Dark One Rising (52 page)

“Sorry,” she said, betweens swallows. “I didn’t realize just how hungry I was.”

“It’s quite alright, Melenthia. You must keep up your strength for your training. You will be expected to eat when you are told and to get the rest you need. Your training will be tiring and drain what strength you have. But, with each day that passes, your training will become your strength, and you will require less breaks.”

“How long will my training take?”

“That depends on you. If you concentrate, keep your focus and strive to learn, it won’t take more than necessary. If you let yourself be distracted with thoughts of others or fear or worry, it will take longer.”

She stared at him. “I’m going to be gone from my home, training with the Elves but you don’t know for how long?”

“No. The time that passes will depend on you.”

“I shouldn’t be away that long. Fallon could destroy everything before I’m finished. If I’m gone too long, there may be nothing left to save when we’re done.”

Sol looked over to Tomaz, and he nodded back. “You will be gone for unmeasured time in Vallis, but for the rest of the kingdom, only a little time will pass.”

“How can that be?”

Sol explained. “Vallis is the oldest city in Aelethia, with a heritage going back thousands of years before man ever settled here. It doesn’t follow your calendar, or any of man’s set schedules. It moves at a natural pace, one with the universe, the pace our Mother Creator intended. You’ll find that when you’re there, the peace and serenity will start to flow through you. You won’t need to know the time, or what day it is. Everything happens in its proper order. While you’re there, you’ll naturally fall into the patterns and time frames that flow through the city. That’s precisely why Tomaz looks only to be in his twenties, when in reality, he’s over a hundred.”

She glanced up at him, eyes wide. “You’re over a hundred years old?”

“Yes.”

“Is everyone in Vallis that old?”

He laughed. “Some. Some are older.”

“Do Elves live forever?”

He laughed, not in mocking but with genuine amusement. “No. Elves die just like everyone else, when their time comes, but we do not get sick or develop diseases as you humans do. We can be killed by sword or lance, just as you can, but old age comes slow, and when we go, we become one with the earth. The soil and our bodies become joined. Our spirit remains in the trees and on the wind.”

“This is a lot to understand.”

“Yes. I do not expect you to understand. Few do. Just know that you will be safe in Vallis under the protection of the Elves, and your training will go the speed it needs to. We will make sure you are truly ready.”

“How will you know?”

“You’ll know. Then we will too.”

She continued to eat in silence. After she had her fill, she felt sleepy and leaned back against a tree bole to rest her eyes. She must have drifted off soon after that because she didn’t remember anything except Dain’s face in her dreams, the gentle breeze on her face as she dreamed of his arms around her and his pale blue eyes gazing at her with love.

***

It took two more weeks to get to Vallis, and every night when they stopped, she trained for an hour with Sol on simple incantations and another hour with Tomaz with sword. She was wearing pants and ruffled shirt tucked in, black boots no longer shiny after a weeks ride.

She was practicing her swordplay now, the sun having just set, the sky glowing a hazy muted orange under the gray cloud cover. Melenthia was able to keep up with the elf, but after an hour of non-stop fighting, and the other hour of mental concentration on her spells, she was tired. So tired, that despite the hard and cold ground, she usually slept deep and had to be roused when morning came.

Her and the elf were kicking up the dirt, swords clanking together, echoing in the cold night air. Tomaz would come in for a strike; Melenthia would parry it, Tomaz reacting quickly with another overhead swing.

Sol prepared the dinner for tonight, cooking a stew prepared from dried flowers and vegatables, with spices that Tomaz had gathered from the forest. Elves did not eat meat. Since they considered all living things to be related to them, they considered it disrespectful to eat their kin. He did not, however, forbid her or Sol to eat it, but out of respect for him, they opted to leave it out. Even though it was nothing but vegatables and spices, it smelled good. The aroma wafted to her nostrils several times, making her stomach growl.

She had mastered two spells already: lighting the fire without tinder, which Sol told her was really for learning simple words and meaning, and levitation, which was to learn control. He doubted either of these would be used when she faced Fallon, but they would prepare her for the more complex spells she would learn in the coming year.

After she and Tomaz were done, they sat down on the ground, breathing hard and sweaty. No winner this night. He conceded so that she could eat and rest.

She wiped a bead of sweat from her brow and blew out a breath. “That was more tiring for some reason tonight.”

“Have you been doing your breathing exercises before your sparring?” Sol asked her, looking over his pipe at her.

“I know how to breathe, Sol. I learned that when I first learned to use a sword, and I was only seven years old then.”

“Is your mind clear?”

She didn’t look him in the eye, and for that he knew the answer.

“I told you that you can’t have anything occupying your head when you go into a spar. Your body can’t concentrate on what your body is trying to do if your mind is cluttered.”

“I try, but I can’t keep it empty for long.”

“You miss him, we understand that, Melenthia, and we don’t expect you to never think about him, only when you’re studying. He’ll do what is needed of him; you’ll do what’s needed of you. Apart you will be doing different things; together you will be fighting the same fight. You’ll be by his side again, but, for now, you must put him aside. You can’t fight Fallon if you’re worried about other people.”

“How can I not worry about those I love? I will be fighting Fallon to save those people that I love, the kingdom that I love. How can I be fighting for that if those people I’m protecting are not in my thoughts?”

“They’re also in your heart, Melenthia. That is where you must put them until this is over. You must only have one thought occupying your mind, and that is destroying Fallon and his army.”

She sighed. He looked at her with affection. “This is one of the reasons you were chosen for this path, Melenthia, because of your passion for your kingdom and the people that you love. You were chosen because you have a big heart as well as a strong mind.”

