Avondale (26 page)

The blighted lands were not what Tiberius expected. In his mind, he had seen the land below the mists as dead gray rock veiled in shadow, with bogs of poisonous slime, and the skeletal remains of ancient civilizations laid bare by the great cataclysm. Instead, what he found was a land teaming with life. They were high up on the mountainside, overlooking a long, flat prairie. The ground was covered with a thick, green moss, shorter than grass, but the fibrous ends were still long enough to be grazed on. In the distance, a river flowed like a blue ribbon across the plain, and there were strange looking animals drinking peacefully on the bank. Other mountains rose around them, but none towered as high as Avondale’s peak.

There were trees that grew in thick clusters, and flocks of birds swooped back forth from tree to tree. Sunlight filtered through the mist, casting the entire landscape in an amber colored light. The temperature was warmer and the air was thick with humidity.

“It’s beautiful,” Lexi said. “Like nothing I ever dreamed of.”

“Me either,” Tiberius said.

He bent down and ran his fingers through the moss. It was thick and spongy. He pulled up a small pinch and it tore away from the moss around it. The fibrous roots were woven together and barely dipped into the rust colored soil. Tiberius touched the ground and found the dirt powdery and dry.

“The moss must leech up all the moisture,” he said.

“I can’t believe it,” Lexi said. “It isn’t blighted at all.”

“Perhaps it was once, but now life has adapted.”

“We should go get the others,” she suggested.

“Or we could be alone for a while,” he said, teasingly.

“You are banished from civilization, facing almost certain death, and all you can think about is getting me alone?”

He stepped close and kissed her.

“I just can’t help myself,” he whispered.

An hour later, they came back through the mist. It was almost nightfall. The sun was painting the sky a beautiful pink color, and Avondale rose up like an impregnable fortress before them. Tiberius hurried back to where Rafe was sitting a short distance from Olyva, who was asleep under the tree.

“You have got to see what’s below the mists,” Tiberius said.

He was slightly winded from their climb back up the mountain.

“Is it horrid?” Rafe asked.

“No, it’s amazing.”

“It is,” Lexi agreed.

“It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Help me with the horses, we’ve should go before we lose the light.”

“We can’t,” Rafe said.

“What? Why?” Tiberius asked.

“Because,” Rafe waved a hand at Olyva, “she passed out. She’s under a lot of pressure.”

“And we aren’t?” Lexi said.

“It’s different for her,” Rafe insisted. “She’s never faced anything like this before.”

“None of us have,” Lexi said. “Ti grew up in a palace, but you don’t see him falling to pieces.”

“Look, no one asked you to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong,” Rafe said angrily.

“Actually,” Tiberius said calmly, “I did. Fighting with each other won’t help us.”

“I’m grateful you came to help us,” Rafe said. “But that was your choice. You don’t know what she’s been through.”

“Fair enough,” Lexi said. “I’m sorry.”

“Things are nothing like we expected,” Tiberius said. “I’m not saying it will be easy, but there is life below the mists.”

“Abundant life,” Lexi said.

“We can find food, shelter; it may not be perfect, but it isn’t a wasteland.”

“Why has no one returned to tell the cities then?” Rafe asked.

“I don’t know,” Tiberius said.

“Maybe they have, but the Earl suppresses the truth in order to remain in control of the city,” Lexi said.

Rafe looked down and Tiberius looked embarrassed. He wanted to argue, to defend his family, but he knew she might be right. Lexi didn’t know anyone in court except for Tiberius, and she had never met anyone in his family, yet she knew them. She understood their lust for power and their desperation to hang onto it at any cost.

“It doesn’t matter now,” Rafe said. “The only thing that matters is can we make it across the blighted lands to Sparlan Citadel?”

“I think it’s possible,” said Tiberius.

“We’ve already decided that’s the best thing to do?” Lexi asked, the surprise in her voice clear to both Tiberius and Rafe.

“You don’t think we should?” Tiberius asked.

“We have to,” Rafe said. “It doesn’t matter how incredible the land is, Olyva needs the pardon. She needs to be restored to her rightful place.”

