Golden Age (The Shifting Tides Book 1) (28 page)

48

‘We’re heading north,’ Chloe said.

‘Yes, but just because we’re heading north now doesn’t mean we have been the whole time.’

‘Which way would you have us go, then?’

‘North,’ Dion said. ‘We’ll come to Galea eventually.’

Chloe scowled, but rather than reply, she scooped another bucket of water out of the bottom and threw it over the side. She filled bucket after bucket, working ceaselessly even though her shoulders and back ached.

She saw that Dion appeared comfortable enough, holding the tiller with one hand while shielding his eyes with the other as he scanned the horizon. He seemed to think she was only good for bailing out the rapidly filling vessel, even though it was her hand at the tiller that first guided them through the worst of the storm.

As her eyes narrowed he suddenly called out. ‘Here,’ he said. ‘Come and take the tiller. You’ve worked hard enough. You deserve a rest.’

For some reason his words only made her angrier. How was it that he was the one who decided when she could rest? She rose to her feet and stumbled as she passed him but he grabbed her around the waist and steadied her. Chloe muttered her thanks and got out of his way while she made her way to the stern and Dion went to the place she’d just vacated. Settling herself at the tiller, she felt relieved that the waves had now subsided, though the wind still occasionally sent heavy gusts that made the boat list to the side alarmingly. She watched Dion work, and had to admit that he was managing to get more water out of the bottom than she had, but she frowned when she saw more water well up to take its place.

Dion looked back at her and spoke gravely. ‘There’s a leak somewhere, and it’s getting worse.’

Chloe could see concern written in the lines of his forehead, along with the fatigue she felt gnawing at her own senses, dulling her wits and blurring her vision. They’d been sleeping in shifts, but with water in the bottom of the boat they were both needed at the same time more often than not.

Dion glanced back at her as he bailed, and suddenly spoke to fill the silence. ‘Tell me something about yourself.’

‘Ever the curious sailor?’

He gave a slight smile at the reference to his secret message. ‘What do you miss most about home?’

‘My family,’ Chloe said, staring out to sea. The sun sparkled off the blue water, but all she could think about was how deep it was, how much water there was between the hull and the ocean floor far below. ‘My sister and my father.’

‘How old is your sister? Sophia, isn’t it?’

She nodded. ‘She’s eleven. I’ve taken care of her since . . .’ She trailed off.

‘Since?’

‘
Since my mother died of fever. It was three years ago. She just
. . . wasted away
. I learned healing arts at the temple, and I took care of her. But even the priestess said that sometimes there’s nothing you can do.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Dion said. ‘I . . . I didn’t mean to bring up old wounds.’

‘Not so old,’ said Chloe, still watching the waves. ‘I still think about her.’

Another silence grew, broken only by the splash of the bucket, the snap of wind in the sail, the groaning of the vessel’s planking, and the waves pounding at the
Calypso
’s hull.

Chloe glanced at Dion when he wasn’t looking. The constant wind had blown his sandy brown hair into complete disarray and his time on the sea had tanned the skin of his face a deep brown. His lips were burned and there was stubble on his chin, but it was a square jaw, and his body was lean and toned. He didn’t have the build of a swordsman but he looked strong. He wasn’t a warrior, but he was a fighter.

He moved tirelessly as he bent down, filled the bucket with water, and tossed it over the side. He looked like he would keep going for hours, and she knew he could.

When she had been captured, taken from her home, Dion was the only one who had come looking for her. He had sailed across the great expanse of the Maltherean Sea, to a place he had never been to, for her.

‘And you?’ Chloe asked. ‘Do you miss your family?’

He turned to her as if surprised she’d asked him a direct question. ‘I do. My older brother, Nikolas, was always good to me. He gave me that bow, and without it I’d be dead many times over. He tried to teach me to fight with a sword, but’—Dion shrugged—‘I never could master it. So he introduced me to the bow.’

‘You use that bow as if you were born to it,’ Chloe said.