She looked up at him but did not answer. He smiled kindly at her. “You will get it. Eventually, you’ll be able to focus without even trying. Now get something in your stomach and get some rest. We’re only a day and a half from Vallis now.”

“Really? How do you know that? Every part of the forest we’ve ridden through looks identical.”

Tomaz answered now. “It is something I sense. I am one with the forest, all of our people are, so when we are close to our home, we can feel it.”

“You mean the forest talks to you?”

“Of a sorts. We can hear them whisper to us in our soul, and we know when we are among our people. The elves and the landscape are one.”

She glanced at him between bites of food and frowned.

“I know that visitors are rarely invited into Vallis. Is there going to be feelings of nervousness toward me?”

“No. We have waited for you for five hundred years. When my people got word that you had been born, they prepared for your coming of age. We have been preparing for your arrival into our city for twenty-one years. Every elf knows of your existence, and everyone is anxious to finally meet you.”

“I don’t like feeling like some grand person, someone to put on display. I’m ordinary, and I like it that way.”

Sol and Tomaz glanced at each other, Sol smiling behind his pipe. “You’re certainly not ordinary, but elves don’t take much stock in adoration or idolatry. They will treat you with respect only. The only preference you’ll get while there is that you may wander through the city unescorted, and you will feel welcome. You’re important to everyone, Melenthia, and the sooner you accept that fact, the faster you’ll learn your place. You can’t escape what you are or why you’re here; it’s your destiny.”

She sighed. She looked down and realized that she had eaten all the food in her bowl.

“We don’t expect you to accept your purpose immediately. In time you’ll feel your inner power and be able to understand your place. Give it time, but remember what I said. You must put your brother and the king in your heart and not let them invade your thoughts. There will be enough to clutter your mind; there will be no room for them there.”

“I’ll try harder.”

Sol smiled and touched her shoulder. “Things will work out as they should. Kevaan and Dain know their place. You will soon know yours. It’ll get easier in time. Now get some rest. Tomorrow we will see Vallis.”

She pushed her bowl aside and crawled over to the warm soft nest of blankets that had kept her cocooned for the last two weeks and laid down, pulling the top one over her. She curled up in a ball and closed her eyes. It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep, and even though she told herself she could push Dain out of her dreams, he appeared there nonetheless.

Tomorrow would be another day. She would try harder then to escape the hold he had on her. For the time being, she would have to lock him away into her heart. If she was to save him, save them all, she had to do what the elf and magician told her to do. Reluctantly, she looked upon his face once more, then shook him away and slept deep, mind clear, heart full.

CHAPTER 32

A
thin figure galloped down the road, his small frame leaning forward in the saddle, face close to the horses neck. The sun was starting to sink low in the sky, and the night chills were setting in. The wan daylight of the last couple of weeks had Maddon thinking that perhaps the darkness had already begun taking over, that time had already run out. He didn’t want to think that, so he tried to be positive, but the conversations in the taverns the last week gave him reasons to doubt. His city had not been the only lamb to the slaughter. Several cities all the way up toward the north had fallen victim to Fallon and his army of death.

Word reached the small hamlet of Lakendra that the Triple Cities had been overtaken, the border now in the hands of Fallon’s generals. He had yet to march into Kingswell, but he knew it would be only a matter of time. Time had run out.He cursed under his breath. That devil had done too much already, and he seemed to be getting bolder with each strike. Maddon had no doubts that he would march into Kingswell in the light of day or try to breach King Dain’s city right under his nose. He was supposed to give message to General Thorne about what was happening, but maybe they already knew. Maybe he was getting to Pembroke too late, and the news had already spread. Once he reached Alban Thorne in Pembroke, he would know.

He would not let them push him aside. He would not sit this one out. He would fight in this war beside the rest of the men. He owed his grandfather that much.

As he got closer to Pembroke, and the sun was just making that dull glow on the horizon meaning dusk, he could see down the hill the twinkling lights of the town. He could smell the scent of wood smoke rising out of the chimneys.

Alban Thorne’s garrison headquarters was on the far side of town, closer to the coast, and he wanted to be there not too long after dark.

He was amazed that in the week that it took him to ride from Amaris, he didn’t run into any of Fallon’s soldiers. He had suspected that Fallon’s army would be crossing the terrain and was confused as to why he hadn’t seen any signs of them.

He feared that maybe they were holed up in the Triple Cities waiting for the reinforcements to ride from Boones Ferry. Fallon would more than likely use the time to outfit his remaining troops and go over the battle plan now that the border was breached.

Maddon frowned. He hoped that he wasn’t too late, that the troops Fallon was waiting on had not already landed in Boones Ferry. He hoped that he was getting to Alban fast enough to warn them and prepare them for battle on this end of the province. If Fallon had already taken over the border, then his warning could be too late. He prayed to the God of war that they still had time.

He rode toward town, passing by the small farms that were spread across the hilly landscape. Corn and wheat and barley still seemed to be prospering, the reaping time upon them soon. He could smell a mix of rich soil and fertilizer and heard the sound of cattle lowing somewhere in the distance.

He reached town about a half hour after dark and took the main cobbled street through it, toward the northeast gate. After he passed the market square he came upon a small inn, the light glowing softly through the dingy front window. Woodsmoke billowed out the chimney into the chilly night air. He dismounted his horse and flung his supply bag over his shoulder.

He opened the tavern door and inconspicuously looked over the room, making note of the people around him. He did a quick survey and didn’t notice any guards in Rommel livery. He went over to the barman and got his attention.