First Hero (6 page)

T
anner didn’t hesitate. He put two fingers in his mouth and whistled. Firepos swooped down toward him. As the soldier aimed his crossbow, Tanner jumped up and grabbed Firepos’s claw. He was heaved into the air and the bolt thudded into a cart behind where he’d been standing.

“Idiot! You missed,” General Gor shouted.

Tanner let Firepos carry him a hundred paces, until they could no longer see the square, then let go and landed on the roof of a building, clutching at the thatch.

“I need to find the Mapmaker before Gor does,” he said to Firepos. “Stay out of sight until I call you.”

The Beast spread her golden wings and took to the air.

Tanner lowered himself from the roof and dropped into the narrow alley. It was empty, and the houses on either side were quiet, although he suspected many were a refuge for the terrified Colweirians; they had to be hiding somewhere.

He knocked at the first door he came across. He heard someone moving behind it.

“I’m not the enemy,” Tanner hissed through the crack. “Please, I need your help.”

The door was flung open and before Tanner could move, something cold pressed into his neck. He stared into the eyes of a young woman, who gripped a gardening fork with white-knuckled hands. He winced as sharp prongs dug into his skin.

“What do you want?” she whispered aggressively.

Tanner put his hands in the air.

“The brute who attacked your town wants someone called the Mapmaker,” he said. “I need to find him first.”

“The Mapmaker’s gone,” she said. “He left long ago. His apprentice is still here, though.”

“Where can I find him?” asked Tanner.

The woman narrowed her eyes. “Why should I tell you anything?”

“He’s in terrible danger,” said Tanner. “Trust me, if these murderers wanted to find you, you’d want to be warned about it first.”

The woman lowered the fork. “All right. You look honest enough. The Mapmaker lived on the other side of town,” she said. “Follow this alley, then take the third turn on the right. Keep going until you find the butcher’s. It’s next door. There’s a sign.”

Nodding his thanks, Tanner sped off down the alley, sprinting across open roads, terrified that Gor’s soldiers would spot him. Lungs burning and brow slick with sweat, he peeked around a corner and saw the butcher’s a few buildings down.

Next door to the butcher’s was a building with a sign above it: M
APMAKERS OF
A
VANTIA
. Two of Gor’s soldiers stood on either side of the entrance. Tanner saw the door hanging on its hinges.

I’m too late!
Tanner thought.

The body of the dark-haired boy who had led them to the Mapmaker lay spread-eagled on the ground, blood oozing from his slashed throat. Tanner darted out from the alley as quickly as he could and hid in the butcher’s doorway.

General Gor strode out from the Mapmaker’s. “Excellent,” he said. “We have what we need.”

Tanner peered out from his hiding place. Gor stood barely five steps away from him, tall and imposing. Squirming in his grasp was Geffen, the fair-haired boy from the market. In his other gauntlet he clutched a rolled-up parchment. Tanner stared at it.
It’s a map!

“This map will show us where to find the other pieces of the mask,” Gor growled.

Tanner gripped his sword hilt, his skin prickling. He couldn’t let Gor get away with the map.

“Shall we kill the boy?” said one of the soldiers, drawing a dagger from his belt. Geffen whimpered.

Gor gripped Geffen’s collar and lifted him off the ground, regarding him coldly. “Not yet,” he said. “The Mapmaker may have gone, but his apprentice here may be useful. Besides, he might provide the varkules with some sport later on.”

The boy’s eyes widened in terror. Gor dropped him and looked around with distaste. “Let us leave this rat hole. The smell of peasant is making me feel sick.”

Tanner followed them back to the main square, keeping a safe distance, his mind whirling as he tried to decide what to do next. He could not attack, but he had to stop Gor from taking the map. The surviving defenders were still in their groups, surrounded by Gor’s men.

“Take him!” shouted Gor, thrusting the boy roughly toward one of the varkule riders. The boy skidded to a halt in front of the drooling varkule, pale with terror. The creature pulled back its lips and growled hungrily. Its rider dismounted, seized the boy by the scruff of his collar, and threw him over the saddle.

