all—not trip-wire, goblin, nor Shadowed Elf—and soon they came to the first point in the cavern where a decision as to their direction must be made. By now, the only light came from the Coldfire that crowned them all.

Behind him, he heard Vestakia's breathing grow ragged, though she tried hard to control it.

"Which way?" Kellen asked.

"Left—far left," she corrected, as the tunnel branched in all directions here.

UNLIKE the last two Shadowed Elf caverns Kellen had been in, this one was a honeycomb of tunnels and chambers, and after the second turn, he sent someone back to mark their path, for without clear signs, they might never find their way out again. Still they saw no sign of the enemy, and Kellen began to believe that, once again, the rest of the Shadowed Elves meant to make a stand at the village.

Surely they know that's useless? Kellen thought. There was something disturbing about the idea that this part of the battle would repeat the previous one. Everything they'd seen so far told them that the Shadowed Elves had learned from the first battle. They would know that hiding wouldn't save them.

"There's something wrong here," he said to Isinwen.

"Tell me," Isinwen said instantly.

"Nothing clear." Of course. "It just doesn't feel as if things are quite as they should be here. I can't tell more than that."

Behind him, Vestakia choked out a laugh, then gagged and began to cough.

"Let me make this known to Redhelwar. Any information is better than none," Isinwen said.

"Yes." Kellen stopped while Isinwen moved back through the line to find a runner to carry the message. "Vestakia, are you all right?"

"Oh, I'm fine," Vestakia said, sounding breathless and a bit irritated. "I don't know what you mean about things being not quite right here. They certainly feel normal to me—all wrong!"

Isinwen returned, and they continued.

Vestakia grew weaker the deeper they went into the mountain, until Kellen wondered if she would actually be able to lead them the entire way to the village. Her breathing now was punctuated by strangled whimpers of pain, and Idalia was all-but-carrying her.

But she never faltered, giving them their directions in a clear—though shaking—whisper each time the path became confused. Her courage was as true as a sword blade. If there was a single Elf in the entire army who still doubted her— after today, that doubt would be gone.

"There," she said at last, in a voice so faint Kellen had to strain to hear it. "Look… ahead… to the left…"

"Wait here," Kellen said to Isinwen.

They stood at the entrance to a huge cavern. By now Kellen had lost all sense of time; without Vestakia's guidance, he would have been certain they'd been wandering in circles. He left the others and crossed the cavern, senses alert, looking for any exit to the left.

He nearly missed it. The opening was small and narrow, as Shadowed Elf passageways tended to be, but when he looked cautiously through it he could see—at the bottom of a short series of shallow terraces—the glowing firepit that marked a Shadowed Elf village. And though it was too dark to see clearly, in the cavern beyond, he sensed Life in abundance.

And the sense of wrongness he'd felt before came back again, stronger.

But still no clearer.

He saw no traps.

For a moment Kellen considered retreating. Adaerion was in charge of the assault, but he was certain Adaerion would listen to him if he said they should leave.

But no. There was something down there. Even if it didn't turn out to be Shadowed Elves, they needed to either kill it, rescue it, or talk to it. Their job was to find out which—just as soon as Vestakia was safe.

He returned quickly to the others.

"That's it. Get her out of here," he said to Idalia. "Go with her. Tell Redhel-war… something's not the way it's supposed to be. I can't figure out anything more."

"I'll tell Jermayan, too," Idalia said. "Maybe he can help."

THE cavern outside the entrance was large enough for them to gather a good portion of their assault force there as they waited for the others to get back to the surface. Kellen tried to bring his sense of foreboding into sharper focus, but could not. Something was not right. That was all he knew.

"Kellen, you must go first," Adaerion said. "If it is an ambush, you will be able to tell us at once. After you, all those with Artenel's shields. We shall surround the village if we can, and… do what we must."

Kellen and the others nodded. None of them liked the necessity that lay before them but it had to be done.

