First Hero (8 page)

W
hen Tanner awoke, the sky was slate gray and the sun had not yet risen over the horizon. He rubbed his eyes sleepily. Shreds of mist were drifting just above the treetops in the distance. Gwen was awake already, resting against Gulkien’s thick fur. There were dark rings under her eyes.

“I hardly slept,” she said. “I couldn’t stop thinking about Geffen.”

“We’ll get him back,” Tanner replied. “I promise.”

He stood up, wincing. His side felt like it was on fire. He pulled up his tunic and saw a deep purple bruise on his ribs. Tanner pushed it lightly with his fingertips, but nothing seemed out of place.

“We’d better not get so close to Gor’s Beast again,” said Gwen, eyeing the bruise sympathetically.

Gulkien rose behind Gwen, yawning to reveal sharp white teeth. Firepos blinked and spread her wings, flapping them to stretch her muscles.

Tanner’s stomach rumbled. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s get moving. The sooner we get to the Broken Gorge, the more chance we’ll have to prepare.”

Gwen gripped Gulkien’s fur and hoisted herself onto his back. Firepos flattened herself to the ground and Tanner climbed up. His Beast screeched and pushed off from the ground, opening her wings. She caught a rising current of warm air, and swept down from their vantage point.

Gulkien flapped alongside, and together they turned north toward the mountains, leaving the forest behind. Tanner expected to see a sprinkling of orange campfires through the trees, but there was nothing.

“Perhaps Gor’s letting his army rest,” Tanner said.

Gwen snorted. “I doubt it,” she said.

Tanner lifted the Looking Crystal to his eye and peered at the distant peaks. During winter they were blanketed in snow, but now only a few patches remained. Tanner had come this way before, during his training with Firepos. The Broken Gorge was composed of three ridges of rock reaching from the mountain foothills to the plains below. Two rivers flowed down from a mountain lake at the top. The ridges between them were sharp and crumbling, due to the years of wind and rain. Walking up the gorge was the quickest way to reach the remote villages high in the mountains. The view from up there was legendary, stretching far over Avantia.
A good place to plan your army’s next move
, thought Tanner.
Is that why Gor is leading his men here?

Suddenly, Tanner saw something: a cloud of dust. He pressed Firepos’s neck with his palm, and she responded by swooping low. Tanner saw what he feared. Gor’s soldiers. They must have risen way before dawn. At the front of the column was General Gor, holding Geffen in front of him on the saddle.
Keeping his prisoner close
, Tanner thought. He rejoined Gulkien’s side.

“We have to speed up!” he shouted across to Gwen. “Gor’s already on the march.”

Her eyes widened. “Is Geffen with them?”

Tanner nodded. “We need to take a detour if we’re going to get past them without being seen.”

First Firepos, then Gulkien, tipped their wings and glided toward the ground. Tanner felt himself shiver. Gor’s army seemed invincible and tireless, like a machine for making war.

By the time the gorge was close enough to see without the Looking Crystal, the sun had risen and warmed Tanner’s face. Only thin streams trickled over the rocks from the lake at the summit, like blue ribbons draped over the parched and dusty cliffs. Tanner pointed to where the waterfall cascaded through a narrow channel from the lake.

“Let’s put down there!” he said.

Gwen steered Gulkien, and he followed. Together they alighted beside the water. There was hardly any breeze, and the surface of the lake was a perfect reflection of the blue sky. After they’d dismounted, the Beasts bent their heads to drink at the water’s edge. Tanner’s mouth was dry, too, but there was something he needed to check first. He lifted the Looking Crystal to his eye and stared down the gorge. General Gor’s troops had paused at the bottom. He handed the Crystal to Gwen.

“Something’s making him hesitate,” she said.

“The gorge is dangerous,” said Tanner. “The cliff sides are crumbling away. Perhaps they’re worried about a landslide and will go another way.”

Gwen looked across at him. “And if they do, how can we stop them?”

Tanner tried not to let his fear show in his face.

“There are only four of us!” added Gwen, kicking a loose stone that rattled down the slope. Tanner watched the clouds of dust settle.

“There might only be four of us,” he said. “But there are a lot more loose rocks around here.” He gazed at the crumbling ridges and slopes strewn with boulders, and Gwen’s eyes followed.

“Who needs swords and axes?” she said, grinning.

Below, Gor’s soldiers were beginning to trudge up the gorge, with their leader riding the front.

Time to end this
, thought Tanner.

W
e create what they’re dreading: a rockfall,” Tanner said.

“But what about Geffen?” asked Gwen. “He might be killed.”