“He’s just a boy!” The pale-haired girl called Gwen ran out from an alley, gripping a poker. A laughing soldier lowered his spear as the slender girl rushed toward him. She ducked beneath the tip and swung her poker into his knee. He fell down with a cry, clutching his leg.

She lunged at the rider who held her brother, but more soldiers grabbed her arms and forced the poker out of her hand. She writhed in their grasp, shouting, “Geffen, no! Don’t let them!”

The boy looked helplessly at her, fear etched into his features.

Gor addressed the crowd of terrified townsfolk. “If any of you are foolish enough to come after us, know this: We will kill the boy.” A grin spread across his face. “And I shall see to it that our best torturer makes it a very slow, very painful death.” He beckoned to his archers. “Burn it down.” He gestured to the village. “Smoke smells better than peasant.”

Just then, Tanner saw Gwen rake her nails at one of her captor’s eyes. He fell back, clutching his face. For a moment, Gwen’s arm was free, but Gor stepped forward and lashed her against the cheek with the back of his hand. She sprawled onto the ground, crying out as her face scraped across the dirt.

Tanner knew he had to take advantage of the distraction. He edged farther out, wondering if he could get to the varkule rider and free the boy.

Gor’s archers wrapped rags around their arrows and then dipped them into little pouches of tar hanging from their waists. A soldier with a flaming torch ignited each arrowhead; then they put the flaming shafts to their bows.

“Please!” shouted a man in the crowd. “You’ve done enough. Leave us in peace.”

“Loose!” Gor shouted.

The archers released their missiles. The flaming arrows arced into the air, trailing sparks and dense, oily smoke. They landed on the thatched roofs. Ravenous fire consumed the straw. An arrow thudded into a cart beside Tanner, and the straw inside went up in an instant. Across the town, he heard the crackle of dozens of fires starting. Tanner felt desperate. It was like Forton all over again.

“Form up and march out!” bellowed Gor, climbing onto his stallion’s saddle. The soldiers regrouped in companies, boots stamping and armor clinking.

Gwen rolled over, angry tears streaking down her cheeks. “Cowards!” she cried, turning to face the petrified villagers. She looked dizzy from the blow as she scrambled to her feet. “Why didn’t you help him?”

As the soldiers marched out behind General Gor, the people of Colweir were emerging from their houses and rushing to the river with buckets and pans. Tanner could see smoke rising up over a wide swath of the town.

Gwen stumbled and ran past Tanner toward the Mapmaker’s. He caught her arm and she spun around. “Let go of me!” she spat. “Who are you?” She had a purple bruise forming on her temple and a scrape down her face.

“My name’s Tanner,” he replied. “These men attacked my village, too, just the other day. They killed my grandmother.”

“
You
led them here,” she said. “
You
let them take my brother.”

Firepos alighted beside Tanner, folding her wings with a hot rush of air. Her glassy eyes reflected the burning straw. Gwen took a small step away.

“We’ll rescue him,” said Tanner. “I promise.”

“Stay out of the way,” she said. “I don’t need your help.”

She struggled to wrench her arm from Tanner’s grip. “Let me go!” she cried, thumping his chest with her fist. Tanner released her, and watched as she ran up the street.

“You can’t take on General Gor’s army,” he shouted after her. “Not on your own!”

“Who says I’m on my own?” she called back, before disappearing around a corner.

Firepos flattened her body to the ground and Tanner hoisted himself onto her back.

We have to save Geffen
, he told his Beast.
It’s the only way to make amends for what I have caused here.

Firepos took off with a mighty leap and a sweep of shimmering red-gold wings. Tanner felt the blasts of heat from the fires raging below. Discarded weapons, severed limbs, and dead bodies littered the market square. The cobbled stones were streaked with blood — Colweir would never be the same again.

