The Lore Of The Evermen (Book 4) (31 page)

42

Ella and Shani rode into the border town of Mourie, located between Halaran and Loua Louna, the hooves of their horses clattering on the cobbled stones, fatigue pulling at their shoulders.

It was market day in Mourie, a scene of strange normality as men and women in a variety of costumes hurried to and fro with goods in their hands and pouches of gilden at their belts. The
scurrying
townsfolk turned and stared in astonishment as Ella pushed her mount in between the drudge-pulled carts and picked her way around the stalls. Most had never seen a horse before, and the two women gathered attention as they rode to the m
arket’s heart
.

The town square was framed by a tower and a cluster of
buildings
. Ella rode directly for the center and pulled up, her horse whinnying as she pulled on the reins to draw it to a halt.

“Oh no,” Shani muttered under her breath. “Here we go again.”

Ella pointed her hand in the air, and a beam of bright golden light shot out of her wand. The townsfolk screamed and gasped; she had their attention.

“People of Loua Louna and lands far from here, I have news,” Ella called.

Soon there were hundreds of people around them as the crowd gathered to see what this strange young woman had to say.

“You may have heard about the enemy from across the sea. If you have not, then be warned, for this enemy is unlike anything our Empire has faced before. I come directly from Altura, my homeland, which has only survived a great onslaught by the
barest
margin
, thanks to the combined efforts of the houses. The free
cities
are gone. Sarostar is partly destroyed. I am Ella Torresante, and Miro, high lord of Altura, is my brother.”

The people gasped as they heard the news, exchanging glances as women pulled children close, and all wondered how this affected them.

“We fight a force of ultimate evil, bent on destroying every house, not just Altura, but Loua Louna as well. This enemy will not rest until the Empire is gone.”

Ella paused to take a breath and frowned as she caught Shani rolling her eyes.

“We now know that the battle for Altura was just part of the struggle. We believe we only faced a part of their forces in the west. A second force traveled by ship to the lands in the east. Their next target became clear when Aynar sent a call for help, but it was a call we were unable to answer. By now the enemy has undoubtedly conquered Stonewater.”

The gasps were clearly audible now. Faces turned white and men growled.

“Soon my brother, the high lord of Altura, and the high lords of Vezna and Halaran, will pass this way. With them is Killian Alderon, your emperor. They go to stop our enemy before he can conquer Seranthia. I don’t need to tell you, if Seranthia falls, the rest of the Empire will soon follow.”

Ella’s gaze swept the market, roving over the growing crowd. These people would pass the word, and soon everyone in Mourie and beyond would hear the news.

“When they come, I ask that you help. Gather your weapons and your men, and follow where your emperor leads. We don’t
battle
for Altura, nor do we fight for the survival of Seranthia. We fight for the Empire. Please, I beg that you do your part.”

“Who is this enemy?” someone called.

Ella considered her words. “It is an army of revenants, led by rebel Akari necromancers. Their leader is a man of the utmost evil.” She paused to let her words sink in. “Which brings me to my next purpose. The Akari are our allies, and their own revenants may help to hold back the tide. Have they been seen in this area?”

As before, Ella saw only shaking heads and blank looks. She would have to continue her search.

Ella reared her horse back, sending the hooves kicking at the air before her mount once more regained its footing. She nodded at Shani, and they sped from the market, all eyes on them as they left.

Ella and Shani rode along narrow trails, through forested glens and down wide roads, heading north into the wild lands the Akari would have to pass through on their way south. Ella made the same speech at every town and village. Sometimes her words were received with fright; other times people challenged her with rattling swords and cries of rage.

They traveled as swiftly as possible, desperate in their search, always with the fear in their minds that they would miss the Dain’s force altogether. Perhaps the Dain hadn’t seen the signal. Or
perhaps
he’d seen it and hadn’t come.

Even with remounts, they couldn’t gallop all the time. Ella took care to ensure they spared their horses. If they lost a mount, their mission would suffer.

“Ella,” Shani said as they walked the horses alongside a grassy bank beside a thin stream. “I just want you to know, I don’t think it’s true.”

Ella tore her gaze from the trail. “What’s not true?”

“About Killian having a love back in Seranthia. I don’t think it’s true.”

Ella sighed; she wished she’d never told Shani. “What makes you say that?”

“I saw the way he looked at you back in Sarostar. You’d have to be a fool not to see it. It was the look of a man in pain. A certain kind of pain, if you get my meaning.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Ella said. “We’ve got bigger things to worry about.”

“What’s more important than love?”

“Safety,” said Ella. “Freedom. Life.”

“You’re wrong,” said Shani. “Bartolo would give his life for me, and I for him. Do you doubt me?”

“No, but . . .”

“It’s love that binds us together. Even if we rarely acknowledge it, it’s love for our fellow humans, even those we don’t know, that makes us risk our lives to fight for the Empire.”

“Fine,” Ella said. “I get your point.”

“Do you? Ella, love is a risk. It takes courage, and it takes work, but it’s all worth it in the end. Every time something goes wrong, you can’t shy away. You need to face things head on.”

“Like facing an enemy?” Ella smiled.