“We’ll have to make sure that it only hits the soldiers at the back,” said Tanner. “When the rest panic, we’ll rescue your brother. We can sweep down with Firepos and she can grab him.”

Gwen nodded, her jaw set tight. “I’ll take Gulkien up to the sides of the ridge,” she said. Gulkien lowered himself and she scrambled up. “We can pry some rocks loose. Good luck, Tanner. And if this doesn’t work …”

Tanner patted the wolf’s flank. “It’ll work.” He smiled thinly, hoping he was right.

Gulkien growled and bounded along the lakeshore, heaving his leathery wings. He took off, climbing over his mirror image in the water’s surface. Tanner watched him loop back and along the other side of the ridge, out of sight. He heaved himself up among Firepos’s warm feathers and positioned himself on the flame bird’s back.

“This is it, Firepos,” he said. “Another test for me to pass.”

Watching through the Looking Crystal, he saw that Gor’s troops were making steady progress up the pass toward him. For a moment, Tanner’s gaze rested on General Gor, his dragon-snout helmet obscuring his face. Geffen rocked limply before him in the saddle, his eyes closed.

He heard distant shouts echoing up the narrow valley. The image blurred as he jerked the Looking Crystal around. Some fifty paces behind Gor, a group of soldiers was pointing up the slope. Scanning the Looking Crystal up the gorge wall, Tanner saw dust clouds billowing out — rocks and a huge boulder tumbled down the slopes. He nearly let out a cheer as the rockfall engulfed the rearmost portions of the column, crushing dozens of soldiers.

At the top of the ridge stood Gulkien, his shoulder braced against another rock. Gwen watched closely as the clouds of dust settled on the blood-streaked faces of the soldiers pulling themselves free of the boulders.

Gulkien heaved his weight against the second rock. Even from this distance, Tanner could see the muscles working beneath his thick fur. With a final effort, the rock tipped over the edge, plunging toward the panicking army. A heartbeat later, the soldiers’ screams reached his ears. The men at the rear of the formation scattered: Some threw themselves out of the way; others were hurled to the ground. The sudden rockfall had the desired effect: The rest of the soldiers stopped marching and scrambled back, gazing up at the mountain.

Tanner heard General Gor calling them into line, but another rock crashed down from the top of the ridge. Tanner saw Gulkien’s leathery wings flapping as he tore at the crumbling lip with his claws. Gwen gripped his back.

As each landslide gathered pace, it loosened more of the stones, sending smaller ones showering onto the exposed soldiers. Tanner put the Looking Crystal away and steadied his nerves.

“Ready, Firepos?” he called.

The loyal Beast spread her wings, and flames flickered across her feathers. She screeched and leaped from her perch.

General Gor suddenly twisted in the saddle. With one hand he shoved Geffen roughly from the stallion’s back, and something silver flashed in the other.
A sword!

Tanner tried to pull Firepos away, but the flame bird gave a cry of agony. As they climbed, Tanner looked back and saw bloodied feathers falling away from her belly. Gor leaped from the saddle, brandishing his sword. Beside him, the stallion began to change, rearing up on its hind legs.

Firepos shook beneath Tanner. She was heading straight for the side of the gorge. He couldn’t see how badly she was injured, but beads of blood continued to fall, splashing on the rocks. Her beak dipped weakly.

“Come on, Firepos!” shouted Tanner, tugging at her feathers, willing her to gain height.

The rock face loomed closer. Dread filled Tanner — if they hit the gorge, they would be killed. He pulled desperately at the flame bird’s neck, and this time her head lifted a fraction. With a mighty flap of her wings, she gained a few feet and cleared the ridge wall. Tanner gave a whoop of delight.

“You did it!” he shouted.

Gulkien fell in beside them, gliding wing tip to wing tip with Firepos.

“We have to go back for Geffen!” Gwen called. “Can Firepos make it?”

The Beast screeched defiantly and flapped harder, gaining height.

“I think that’s your answer,” said Tanner. Flames burst from the Beast’s belly and the drip of blood slowly ceased. She was healing herself.

They circled and broke over the ridge again. Tanner looked down into the valley. Varlot was standing with his hooves planted on either side of the path. He looked bigger than ever, his face twisting to reveal huge yellow teeth, his bronze hooves stamping in the dirt. The scales of his armor glittered across his chest.

Gor marched with his sword drawn, pushing Geffen ahead of him. The boy stumbled on the path. A ragged column of soldiers followed. Some were injured and were being carried by their comrades. Only one varkule rider remained, bringing up the rear. Each one of Varlot’s massive steps reverberated in the gorge, shaking free loose rocks.