The rooftops of the town fell away beneath Tanner and his Beast. On the far side, a level plain of rich pasture land stretched until it reached a range of low, wooded hills. Gor’s army was heading out across the plain, like a black snake wending its way to cause more destruction.

“Hurry, Firepos!” Tanner urged.

Air streamed through Firepos’s feathers as the two of them surged forward, sunlight tipping the Beast’s wings with flame-red color.

Suddenly, a shadow fell over Tanner and he felt a shudder.
Rain clouds?
Glancing up, he saw a flat belly and gray fur above his head, almost within touching distance.

“What’s that?” He shrank back against Firepos’s feathers.

The creature wheeled away, then dipped down so it flew level with Firepos. Tanner stared in astonishment; the sight took his breath away.

The creature was a wolf as big as Firepos. His lean body was covered with shaggy gray fur and his sleek head thrust into the wind. He gazed keenly ahead with piercing eyes. Behind powerful shoulders grew leathery wings, beating the air with slow, languid strokes. Four crouched legs ending in paws with ragged black claws hung in the air beneath him.

And on his back, riding with confidence and grace, was Gwen.

“That — that’s a Beast!” Tanner stammered.

“Well spotted.” Gwen’s eyes glimmered with amusement. “I told you I wasn’t alone.”

“It’s your Beast? It chose you?”

“I’m riding him, aren’t I?”

Flame bird and wolf flew wing tip to wing tip, matching each stroke as if mirroring each other. For a moment, Tanner forgot about the pursuit and marveled at Gwen’s Beast.

“His name is Gulkien,” she said.

The huge creature dipped his head to Tanner. Tanner wasn’t sure if he was friendly; his lips were drawn back in the beginnings of a snarl, showing the gleam of white fangs.

Gwen leaned over to whisper in her Beast’s ear. “This is Tanner. He’s a friend ….” She shot a questioning glance at Tanner. “I think.”

Too stunned to reply, Tanner just nodded.

“And I am Gwen,” she said.

Tanner swallowed. “I know. Does this mean you trust me?” he asked.

Firepos turned her amber beak toward Gulkien and called. The wolf howled back.

“If Gulkien trusts your Beast, that’s good enough for now,” Gwen replied. Her long cloak fluttered in the cold wind swirling around them, and Tanner caught the flash of metal at her waist. Her belt was lined with a set of throwing axes. Holding on to her Beast with one hand, she dipped the other hand into a secret pocket in the lining of her cloak and pulled out a slender rapier with a cross guard shaped like a wolf’s gaping jaw.

“Then you’ll help me get your brother back?” said Tanner.

“No,
you
can help
me
get my brother back,” she said wryly.

Tanner smiled, then gazed down at Gor’s army, far below. He put the Looking Crystal to his eye and swept it over the marching column. He paused when he saw the white shock of Geffen’s hair. His hands were bound and he was being dragged behind a varkule, slipping and stumbling.

Tanner stole a glance at Gwen. Her blue eyes gazed down at the army, her mouth set in a determined line. What were the chances of finding another Chosen Rider? It seemed incredible that this girl had a Beast, too. His grandmother had told him to come here to find the Mapmaker, but was Gwen part of the plan as well? There was no way of knowing yet.

Tanner and Gwen soared high above Avantia, tracking the army that moved quickly and with purpose. Gor took the lead on his horse, followed by the spearmen, swordsmen, and crossbowmen. On either side, loping ahead, were the fearsome varkules. When the wind turned in their direction, he heard the monotonous trudge of the troop’s footsteps, as steady as a funeral drum.

The sun sank behind the distant hills and a single star appeared above the horizon, where the dark shadow of a forest carpeted the landscape. Tanner was sure that in the gathering gloom none of the soldiers would be able to spot the two Beasts flying just above them.

“So, was the Mapmaker your father?” shouted Tanner over the wind.

