Dragonsbane (Book 3) (6 page)

Chapter 6

The Wildlands

They’d hardly gone a few days into their journey when Kael discovered a problem: in his rush to get to the mountains, he’d forgotten about the Earl’s castle.

The castle sat on the other end of the King’s Cleft — a natural gap in the bowl of the mountains guarded on either side by wide, sloping hills. Patrols from Midlan often used that path to reach the Valley, but he thought they had a pretty good chance of avoiding them. It wasn’t as if there were many places to hide in the Cleft. If they saw a patrol coming in or out, they could simply wait until the path was clear.

But there would be no avoiding the Earl’s castle.

It sat deep inside the Cleft, perched in the shadow of the mountains and at the edge of the Valley’s gentle hills. He’d read that the castle had originally been built to keep bandits from slipping in and out of the Valley so easily, and it did its job well. Perhaps a little
too
well. Even from the map, he could tell they were going to have a difficult time passing through the Cleft without being spotted.

So while they traveled, Kael spent most of his time with his nose stuck between the pages of his favorite book: the
Atlas of the Adventurer
. He scanned carefully over its many detailed maps, trying to find someway around the Earl’s castle.

He hoped he might spot some little path he’d missed before. He thought he’d find a narrow road that ran beside it, or something that cut along the ledges of the Cleft. But there wasn’t so much as a trail scrawled anywhere near it.

Though his stomach twisted tighter with every step, Kyleigh assured him that he worried over nothing. “Titus is still in the mountains. Nobody’s seen him in the Valley since the day he marched through. The castle’s probably abandoned.”

Kael wanted to believe her, but he couldn’t. A castle that large wouldn’t have sat empty for long, and the odds that somebody friendly had claimed it were depressingly slim. “You don’t happen to know of any other way through, do you?”

“Sorry. I’ve always traveled a … different route,” she said with a quick glance at Baird.

She pointed to the sky, and Kael took her meaning. “Well, then why don’t we try it your way?”

“I can’t.”

“Why not? We could be at the mountains in no time at all.”

“I do love a good shortcut,” Baird called cheerily.

Kael jerked a thumb behind him. “See? We’re all in agreement.”

Kyleigh shook her head. “It’s far too dangerous. The moment we tried going that way, the gates of Midlan would burst open and the King’s army would swarm. It would take ages to lose them.”

“Hmm, I don’t like the sound of that,” Baird mumbled.

Kael ignored him. “You could outrun them easily. I know you could,” he said when she glared.

“It’s not that simple,” Kyleigh growled. “I traveled that way so often before because I had to. I could never stay anywhere for long because the King … knew. It was like he knew where I’d be before I even knew it. The only reason I managed to escape is because I used the shortcut.”

It didn’t make any sense. “If that’s true, then why hasn’t he been chasing us this whole time? Why haven’t we had Midlan breathing down our necks?”

“I don’t know.” The fire in her eyes was suddenly more like candlelight than a blaze. “I expected him to chase me. I thought you and I were going to have to use the shortcut eventually. But it all just … stopped, the day we left the mountains. I’m not sure why.” Her brows furrowed as she studied the clouds. “We’ve been fortunate so far. I’m not going to do anything to catch the King’s attention — certainly not while we’re so close to Midlan.”

“Yes, I agree with the whole skin of my heart!” Baird chirped from behind them. “Let us tread with the soft steps of shadows and leave not a blade bent behind.”

“Why does Crevan hate you so much?” Kael said after a moment. “What in Kingdom’s name could you have possibly done to him?”

Baird cackled. “He reached for her, but she knocked his hand away! The whole castle saw —”

“Shut it, Baird!”

They’d shouted at the same time.

“I told you — I tried to kill him,” Kyleigh said shortly. Then she quickened her pace, pulling Baird along behind her.

Kael couldn’t be sure, but he thought the back of her neck might’ve looked slightly pink.

They traveled in uncomfortable silence until midday — when
the sky opened its gullet and a thick spring rain washed down upon the forest. Baird wore his rucksack on the front of his chest and walked, hunched over it like a lean-to for nearly half a mile.

He never once complained, and not even the rain could dampen his chattering. But as Kael watched him stumble along, guilt made him miserable. All he
could think about was Roland: with the knobs of Baird’s knees and his swollen fingers, the way he more shuffled than walked — it all reminded him of his friend.

If anybody ever came across Roland soaking wet, Kael knew he would want them to stop and help. So with a sigh, he shrugged off his cloak.

It took him several moments to pull Baird’s rucksack back into place and drape the cloak across his thin shoulders. “Oh good, I’m so glad you thought to bring a spare,” he said as Kael tugged the hood over his shaggy mane.

“Yes, well, I try to think ahead,” Kael said shortly.

Once he’d gotten Baird all settled, Kael marched back up to Kyleigh. Her head turned towards him for a moment as they walked. The shadow of her hood covered her face completely, so he had no idea what she was thinking. And she didn’t offer any explanation.

She probably thought he was a fool for giving up his cloak.

A few hours later, he’d begun to agree with her. The rain fell warm and thick, spilling from the canopy above them in hundreds of weeping falls. It soaked into his clothes and rubbed raw patches across his skin. By late afternoon, the only bits of him that weren’t soaked were the parts of his arms and wrists that were covered by his gauntlets.

They were the gauntlets Kyleigh had given him — the ones she’d made from her scales. The
way the rain washed down their blackened tops reminded him of water sliding from the oily back of a duck.

He understood now why
Kyleigh hadn’t packed a cloak: covered head to toe in dragon scales, she must’ve been plenty dry.

“Well, there’s no us
e in slogging on,” Kyleigh declared suddenly. The shadow of her hood turned to face the trees. “The two of you ought to find us someplace dry to sleep.”