“Like everything else in life,” Shani said, her expression as grave as Ella had ever seen her. “You’re brave in so many ways, but when it comes to love, you’re as timid as a dormouse. I understand you’re afraid of being hurt, but that’s part of the process. Every time Bartolo goes into battle, I’m so scared I can hardly breathe. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Shani, he knows about Ilathor. I saw his eyes; he’ll never forgive me. And now he has Carla. She was his first love. I’ll never compete.”

“Talk to him!”

“I’ll think about it,” Ella said. “There’s another village ahead. Let’s see what they have to say.”

The villagers told them about a large army passing through. Ella couldn’t believe the relief she felt to hear them describe tall, blonde-haired warriors with pale skin and endless ranks of eerie white-eyed revenants.

Ella pushed Shani and herself harder now, riding from before dawn until after dusk. After two more days they passed a fallow field next to a series of pastures, and with night setting around them Ella saw a multitude of twinkling lights that could only be campfires.

“Who goes there?” a tall sentry challenged the two riders.

Ella breathed a sigh of relief to see he was a living Akari warrior. More sentries came up to join them, and soon they faced a cluster of warriors carrying axes, hammers, and two-handed swords.

“I’m Enchantress Ella Torresante of Altura, and this is
Elementalist
Shani of Petrya,” Ella said. “We need to see the Dain.”

The sentries conferred, and a moment later half a dozen
warriors
formed up around them as the two women dismounted, leading Ella and Shani through the camp. Ella passed necromancers in gray robes and tried to relax her tensed muscles: these were friends, she reminded herself. Lord of the Sky, she struggled to shake how much they looked like the enemy.

Seeing the revenants actually wasn’t as bad; the enemy
revenants
came from the lands across the sea, a motley horde collected from all over those conquered lands. These revenants were calm and orderly, universally Akari, with gray uniforms and precise movements. Ella managed to steady herself after a time. The memories of the fight for Altura were a month old, but they were as fresh as if they’d occurred moments ago.

Ella and Shani halted outside a white pavilion, open at the sides, evidently a space the Dain used for receiving visitors and making plans. Revenant servants took their horses, and then Ella ducked her head and entered the pavilion, with Shani following close behind.

Dain Barden Mensk of the Akari sat at the head of a table of whitewashed wood. He leaned forward over a map while a commander spoke to him in low tones.

“Enchantress Ella of Altura and Elementalist Shani of Petrya,” a soldier announced.

Dain Barden glanced up and frowned. Ella felt the familiar chill along her spine as he looked at her with penetrating blue-gray eyes. Tall, even for his people, and muscled more than any man she’d seen, Dain Barden pulled on his forked beard, playing with the
silver
thread woven through. His long white hair was braided at the back of his head, and the lines in his brow were cruel and forbidding.

“Ella,” the Dain said, “finally some news. The fact you are far from your home says much. How fares Altura?”

Ella took a deep breath. “Dain, Altura stands, but only just. We turned back the enemy, but with great loss of life. The forces of Altura and Halaran are shadows of what they once were. The free cities are gone.”

“But you turned them back?” the Dain said. “Good. We can go home.”

“You don’t know, then?” Shani asked.

“Who is this?” Dain Barden scowled.

“She is Shani, an elementalist of Petrya and a friend. We’ve been searching for you for weeks.”

“Tell me, what is it we don’t know, Ella?”

“Our enemy is crafty and divided his forces. While we were tied up fighting in Altura, he continued by sea to the lands in the east. A month ago Stonewater requested help. We can only assume that, while they would have held for a time, by now the land of the templars has gone to the shadow.”

Dain Barden’s eyes went wide. “And Seranthia?”

“That’s why we’re here,” Ella said. “With the emperor and most of the Legion marching back from Altura, along with the rest of our forces, the emperor asks . . . he requests . . . your help. Your force is in a position to delay the enemy until he can bring the Legion back.”

“Where is the enemy now?” one of the Dain’s commanders spoke.

“Most likely somewhere between Aynar and Tingara.”

“And what stands between the Lord of the Night and his goal?” Dain Barden said.

“The Hazarans.”

“Those desert men? Three years ago we were fighting them, and now you want us to help them?”

“It is the only way to save the Empire. We’ve been outmaneuvered, Dain. If the emperor hadn’t come to Altura’s aid, we would have fallen, yet by doing so he’s left Tingara exposed.”

“I’ll think on it,” Dain Barden said.

“Let’s head back to Ku Kara—” the commander began.

“I said I’ll think on it!” the Dain growled.

Ella and Shani swapped glances. Ella knew it wasn’t the time to press the proud Dain, but she also knew that without the Akari, the Hazarans were doomed to fight the enemy alone.

Ilathor and Jehral had come through for Altura. True to their word, they’d fought for Ella’s homeland and had lost a great man
y men
.

Now it was Ella’s turn to come through for her friends.

“Leave me,” Dain Barden said. “Someone will find you tents. I need to think.”

“Of course,” Ella said.

She and Shani nodded and left the Dain of the Akari staring down at the map on the table, though his eyes had the look of a man seeing something else altogether.

As they left the pavilion behind, Shani turned to Ella. “That’s the first time we’ve met. Is he normally like that?”

Ella hesitated. “Gruff, yes. But there’s something affecting him.”

A steward in a gray uniform came forward. “Ladies? Would you care to follow me?”

Ella turned to the steward. “Is Ada here? The Dain’s daughter?”