Gwen shook her head. “Jonas isn’t our real father. Geffen and I were abandoned as babies. We were left in a hayloft. He found us one night when he was looking for somewhere to sleep. He fed us and kept us warm — he saved our lives. After that, we traveled with him as he mapped Avantia, crisscrossing the kingdom for years. He’d been training Geffen and me to follow in his footsteps. He disappeared years ago. He left a note saying he’d done as much as he could for us. There’s not a day I don’t miss him, but he never could stay long in the same place.”

“Why did your parents leave you like that?” The question was out of Tanner’s mouth before he could do anything to stop it. He’d lost both his parents at the hands of Derthsin, but he couldn’t imagine how it would feel to be abandoned.

Gwen’s face flushed and she turned away.

“I’m sorry,” Tanner said. He tried again. “What’s special about the map Gor stole?”

“Did you see it? What did it look like?” she asked.

“I only saw it rolled up, but it looked quite big. And it was yellow parchment with a wavy black border,” Tanner explained.

Gwen nodded sadly. “I know the one.” She pointed to an outcrop of rocks high on a hillside. “Let’s set down over there. We’ll be able to keep an eye on Gor.”

Firepos wheeled alongside Gulkien and together they descended. Tanner saw Gulkien’s four massive paws spread to cushion the impact of landing. He licked his long incisors and lay forward on his front legs to let Gwen dismount. Firepos folded her wings, and Tanner climbed off. Gulkien padded up to Tanner and sniffed him suspiciously. Tanner was startled but he held his ground; his head barely reached the wolf’s shoulder.

Seemingly satisfied, Gulkien rejoined Gwen’s side.

The four of them settled down behind the rocky outcrop, which sheltered them from the mountain winds. Glancing down the hill, Tanner spied Gor’s army heading toward the forest.

Gwen spoke quietly. “Judging by your description, the map General Gor stole is the only one covering all of Avantia. Jonas said it showed the way to a hidden power, even though it looks just like an ordinary map.”

“He never told you what he meant?”

Gwen shook her head, not meeting Tanner’s eye. “He said I’d know when it was time. That the answer was close to my heart.”

Tanner felt cold, even though the wind had dropped. Should he tell this girl about the mask and the hidden power of the scattered pieces? “Have you heard of the Mask of Death?” he said eventually.

“Only from the stories Jonas told us when we were small,” said Gwen. “They used to say it could control the Beasts of Avantia. But it was lost, wasn’t it?”

Tanner nodded. “Deliberately lost, I think. I mean it was hidden. We found it after my father fought … Derthsin.”

“Derthsin.” Gwen shuddered. “You’ve seen him?”

Tanner nodded. “Yes. He’s a murdering warlord. He killed my father and took my mother. I never saw her again …. I fear she’s dead, too. Firepos killed Derthsin and my grandmother took the mask, split it into four pieces, and hid them. That’s what she told me, anyway. Perhaps she had help from Jonas. She must have known him, or why would she ask me to seek him out? Now Gor is looking for the rest of it — he’s already found one piece.”

“Does he want the mask for himself, do you think?” Gwen asked.

“I don’t know.”

Gwen frowned. “Why would they have gone to the trouble of scattering and hiding all the pieces of the mask and then make a map to show where they all are?”

“You knew Jonas,” Tanner said. “Was he ever … clever with his maps?” Gwen smiled and cast her eyes down, so that Tanner couldn’t see her face. “Tell me,” he said.

She looked up. “It’s true that he wasn’t an ordinary mapmaker. Perhaps there’s something special about the map he drew.”

“Like what?” Tanner asked.

Gwen shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ll need to find out — if we get it back. And we have to, don’t we? We’ve already seen what those men are capable of. We have to stop Gor from spreading any more death and destruction.” She paced back to Gulkien. The mighty Beast lowered himself again, his fur bristling.

Tanner watched her swing onto her Beast’s back.
I’m not sure we can avoid death or destruction
, he thought. Tanner sensed that things were going to get worse before they got better.
But what choice do we have? We have to fight.