Lexi rolled her eyes. She had never been one for social standings, Tiberius knew that. She had very little patience for anyone who couldn’t keep up with her sharp wit, and it appeared she felt the same way about Olyva’s lack of emotional strength now.

“I won’t keep you from going to the Citadel,” Lexi said. “I’ll stay with Tiberius, even if he goes to the Princess.”

“I don’t have any desire to ever see the Princess again,” Tiberius said.

“But you want to get your hands on her books,” Rafe said with a wolfish grin.

“I’m interested in learning as much as I can about magic,” Tiberius said. “But if there are writings that survived in the Citadel, surely there are writings elsewhere.”

“I think we need a goal,” Rafe said. “I suggest we try to get to Hamill Keep. Olyva thinks her family will reject her, but I don’t think so. Besides, if we can just get there, it will be a major boost to her confidence.”

“Unless she’s right and her family won’t let her into the city,” Lexi said. “Believe me, when the people you depend upon most let you down, it’s hard to recover.”

“I’m not going to let her down,” Rafe said. “Does anyone have a better idea?”

“No,” Tiberius said.

Lexi shook her head.

“Then it’s settled. We’ll head for Hamill Keep.”

“What about tonight?” Lexi said. “It’s going to get cold up here.”

“Right,” Rafe said. “I’ve already gathered as much wood as I could get from this sickly tree, but we’ll need more to keep a fire burning through the night.”

“We’ve got some food in our packs,” Tiberius said.

“Water too,” Rafe added.

“We only have a few of blankets though,” Tiberius said.

“So, we’ll have to sleep close and conserve our body heat,” Rafe said.

“And we’ll need to stand guard. We’re pretty exposed out here,” Tiberius said.

“Ti and I will take the first watch,” Lexi said. “You and Olyva get some rest.”

When the sun set, the temperature dropped quickly. Rafe found a bar of flint in his pack and they got a small fire going. It wasn’t much more than a way to warm their hands and feet, but it was better than nothing. Rafe moved Olyva over to the fire and laid out a blanket. He set her on the blanket and lay down behind her. They used another blanket to cover up with.

There were strange noises in the night, but Tiberius couldn’t see far beyond the light from their fire. The sky was bright with stars, but the mountainside was completely dark. He and Lexi paced, trying to keep warm and stay alert.

“So,” Tiberius asked. “What made you do it?”

“Do what?” she asked.

“Risk your neck for me,” he said. “Stealing horses?”

“I just thought of what I would want were I in your shoes,” she said. “I’d want a horse, although I’d never ridden one.”

“You haven’t?”

“There isn’t much need for horsemanship in the lower city,” Lexi smirked. “We don’t go on holiday often.”

“I’m sorry, I just wasn’t thinking.”

“Besides, it wasn’t much risk. The entire city was at the north gate waiting to see you get booted out. I had some coin, found some horses, bribed the soldiers who were guarding the southern gate, and out I came.”

“You are so courageous,” he said. “What would you have done if we had already gone down the mountain?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “I was debating that very question while I rode around the city. I’ve heard of people taking refuge outside the city walls. I’m sure I could find a way back in if I needed to.”

When they determined the night was half over, they woke Rafe. He rose without complaint, his years with the Earl’s war band had taught him discipline, even when he was roused from his bed in the middle of the night.

Tiberius and Lexi were tired. They lay down behind Olyva and quickly fell asleep. The next morning came quickly and Tiberius was already cold and stiff from trying to sleep on the rocky ground. He got up and stretched.

Their fire had died sometime in the night, and so they ate a cold breakfast of stale bread and hard cheese. Olyva woke up and soon they had everything ready to leave. They could see people on the wall watching them.

“Morning patrol,” Rafe said. “We should head down before the owner of these horses reports them missing and sends the Paladins out to get them back.”

“What makes you think they were stolen?” Lexi said testily. “You think I couldn’t get horses without stealing them?”

“Did you?” Rafe asked.

“Don’t fight,” Tiberius said. “We’re all in a bad mood after sleeping on the ground.”

“She stole the horses?” Olyva said with disbelief.

“Let’s go,” Tiberius insisted.