‘Plenty of practice.’ Dion grinned. He hauled another bucket of water over the side. ‘But my father doesn’t think archery is a fitting skill for the son of a king. So I searched for something else to do. Once again, it was Nikolas who gave me into the care of someone, an old sailor. I found I liked the sea. No’—he shook his head—‘I love the sea.’

Chloe thought again about the vast open space they were in, at the mercy of the remorseless weather, waves, and wind. ‘Even when there’s a storm bearing down and a dragon on your tail?’

He laughed. ‘Even then. We made it, didn’t we? And despite what you may think, we wouldn’t have made it without the both of us.’

Chloe felt color come to her cheeks. ‘Tell me about your mother,’ she said.

‘Her name is Thea and she’s a strong woman, as strong as you. At first she and my father were strangers, but that was long ago. Now it’s clear how close they are.’ Dion hesitated. ‘Her story’s quite sad.’

‘Go on.’

He continued in between scoops of water. ‘Nikolas’s mother died in childbirth and with just the one heir, the king needed a new queen. For a long time a suitable bride couldn’t be found, and the search continued far from Xanthos. Finally, a marriage was arranged with a minor king’s daughter from a distant place called Azeros.’

‘Azeros,’ Chloe mused. ‘I’ve heard of it, I think.’

‘It lives on in no memory but my mother’s,’ Dion said. ‘The day she left her home a band of wildren descended on the town. Giants. They slaughtered everyone.’ Chloe turned her wide eyes on him, but he wasn’t looking at her as he continued to bail. ‘Then, as they hunted down any stragglers, the giants came across my mother and her escort. The soldiers hid her and drew off the wildren. She somehow made her way, alone, to Xanthos.’

Dion finally looked across at her. His eyes were sorrowful, but it wasn’t for himself; he was thinking of his mother.

‘She told me it was difficult, settling in among a new people. She hadn’t even met my father. But like I said, she’s strong. He wanted to send out the army, to hunt down every eldran and wildran within a thousand miles of Xanthos. But my mother’s also compassionate. She protected the eldren from his wrath. Though we don’t have quite the relationship between our two races as you do in Phalesia, we no longer kill each other.’

Chloe let out a breath. ‘She sounds like quite a woman. I’d like to meet her.’ She thought about the raging debates at the Assembly. ‘A lot of Phalesians despise the eldren, but I’ve known Zachary since I was a girl, when my father took me into the Wilds to introduce me to him.’ She paused as she remembered Zachary emerging from the trees, frightening her with his ancient eyes and silver hair until he’d crouched in front of her and opened his palm to reveal a shiny green frog. ‘He’s always been kind to me, and he saved my sister’s life.’

Dion nodded. ‘If there was only something we could do about the wildren, perhaps our two races could be at peace.’

‘Even Zachary says that when they’re too far gone to bring back, they must be hunted down. He says they’re dead to him as soon as they pass the point of no return.’

‘Yet now they have a king,’ Dion murmured.

‘Yes . . .’ Chloe trailed off. She gazed into the water and thought about serpents, giants, and dragons. ‘Now they have a king.’

Chloe watched as they approached the dark blur on the horizon, seeing it rise out of the sea like an immense black wave. She made sure it was definitely land before she woke Dion.

Despite lying in a growing pool of water, Dion was asleep. His chest rose and fell with every breath and he twitched now and then as he dreamed.

‘Dion,’ Chloe said softly. ‘Wake.’

He spluttered as he shot up, seeing that his body was half submerged. Immediately, he began to bail. ‘Why didn’t you wake me sooner?’ He scowled.

Chloe felt her ire rise. ‘I was letting you sleep.’

‘We could have sunk!’

She gestured to the open sea as her eyes narrowed. ‘The water is calm. I was judging my moment, trying to let you rest as much as possible.’

Furiously, he tossed bucketful after bucketful over the side as he tried to evacuate the water. ‘Don’t do that again.’

‘Look ahead of us, you fool,’ Chloe said.

Dion stopped what he was doing long enough to see the growing silhouette of mountains rising out of the sea ahead. ‘Land.’

‘Yes, land. Where do you think it is? Athos?’