And what other terrible things will have to be done, before the power of Shadow Mountain is broken! Kellen wondered uneasily.

AT last it was time. Kellen hefted his shield and stepped through the doorway.

He quickly slipped to one side, keeping the rock at his back. His battle-sight showed no threat. There was utter silence in the cavern, save for the faint sound of water dripping steadily somewhere far away.

The Elves followed him quickly, each crowned with Coldfire. The more that came through, the brighter the cavern became. They spread out along the terraces—five shallow broad steps, Kellen now saw, something the cave itself had created, smoothed and evened by the passing of countless generations of Shadowed Elf footsteps.

The cavern itself was a beautiful thing. The stone ceiling dripped with eternal icicles of stone, some of which, at the edges of the cavern, had grown long enough to touch the floor. The cavern had obviously once been filled with them, and—just as obviously—those in the center had been cut away and used to build the village huts, giving many of them an odd resemblance to the log house Kellen had shared with Idalia in the Wildwood.

This village was larger than the last one they'd seen, the structures more elaborate, indicating longer habitation. But all the life Kellen sensed here was concealed within those huts—though this cavern had many exits, Kellen could not perceive a single Shadowed Elf lurking in ambush.

Soon the attack force had moved into position. And still there was no sound, no movement, from the Shadowed Elves everyone knew were there.

Adaerion indicated the nearest hut, and pointed to Keirasti, communicating solely by gesture. She pointed to five of her command, and moved toward it.

Then everything began to happen at once.

They can't possibly all fit into these huts! Kellen realized belatedly. A dozen yelping children swarmed from the hut just as Keirasti and her troops reached it.

As if their screams had been a signal—or perhaps because they could not bear to lie concealed a moment longer—the door of every hut burst open, and barking, yelping Shadowed Elf young burst forth, running at the Elves. They were every size from those barely able to walk on their own to those half-grown, and they attacked the Elves in the manner of starving rats.

There was not one full-grown Shadowed Elf among them.

"Children," Kellen whispered in horror. "Nothing but children."

He ran into the first hut, the one Keirasti had approached. Lying on the floor, pushed into a corner, he saw half-a-dozen Shadowed Elf infants. A couple were still moving feebly. The others were already dead.

They starved to death. There was no one here to care for them, and they starved to death.

Because their mothers were elsewhere…

He ran back outside and grabbed the nearest Elf he could pull from the fighting. "Go—run—tell Redhelwar. All the adult females are somewhere else. They aren't in the caverns."

He saw the Elven Knight turn away to carry his message, and raised his sword, covering the warrior's retreat.

THE Winged Gods had warned them centuries ago that this day would come, and so, against the Time of Testing, they had prepared, digging their long tunnels deep into the rock, preparing weapons, making all ready.

When the day came that the Hated Ones summoned the Brothers into the night to die, the Sisters were ready. They gave their last orders to their young.

They went to the tunnels. And there they waited, knowing they must not dig their own way to the surface until they knew all was lost.

But all was not lost.

The last of the Brothers came for them, just as the Winged Gods had promised that they would. They brought them into the terrible cold bright world of the upper air, promising them blood and meat enough to atone for the death of every cub. With weapons in hand and death in their hearts, the Sisters and the Brothers hurried toward the place where the Hated Ones made their home.

THE Unicorn Knights were working a wide circle through the heart-forest, carefully searching for anything out of place, while the regular cavalry patrolled the city just outside its boundaries. Despite the fact that there had been no attack— nor was likely to be one—neither group was less than alert. Elves were a patient people.

"Centaurs coming," Gesade said, sniffing the wind. "A day or two, I think."

"It will be good to have the reinforcements," Petariel said. "And good of them to travel so far from their farms in winter. We must make them welcome." Gesade sniffed again. "The wind's wrong, but… Something. Let's go look." Unicorn and rider trotted off along their assigned path through the snowy forest.