They led the horses down the steep mountain and into the mist. Ti had wondered if the horses would resist going into the fog bank, but they didn’t. Rafe was leading his horse and Olyva’s, and holding her hand with his free hand, but Tiberius could tell his friend was tempted to draw his weapon just to have it at the ready. Lexi carried one of the spears, but the other two were tied onto the horse that was also carrying their packs.

They stopped when they came through the fog bank. The sun was shining over the fog, and the valley below them looked beautiful in the brilliant amber light.

“It’s amazing,” Rafe said.

“I told you so,” Tiberius said.

They moved on, angling their descent and zigzagging back and forth so that they traveled down the mountain, but without exhausting the horses. The mountain became even steeper the further they traveled, and the horses were at risk of stumbling or injuring themselves. They stopped frequently, resting and doing what they could to make sure they weren’t surprised by anything. They were all encouraged by the vitality of the land beneath the mist, but they were also cautious. The air seemed richer somehow the further down they went, and by mid-afternoon they were almost to the base of the mountain.

“I say we make for those trees,” Rafe said, pointing to the nearest grove.

“Why not?” Tiberius said.

“I think I see something moving,” Lexi said.

“Where?” Rafe asked, the tension evident in his voice.

“Relax,” Lexi said. “It’s way out across the prairie. Over there,” she pointed.

It was impossible for Tiberius to tell for sure. He thought he saw some smudges moving slowly toward the river, but he couldn’t decide what he was seeing.

“I don’t guess you thought to pack a spyglass,” Rafe asked.

“I wasn’t planning on leaving Avondale,” Tiberius said.

“It doesn’t matter,” Lexi said, “they’re too far away to worry about now.”

“Wait!” Tiberius said.

He excitedly pulled out the list of spells that Princess Ariel had given him. He’d been too busy to look over the list after she’d given it to him, but on one of their breaks he had pulled it out and read through the list. The Princess had named each spell, some were simple like
fire
and others were more obscure, such as the one Tiberius was thinking of, titled
far sight.

“Let me try something,” he said.

He handed the reins of his horse to Lexi, then walked several paces away from the others. A part of him felt guilty for using anything that Princess Ariel had given him. And he wasn’t sure what order the spell was in. He might be jumping ahead, and that thought worried him, but he was anxious to try out something new. The spells Ariel had written down were simple spells, most with very practical applications. He was hoping that
far sight
would allow him to see things far away, but he couldn’t be sure. He moved away from the others because a tiny part of him worried that something might go awry, and the last thing he wanted was for his own magic to hurt someone he cared about.

“
Ultimas Conspectus
,” he said.

Normally he chanted the spells over and over, especially the longer, more complex spells. The simpler spells were becoming almost second nature to him and he could kindle the magic and direct it with a single command. He said the spell for
far sight
just once and immediately felt a stirring of magic that was completely different than anything he’d experienced before. The healing spells conjured a strong flow of magic that was completely apart from him, but the new spell sparked magic that was inside of Tiberius himself.

Immediately he could see further than he thought possible. His vision seemed to race ahead, across the open valley, toward the creatures moving slowly toward the river. He saw heavy four-legged beasts, not unlike cows, but much larger, their hides shaggy like sheep in need of sheering. They had big humps on their backs, and horns that rose up and then curled back toward each other on their wide flat heads.

He stood looking at the creatures for a moment, just reveling in the ability to see so far and so clearly. Then something else caught his attention. There was movement beyond the large bovine-like beasts. His sight moved even further, focusing in on what was just coming up over the edge of the river bank. Graypees, Tiberius could see them clearly, even though it was obvious that they were slinking along the ground, stalking the larger beasts.

“Oh my god,” Tiberius said.

“What is it?” Rafe asked, moving closer to his friend.

“Lexi was right, there are some type of creatures moving toward the river. They look like big shaggy cows.”

“Why is that bad?” Lexi asked.

“It’s not, but I can see a pack of Graypees stalking them.”

“Graypees?” Rafe asked, a note of concern in his voice. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely sure,” Tiberius said.

He willed his sight back to normal. The magic faded and the creatures in the distance became a dark smudge on the horizon. He sighed and closed his eyes as a wave of dizziness swept over him. He felt nauseous and bent forward, putting is hands on his knees.