Five Kingdoms (12 page)

In response to Tristus’ sentiment, the elf merely looked at him. The look spoke very little, so Tristus assumed Alere was preoccupied in thought. Riding roughly in pairs and with Taya currently sat with Xu Liang, Tristus had no one else to fall back on for conversation in Alere’s silence. He decided that he would make do, and paid better notice to their surroundings.

Their caravan included the bodyguards taking point in pairs, all but Gai Ping, who rode alongside Xu Liang. The elder occupied the mystic’s right flank while Shirisae stayed on the left with Tarfan as a passenger. Tristus and Alere were immediately behind their widest group with Fu Ran taking up the rear. The yak was secured to his mount, plodding along indifferently now that they’d navigated away from the scent of battle.

Guang Ci and Shi Dian passed between the ruins and the cave first, stirring the interest of nothing. The rest of the line followed suit. Tristus glanced toward
Aerkiren’s
sheath in the moments he and Alere were moving past the mouth of the cave. The weapon did begin to glow within its casing, but looking to the darkness that may have been disturbing it, he saw no traces of either demons or ambush. He recalled that the light of the fire had kept them at bay within the furnace below Vilciel. It may have been that something was doing so here as well.

Looking to the sky, he noticed the beginnings of snowfall drifting through the tops of the trees. Their lean sharp branches stabbed into the mist that now hung higher overhead. He wondered if there was any hope of a blue sky over this particular area. The place seemed cursed and all but forgotten.

Tristus brought his gaze back down, by way of a short cliff face. Considering the terrain that they’d just come over, it seemed likely that the forest would also harbor a variety of rock formations of its own, particularly if it led into the mountains. That opened up further opportunity for ambush, but the forest was very still currently. The air was damp and cold, transferring mostly the sounds of their own animals. The area smelled of moss and damp wood.

“Have you noticed anything?” he asked Alere, hoping that the elf would answer this time.

“Nothing worthy of note,” Alere replied.

Tristus was relieved to hear a voice, and sought to carry the conversation. “I would have thought anything in this wood worthy of note.”

“And you’ve probably already made note of everything to yourself,” Alere quipped.

Tristus smiled at him, though only briefly. Afterward, he looked over his shoulder, where Fu Ran maintained a vigilant watch all around them. He felt assured that one of them would be bound to notice anything sinister.

It was in the midst of that thought when Xu Liang signaled for their caravan to draw to a halt. Looking forward, it appeared that Guang Ci had initiated the action; the guardsman’s arm was still upheld. He looked back to see that they were coming to a stop before turning forward again. They had come to the start of a narrow passage through two stone rises. The extension of mounded earth to the right of them formed a softer, but still impassable wall by horse. To their left lay more forest and the continuation of the cliff face. There was no telling how far it went, just as there had not been regarding the crack at the bridge, or the woods themselves.

“I feel that we ought not pass through here,” Tristus said quietly. Even speaking the words, he could not honestly say that he felt better about being directed north indefinitely—perhaps all the way to sea—or with tracing their way back through forest they’d already traveled.

A wind drew up from the forest floor, stirring dust, debris, and snow. It spiraled erratically about them, fanning the lower lengths of Xu Liang’s hair and billowing Shirisae’s red locks beside him, as if the elf’s mane were temporarily a banner of fire against the black of night. The wind did not last, and in the wake of its passing, a form appeared in the pass. Though much of the figure was shadowed by the gloom of the forest, it was evident that the individual was taller than an ordinary man, and possessed a mantle of antlers.

The guards drew their weapons at once, as training and their duty to their lord required. Tristus’ own instincts in that regard had him put his hand to the hilt of his sword. He noted in the edge of his view that Alere was behaving no differently. Ahead of them, Shirisae reached to release the straps that held
Firestorm
to her back. Tarfan seemed prepared to avoid her draw when Xu Liang reached out an arm to halt further action.

“Do not be lured,” he advised.

“You are lured already,” came the soft, but well-projected voice of a woman. Her words tapered into a peculiar echo that resonated off the earthen corridor. “You are lured by your own motivations…to survive…to achieve….”

It appeared that she was stepping forward, but in actuality her presence swelled. As if she were some manner of specter, her form stretched to a size that only just allowed her to fit within the passage. Only, her intangible being was not bound by her physical environment, seeming to move through it. A face of curious beauty with hair the color of the naked trees and eyes a feral green loomed over them. Her torso became draped in the mist and her leonine lower half sat as if to block their way, though it was possible to see entirely through her spectral presence.

“Witchcraft,” Tarfan whispered, and a part of Tristus was inclined to agree. The Order Masters would have considered this display precisely that. But at the same time, the presence of this being felt different than mere illusion.

Beside him, Alere let go the hilt of
Aerkiren
. By Tristus’ experience with the elf, that meant that he felt that there was something here that surpassed mortal powers.

Augmenting the sense of that, Xu Liang bowed his head to the creature before them. And it was in that moment that Tristus also let his hand drift from his sword.

Shirisae did not
know whether or not to trust what had come before them, but she had placed her trust in Xu Liang. She would wait before taking action, at least long enough to allow the mystic his own methods. She lowered her hand from the shaft of
Firestorm
and heard Tarfan let out a sigh behind her. Of course, the dwarf had nothing to fear of her drawing her blade; she could have done so easily without so much as splitting one of his beard hairs. Dwarves were worrisome creatures at times.