“Where are you going?” Kael said.

She didn’t reply. Instead, she jogged into the thicket — running until the woods swallowed her up.

He supposed she would be all right. Kyleigh knew the forest better than he did, after all — and he seriously doubted that she would run into anything more terrifying than she was. Besides, he was too wet to worry.

It didn’t take them long to find shelter. After a few minutes of searching, they came across an ancient tree that had toppled over onto its side. Decay had been eating at the tree’s innards for a while, leaving a hole that looked like a monster’s bite mark. The flecks of its bark were as big as the shingles of a roof, and the rotted out space in its middle was the size of a respectable house.

The half-moon cave it left behind could have been
home to all sorts of creatures. Kael was surprised to find it empty. The first layer of the wall was too rotted to burn. He dug beneath it until he came across a dryer patch. He cracked the deadwood off in strips and tossed it into a pile. Once he had a fire going, there was nothing left to do but wait.

“Hang my cloak near the flames — I want the wool to be dried by morning.”

Kael had been hunched beside the fire, painstakingly wringing the moisture from his shirt when Baird’s sopping cloak struck him full in the face. “You have to warn people before you start flinging things everywhere,” he snapped as he hung the cloak on a jutting bit of the wall.

Baird
spread his arms wide. “Sorry, but I thought
I
was the blind one. You ought to be able to see anything thrown your way.”

“Yes, well, where I come from we don’t just throw things without fair warning.”

“I see. And where did you say you came from again?”

“I didn’t.”

Baird leaned against the wall behind him and whispered: “Oh, he’s clever.”

Kael used the small fire to warm their food. Once his hair stopped dripping, he took the
Atlas
out and went back to studying the maps.

The rain slowed to a steady drizzle. Late afternoon drifted into early evening. Baird prattled endlessly about the quiet flutters of the flames and the way the warmth kissed the walls. But other than that, the day was mostly pleasant.

“When should we expect the Swordmaiden’s triumphant return?” Baird said loudly, pulling Kael’s gaze from the maps.

He wasn’t sure when Kyleigh would come back, and he couldn’t see why it ought to be triumphant. But he knew one thing for certain: “She’ll be back eventually.”

“Eventually? Oh dear, what a span and space of time that is …
eventually
.” Baird snorted. “Time keeps a steady gait, young man. It stops for no one. Each step is measured in a moment, a breath. There’s no place for vagueries upon its path —”

“Vagueries?”

“You’ve got to be
specific
about where you plan to turn. You must know how many steps it’ll take to get there. Otherwise, the moment might just pass you by.” Baird frowned as he added: “Many a man has wasted away waiting for
eventually
.”

Kael sighed. “Fine. She’ll be back soon.”

“Soon?” Baird snorted again. “
Soon
—?”

“Look — if she wanted to leave me, then she would’ve left a long time ago. Kingdom knows she’s had the opportunity.”

“Hmm, yes. I must admit I thought it strange that the Swordmaiden would trouble herself with one so frail. She used to keep the company of great warriors. Either she’s more disgraced than I thought … or you are not nearly as frail as you seem.”

Kael didn’t like Baird’s smile — and he liked his words even less. Slowly, he reached for the dagger at his belt. “Who are you?”

“I’m Baird the Beggar-Bard —”

“No. Who are you
really
? Kyleigh thinks you’re harmless. I’m not so sure.” Kael drew the dagger and leveled the point at Baird’s chest. “Tell me the truth.”

“I heard the muffled rake of steel parting its leather bonds.” He smiled. “Why waste my breath when you mean to cut it short? Plunge your knife into my heart. Go on, be quick about it.”

That was it. Kael was tired of playing games.

With one quick movement, he lunged and ripped the bandages off Baird’s eyes. The beggar-bard yelped and threw his hands over his head. Kael pulled them away by the wrists, exposing his face. What he saw made his heart shudder to a stop.

The lids of Baird’s eyes were red and sunken in, shut tightly against the world. Hairline scars ran in lines from their bottoms and stopped just short of his cheeks. They looked like a trail of tears — frozen in time, forever branded into his flesh. Old age hadn’t claimed Baird’s vision.

His eyes had been cut out.

“I’m sorry. I had no idea …”

Kael placed the bandages in Baird’s hand, and his knobby fingers curled about them tightly. The other hand traced his scars. “I had no choice,” he whispered.

Kael could hardly breathe. “Wait a moment —
you
did this?”

“With a sharp rock and in the dark underbelly of the night. I had no choice,” Baird said again. His fingers trembled down the frozen line of tears. “I knew too much. They planned to turn me over to the Falsewright — and he would’ve got it out of me. Oh yes, he had his ways. I had no choice! The first was easy.” He drew a half-moon around his left eye. “Just more pain than any man should ever have to endure and, ah … darkness.

“The second was more difficult.” His finger hovered over his right eye, trembling. “It wasn’t the pain I feared — it was the darkness. A window closed never to be opened. A thousand sunsets wasted against my lids, a thousand faces I would never see again. I had not the courage to face the darkness … but I had no choice. I had no
choice
!”

He clutched his face, dissolving into wails. Kael grabbed the bandages from his hand. He wrapped them around Baird’s eyes and bound them tightly. It was only after they’d been covered for a moment that his wails began to quiet.

Kael wanted to sink into the floor and disappear. Kyleigh had been right to pity Baird. She must’ve been able to sense the pain beneath his madness, the darkness behind his lids. Kael should’ve listened to her.

Instead, he’d tortured a blind man for no reason. “Baird, I’m so —”

“Do you want to hear a story?” Baird was leaning against the wall, smiling as if nothing had ever happened.