He strode toward Firepos, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword.

Firepos and Gulkien swept down side by side, and landed in the thick grass of the meadow at the edge of the forest. The dense trees swallowed up the fading daylight, and Tanner could see only a few paces into the forest gloom. The track the soldiers had taken was clearly marked, though — the ground scuffed with heavy footprints. Branches had been hacked down along the track, as if the soldiers had enjoyed destroying anything in their path.

“We’ll have to leave the Beasts here,” said Tanner. Gulkien growled. “We don’t want them to get trapped under the trees.”

“All right,” said Gwen, “but let’s just scout out General Gor’s camp for now. I don’t want to take any risks with my brother’s life.” She pulled up her hood. Shadow fell over her face and only her mouth was visible.

Firepos ruffled her feathers and hissed softly. “I know, Firepos,” Tanner said. “I don’t like leaving you behind. But we’ll be careful.”

Taking cautious steps, they entered the forest. Night was falling. The air was cool and damp under the thick foliage. Each snapping twig and rustling leaf made the breath catch in Tanner’s throat. His mind was filled with terrible images. What if Gor decided he’d had enough of Geffen and killed him?

Gwen froze and held up her hand. Tanner stopped dead. Ahead, he heard the sound of metal on metal. Gwen put a finger to her lips and beckoned him to follow. They edged closer to the sound. Soon he could make out hushed voices. Tanner’s eyes strained to see between the trees. He spied an orange glow. Fire. He smelled smoke. That was good — it meant the breeze was blowing from the enemy camp, and the varkules wouldn’t pick up their scent.

The trees thinned out as they approached a clearing. The moon had risen above the forest, giving Tanner a good view of the enemy camp. Tents were pitched beside a stream, and several fires crackled. Soldiers sat in groups, eating from bowls, and the smell of roasting meat drifted into Tanner’s nostrils. He realized how hungry he was. One soldier was running the blade of his sword along a sharpening tool; another was placing a bandage on his comrade’s arm. The varkules were lying on their stomachs, asleep after the day’s long march.

There was no sign of Geffen.

General Gor strode into view, still clad in his black armor. Tucked under one arm was his dragon helmet. He had broad, coarse features, with closely cropped red hair and a beard. Tanner shivered as he saw the malice in his deep-set eyes. Gor paused by a soldier who was sitting on a log, cleaning mud from his leather boots. He grasped a boot and turned it over, inspecting it carefully. The sound of angry words rose in the air and the general took a step back, then planted his foot firmly in the soldier’s chest, kicking him off the log.

“Clean yourselves up, you dogs!” he shouted. “We have a long march through the Broken Gorge tomorrow.”

He left the rest of the men grumbling and walked off. Tanner and Gwen followed the general, carefully navigating their way around the outside of the camp, darting from tree to tree. They reached a tent set aside from the others, with its own fire blazing outside. Gor was bending on one knee before the flames, his eyes closed. This was too good an opportunity to miss.

“Now’s our chance,” whispered Tanner. Gwen nodded, her mouth set in a thin line. He drew his sword silently, and Gwen brushed her cloak away from her side, pulling an ax from her belt.

“Come, Master!” said Gor suddenly. Tanner peered around the tree again. Gor had raised one arm to the fire, and his fingers were splayed. Slowly, he drew them together in a fist. “Arise, Lord of Avantia!”

The flames flickered and flared, stretching upward into a column, swirling around like a tornado, changing color from yellow to green.
Magic!
Tanner put out a hand to hold Gwen back and the two of them watched intently.

The fire died back, shrinking to an unearthly blue glow in the shape of … a man. Even from his hiding place Tanner saw a head with scorched hair and a face lined with vicious scars. The vision’s skin was blistered and raw; there was something terrible about the image in the fire. Something familiar.

He swallowed a gasp. Even with the deeply etched scars and the features melted by fire, there could be no doubt. He’d seen this face before, as a child.

Derthsin. The man who killed my father.