‘No,’ he said instantly. ‘Athos is low lying, and this place is too high. My guess is Orius or Parnos.’ He turned back to her, and now there was light in his eyes. ‘We might be able to get help. Perhaps another boat. If this is Orius then we’re not far from Xanthos.’

He continued to empty out the water, but it took an eternity before he’d made a noticeable difference. He checked the sail and then hauled on the rope to bring it in on a closer set. The
Calypso
leaned over and noticeably increased speed.

‘Head directly for land,’ Dion instructed. ‘This boat won’t last much longer.’

Chloe bit off a rejoinder; she didn’t have the energy to point out that she was already moving the tiller. Instead they both watched as the landmass grew larger.

She frowned as she looked to the left and saw a second landmass, separate from the one that lay ahead. But unlike the place they were heading for, this was a solitary mountain, a towering peak with a broken summit and a thin stream of smoke trailing into the sky. Chloe looked again at the dark clouds clustering above the long escarpment they were heading for.

‘Dion,’ Chloe said. ‘Dion!’

‘What?’ he said, looking back and frowning.

‘Look, to the left.’ She pointed.

Dion swore. ‘Mount Oden. Which makes the land we’re heading for . . .’

‘Cinder Fen.’

Without asking permission Chloe turned the vessel so that they were approaching at an oblique angle, heading for the channel separating Mount Oden from the main peninsula. They passed the volcano on their left and then the island began to grow distant, but on their right they were now close enough to see the crystal white sand of the shore and the cliffs that climbed to the line of peaks at Cinder Fen. Dion fearfully scanned the water all around, occasionally looking for threats in the sky. Chloe prayed the vessel would hold.

But the timbers of the
Calypso
groaned, and Chloe saw that the water was coming in faster than Dion could bail it out.

‘What do I do?’ she asked.

‘We don’t have a choice.’ He swallowed. ‘Take us in. At least we know where we are. If we can make it past Cinder Fen we’ll soon be at Phalesia.’

Chloe turned them in to shore as Dion bailed furiously. They were both searching the sea and sky constantly. The beach was empty; she couldn’t see any creatures flying through the ominous clouds. Cinder Fen appeared barren, utterly devoid of life. They crossed into the light blue water. She could now hear the waves crashing on the sandy shore.

‘Let’s just hope the Ilean fleet was delayed by the storm,’ Dion said. ‘We’ll be making the rest of our journey on foot.’

49

Solid ground felt like the sea, rolling under Dion’s feet and giving him the impression of motion, but he was familiar with the sensation and managed to ignore it. He and Chloe walked side by side on the beach, satchels over their shoulders containing the last of their food and water. As morning became midday the sun blazed from overhead, emerging from behind the clouds that hung over the row of high peaks.

‘I still think it’s safer if we walk on the rocks, in the shadow of the cliffs,’ Chloe said.

Dion sighed in exasperation. ‘We’ve already been through this. It might be safer, but we’ll walk three times as fast on the sand.’

‘And as for hiding the boat—’

He’d known he was wrong to insist on it, but the
Calypso
was the finest boat he’d ever sailed in. She had brought him across the sea and back again, through storms and dark nights.

‘I hope to get her back one day,’ he muttered.

Hours passed as they followed the shore, a long stretch of pure white sand that seemed to go on forever. Dion wondered if their quest was hopeless, but he had to keep going. It would take time for Kargan to assemble the fleet, particularly after the destruction he’d wrought at Lamara’s harbor. He increased his pace while Chloe struggled to keep up. But he couldn’t slow. Not now that they’d crossed the Maltherean Sea, with his destination so close.

He scanned the shore ahead and the cliffs above, leading to the mountainous heights, but so far he’d seen no sign of wildren. Even so he remembered the furies that took Riko and Otus, and used the memory to remain vigilant. Glancing at Chloe he saw that she was also performing her own inspection. Dion had his quiver over his left shoulder, his satchel on his right, and the composite bow in his hand, ready to draw at a moment’s notice. He had to be ready for anything.

He frowned as Chloe suddenly ran to the water’s edge, but then realized what she was doing when she returned with a stout piece of driftwood she could use as a cudgel. ‘Good idea,’ he said softly.