“We need to finish them off,” shouted Gwen. “I’ll keep Varlot busy.”

She urged her Beast down; Gulkien folded his wings and landed softly on the mountainside. In a blur of motion, he leaped down the incline, bounding from rock to rock, never missing a step. With his teeth bared, he charged at Gor’s Beast. Gwen hunched over his neck, an ax ready in her hand. Gulkien leaped, eyes blazing as he slammed into Varlot’s chest.

The Beasts crashed to the ground, cleaving a path through the soldiers. Gwen jumped out of the ferocious melee and circled, waiting for an opportunity to throw an ax at Varlot.

Gor’s soldiers scattered in all directions as the Beasts rolled and thrashed in a blur of gnashing teeth and flailing claws. Gulkien sank his fangs into Varlot’s neck, snarling and shaking his head to drive his teeth farther in. Varlot staggered to his feet. He threw his head back and roared with a mixture of pain and fury. Rocks clattered down from above, hitting Gulkien on the back. With a yelp, he dropped to the ground.

With blinding speed, Varlot lashed out with a hoof, kicking Gulkien in the stomach and sending him hurtling into Gwen. She cried out, her face white with pain, but she quickly regained her feet and scrambled onto Gulkien’s back.

“No one kicks my wolf!” she yelled in fury. With a fearsome war cry, she urged Gulkien back toward Varlot.

Tanner directed Firepos straight at Gor. He leaned forward and shouted to Firepos: “Get the boy. Nothing else matters!”

Keeping a firm grip on Firepos’s feathers, Tanner swung his leg over her back and drew his sword. Firepos dipped low and Tanner slid off her back. In that weightless moment, as the ground rushed up to meet him, he saw Gor turn toward him and try to push Geffen out of the path of the oncoming flame bird. But he was too late. As Tanner hit the ground and rolled forward, Firepos grabbed the screaming boy in her talons and soared away.

Tanner stood up, sword gripped in a guard position in front of him. His fear fell away as he watched Firepos disappear. His plan had worked!

“You’ve lost!” he said to Gor.

“Not while I have the mask fragment,” sneered Gor, touching the bag that hung at his hip. Tanner and Gor circled each other warily.

“You can’t even read the map,” Tanner said. “All this death” — he pointed at the remnants of the army — “is for nothing.”

Gor’s eyes narrowed behind his helmet. “I’m going to enjoy killing you even more than I did your grandmother,” he said. His sword arced, slicing the air faster than Tanner could see. Droplets of Firepos’s blood flew from the blade.

Tanner struck back. He stepped nimbly forward, swinging his weapon in an overarm attack. But Gor was expecting it — he sidestepped and kicked the back of Tanner’s knee. Tanner fell forward with a yell, twisting onto his back, just in time to see Gor stab his sword down at his face. Tanner brought his sword up to parry the blow, knocking it from his grasp. Gor’s blade skittered along the ground, showering sparks. Grunting with annoyance, Gor stamped down on Tanner’s sword arm and drew a dagger, thrusting it toward Tanner’s throat. Tanner grabbed his wrist and slowed the dagger’s descent. Gor pressed down. The deadly steel descended.

“My lord Derthsin told me your father died like a coward,” hissed Gor, leaning over him.

Rage flooded through Tanner, lending him strength, but his arm was beginning to shake. His eyes were locked on the dagger. His sword was still lodged beneath Gor’s boot, so he let go and scrabbled in the dirt by his side.

The cold blade touched his neck. Tanner closed his eyes.

His hand closed over a rock. He swung it with all his might into the side of Gor’s helmet. There was a hollow thud and Gor collapsed. Tanner scrambled up. Gor was moving weakly on the ground, half-conscious. Tanner picked up his sword, raising it above the general’s prone body. He stood with both hands gripping the hilt, the point aimed toward Gor’s heart.
You deserve to die
, he thought grimly.

A howl sliced through the air and Tanner turned to see Gulkien collide into the cliff and land in a heap at the bottom. The wolf rolled over weakly, his fur matted with blood. Gwen ran to her Beast, shouting, “No!”

Varlot staggered forward. Blood poured from a wound in the side of his head. His body was covered in gouges. He stamped his hooves and bellowed, shaking the ground. Tanner lost his footing, and fell down beside Gor, his sword clattering to the ground.

“Kill him!” called the general, struggling to lever himself up on an elbow and pointing with a trembling hand at Tanner.

Varlot flexed his viselike hands and strode toward him.