The translucent form of the being in the pass seemed not to care one way or the other whether or not weapons were drawn against her. That may have given credence to the spirit nature of her, that she feared no blade wielded by mortals and that she was not offended by what did not threaten her. It could yet have been some form of illusion, but Shirisae would not disregard that the creature had some command over nature, even if it were only in spells. Xu Liang seemed to respect at least that much as well. Being a sorcerer of the elements, perhaps he felt they shared some common ground. It was not easy for Shirisae to know what motivated or inspired Xu Liang. For now, she felt no immediate threat. She would follow his lead.

“The earthbound walk a helpless path of curiosity,” Xu Liang said to the oversized form of the creature in the pass. “We are lured by many things, yes.”

“You are not earthbound,” the forest spirit contradicted at once, and again without seeming offended or offensive. “And you are not alone.”

Xu Liang said nothing in response.

Shirisae looked into and through the bright eyes of the forest spirit. Those eyes looked over all of them, and the spirit seemed to smile. The look was of a creature aware of its power and undaunted by the power of others. It was arrogance, but at the same time it was somehow innocent. It was in some ways like the presence of the Phoenix.

In some ways, Shirisae wanted to reject that—the elves of Vilciel revered only one without reservation. It was the Phoenix who had led them to salvation from the possibility of extinction, the same level of defeat Alere’s people had been brought to, but no gods seemed interested in coming to their aid in the cold mountains. The Verressi Elves had been forsaken, and if not for the Phoenix, Shirisae’s people would have been also. If this creature was in any way the equal of a god, Shirisae was tempted to defy her openly.

Tarfan must have sensed her tensing; he reached forward and laid his thick hand upon her arm. “Easy, lass,” he whispered.

Shirisae continued to delay action.

“I am the guardian of the forsaken,” the spirit continued, her voice resounding off the surface of all that surrounded her. “Those who have surrendered their voices to the Void, where none may hear them.”

“This is not the Void,” Shirisae argued instinctively. She was beginning to think this was somehow a lie, though she could not ignore the fact that Alere did not protest the claim the being made with its presence.

“The Void is everywhere,” the spirit answered. “And it is anywhere. This hour, it is here. One of you is forsaken, and it is only that one for whom I will open this pass. If any other than that one should come forward, the way will close and you will all remain in the Void forever.”

Like a queen perched upon her throne, the spirit settled herself within the entrance of the corridor between the cliffs. She cast her gaze down upon them and said, “Decide.”

All of them looked at one another. No one seemed entirely convinced of her claim, nor of the game she seemed intent to play with them. Not even Tristus rushed to volunteer himself as the condemned member of their party.

“This is preposterous,” Shirisae said.

Shortly following her words, Xu Liang slid himself from Blue Crane’s saddle. The notion put forward in that moment was unacceptable. Xu Liang, of all of them, was chosen. He had been blessed by the Phoenix. No sooner had the thought formed, Xu Liang took a step toward the forest spirit. Taya reached for his sleeve, in the precise instant that Shirisae straightened in the saddle to protest.

Tarfan put a hand on her arm once again. “Patience, lassie.”

“What is he doing?” she heard Tristus whisper to Alere.

Alere had no ability to know better than Tristus, and gave no verbal reply.

Shirisae looked over her shoulder to see what expression he might have made at the knight, and found him looking directly at her instead. His audacity remained offensive, but she had greater concerns at the moment. “This is a trick,” she said.

If Xu Liang heard her, he did not respond. The mystic slipped away from Taya and walked without trepidation toward the spectral form blocking the path. The clear light her image gave off made his coloring suddenly brighter. He stood in splendorous layers of blue, green, and black against the soft tone of his skin, his hands placed together. He bowed in a display of deference to either her potential ancientness or power—maybe both—saying nothing.

The sounds of movement in the forest behind them drew Shirisae’s attention over her shoulder once again. The others were also looking, undoubtedly descrying the forms pressing through the fog, those of enemies they’d already faced. The silhouettes of their antlers resembled branches, making it seem as if the trees themselves were coming to life. Though the centaurs did not charge or gesture any form of aggression just yet, Shirisae took
Firestorm
from its harness. The others drew weapons as well, and Shirisae afforded a look in Xu Liang’s direction.

The spirit or avatar watched him, as if patiently eyeing prey. Shirisae began considering the method and order of her impending attacks against the centaurs and potentially this spirit as well. It was then that Xu Liang straightened, and took steps toward the pass. Thoughts of battle halted, and Shirisae very nearly commanded Kirlothden toward the mystic, to spare whatever form of ambush would befall him in the pass. She didn’t know what held her still, but she found herself staring, watching motionless as Xu Liang walked beneath the spirit’s gaze and into its transparent form.

Shirisae took in a breath and held it, looking to the tops of the rocks to either side of the corridor, then back at Xu Liang, who was intact and safe. Nothing had happened.

The spirit stood and leaped into the air, spreading wings while its immense size pared down in flight, becoming no greater than a mountain cat while it rejoined the physical form it had been hiding near the top of the rocks. She said nothing, but only cast a peculiar smile down upon the pass and the man who had stepped within it before scaling the cliff wall and disappearing from view.

The sound of the centaurs’ horn followed.