They continued to walk in silence.

The beach suddenly ended. Cliffs ahead rose directly from the water, blocking all further access. Dion followed them with his eye and saw a broken cleft in the escarpment.

‘There.’ He pointed. ‘We’re going to have to climb.’

Chloe nodded as her shoulders slumped. ‘And then?’

‘If we can make it to high ground, my guess is there’ll be a plateau on the other side.’

‘No,’ Chloe said. Dion frowned as he looked at her. ‘Not a plateau. A swamp of ash. That’s what Kargan called it. He said that past the ring of mountains is the heartland that gives Cinder Fen its name.’

‘Perhaps there’s a better way,’ Dion muttered as he continued to examine the cliffs ahead.

‘There is no other way. I can climb up if you can. Come on, it will be dark before long. The sooner we start the better.’

Chloe led the way to the cleft, placing one foot in front of the other as she began to climb. Dion followed her foot and hand holds, realizing she was a better climber than he was. There was no continuous path to follow; the slope climbed and then leveled off, becoming easier to navigate, then it rose again, steeper than ever.

Soon they’d gained an appreciable height, and looking back Dion could once again see the island of Deos and cratered summit of Mount Oden. He stopped when he saw that the way ahead was impassable, but Chloe found a path around the jagged peak. Darkness crept over them as they climbed around to reach the far slope, the peak behind them now blocking their view of the sea. The strange clouds were directly overhead, and although there were still some hours before sunset, it was almost as dark as night.

They descended into a gully and then climbed the far side, ascending yet another slope. There were cliffs and ridges all around; they were in an eerie landscape of jagged black rock, desolate and forbidding.

Dion and Chloe now traveled along a thin defile, following a path between two immense boulders slightly taller than waist height. The gap between the opposing walls of rock was narrow enough that they had to walk in single file, with Chloe leading from the front.

‘Look,’ she said, pointing. ‘This next peak is the last summit we’ll have to climb. There’s low ground on the other side.’ She started to rush forward. ‘I’ll scout ahead—’

‘Wait,’ Dion said, grabbing her hand.

He suddenly pinned her arms at her sides, wrapping her in a rough embrace, and hauled her to the ground.

‘Wha—?’

‘Shh,’ Dion hissed.

Silence ensued. He continued to hold her tightly in his arms, shoulders hunched to keep their bodies hidden by the gap between the two rock walls. Dion began to wonder if he’d seen the dark plummeting shapes at all.

They both froze as they heard a strange sound.

It was the flapping of large wings, and it was close. Dion raised his head just above the boulder, then ducked as quickly as he could, his heart beating rapidly as he hoped he hadn’t been spotted. The image of what he’d seen on the slope that Chloe was about to climb stayed with him.

The two furies were standing on the rubble-strewn slope with their wings folded behind them, evidently just landed. In most ways their faces were like those of eldren – almost human – but they no longer had an eldran’s leanness. They stood seven feet tall, displaying a powerful size and musculature, and had reptilian legs and scaled torsos, but the scales became patchy on their arms and shoulders. Fingers were like claws and sweeping wings grew from shoulder blades. Their silver-haired heads were big, like those of ogres and giants, and tapered, with enlarged jaws and long incisors. Their eyes were wild, like those of beasts.

Chloe turned and looked at Dion; he shook his head. As they shrank further into their hiding place he could hear hoarse breathing, accompanied by the occasional sweep of wings. Smaller bits of gravel rolled down the slope; the furies were moving and their breathing was growing louder.

He heard a great snap of wings, like a sail gusting in the wind as it was raised, and then a thump as two clawed feet came down.

Dion tilted his head back; he was staring at the toes, ten inches from his head, hanging over the edge of the defile he and Chloe were cowering in. Each claw was curled and had no trouble gripping the hard rock. The fury was directly above them.

With his arms wrapped around Chloe he could feel her heart beating as her chest rose and fell. Blood throbbed in Dion’s ears and his palms sweated. He pictured the fury leaning forward and looking down. It would see the tops of two human heads. A shriek would summon its friend. They would scrabble and claw at the rock until they had wounded their prey, and then Dion and Chloe would be devoured.

He thought about his bow, but it was on the ground, while his quiver was on his shoulder. He had to rely on not being seen.

The hoarse breathing overhead slowed; the fury was settling in. Dion couldn’t imagine what its purpose was. He hadn’t heard it talk; when wildren became wild they evidently lost the capability for speech.

Time dragged on. Keeping his breathing as silent as possible was taking its toll. Dion felt cramp in his legs and lost circulation in his feet and hands.

Still the fury’s claws clutched hold of the rock, just above his head.

Dion glanced around to see if there was a rock or stick close by, anything more readily employed than his bow. Chloe’s piece of driftwood lay across her lap. But when he looked at it he felt a shiver run up and down his spine.

A hairy black spider the size of his palm was clambering slowly along the breadth of the wood. It had a white stripe across its back, spikes on its long legs, and angry red eyes. The spider took three steps, then paused.

Dion felt Chloe tense in his arms. Her head was frozen in place as she stared at the spider as it moved along the wood, just inches from the exposed skin of her arms. The spider took four more steps and now it was heading to the edge of the driftwood, in a direct line for Chloe’s leg.

Black legs scrabbled as it came forward; the spider gingerly stepped off the wood completely. Now it was on the thin yellow fabric of Chloe’s chiton. Dion knew she would be able to feel its movements as it crawled toward the exposed skin of her knee.

Chloe’s breathing now came labored. She was so tense that he wondered she could stay so rigid.

The spider now moved from the fabric onto her pale skin. She trembled and it froze on the spot, each stick-like leg arched and something fierce in its posture. Dion saw the stinger hovering over Chloe’s knee.

She gave an involuntary whimper.

Dion swept his hand forward and knocked the spider off her leg; at the same time he grabbed Chloe under the armpits and stood, bringing them both to their feet. He prepared to take hold of the fury by its legs, although he didn’t think that in an unarmed struggle he could defeat the larger creature.

But the fury was gone, as was its companion.

Dion whirled when he heard a sudden thump. He saw the lump of driftwood come down as Chloe swung it like an axe at something on the ground. He could guess what it was she’d just killed.

‘I hate spiders,’ she said.

Dion traveled with an arrow always nocked to the string. Even Chloe brandished her piece of timber like a club as she climbed. They passed the final peak, heading up the rock and around the summit, and then, as Chloe had predicted, they were on the other side of the escarpment.

The ground evened and dropped away in a gentle slope. Dion now had black earth under his feet rather than rock. Hardy shrubs grew in clumps on the hillside. The land here was a great bowl, and they were on the bowl’s rim. Despite his urgency he looked down into the wide valley that nestled in the embrace of the mountainous perimeter.

‘Cinder Fen,’ he said softly.

At the base of the valley was an immense swamp. Gnarled trees emerged from a continuous stretch of dark murky water interspersed with the occasional muddy bank. Every second tree was blackened as if burned by lightning or flame. The quagmire went on and on, filling an area larger than Xanthos and Phalesia put together.

‘The ancient homeland of the eldren,’ Dion said. ‘They say that when King Palemon drove them out he intended to take their lands. But then it became like this.’

‘Come on,’ Chloe said. ‘We need to keep moving.’

The sky was still filled with dark clouds and they walked in shadow. The hazy sun had now passed to the escarpment’s far side and would soon be dropping into the sea. The going was easier now as they traversed the high side of the valley, but they were exposed and Dion knew they would soon need to find shelter. They passed the skeleton of a goat – its bones picked completely clean – reminding them both of the danger posed by furies and dragons, ogres and giants.

They searched as they walked, but by the time complete darkness came they still hadn’t found shelter. Eventually they could go no further, and they hunkered down behind some spiky bushes with dark leaves and thorns.

That night, Dion couldn’t sleep. He stared up into the darkness and tried to ignore the eerie shrieks and growls that seemed to come from everywhere. But despite the danger, one fear was strongest of all.

How far behind them was Solon?