Sir Quinlan and the Swords of Valor (16 page)

Quinlan closed his eyes. “Others came and tried to save my parents, but the house collapsed. When they came to me and washed my eyes, everything was still blurry, but the pain was gone. Then, over the next few days, I began to see clearly again.”

“Who was the man that saved you?” Taras asked.

Quinlan shook his head. “I don’t know.” He looked up at Taras. “Was it—”

“The Prince knows how to use the catastrophes of our lives to make something good. That is why you can see warriors through the crystal
coin. Many people have such gifts, but until they yield to the King’s calling, they will never know it. The day you knelt on Mount Resolute and swore your complete allegiance to the Prince was the day that put the rest of your life in motion. The Prince had been waiting for you all these years.”

Quinlan’s brow furrowed. “But Sir Baylor came for Tav.”

“Sir Baylor
assumed
he came for Tav because of his skills, but in truth I sent him for the one who was willing to give all to the Prince.”

Taras looked as though he was preparing to start the day’s journey. “In time, and if you complete the training, you won’t even need the crystal coin to see the enemy. The Prince gave to you what is in the coin. You just don’t believe it yet.”

I believe, my Prince
, Quinlan said within himself.
Please help me when I don’t believe
.

Quinlan lifted the crystal coin to his eye once more and gazed at the luminescent valley.

“So many evil hearts in one place,” he said in a hushed tone. “What are they doing there?” he asked as he lowered the crystal coin … but Taras was not there.

The hairs on Quinlan’s neck stood straight. He instinctively dropped to the ground, then crawled to the cover of a small tree. A twig snapped to his left, followed by silence. His heart began to race. Though the valley was a fair distance away, he had seen green glimmers all over. Surely they were in this area too.

He peered through the crystal and saw two glowing green figures perhaps fifty paces away, coming closer. He scanned farther until he saw the slightest hint of violet light emanating from the undergrowth on the far side of the knoll.

He returned the coin to his pocket and carefully drew his sword, hoping they hadn’t spotted him. He didn’t feel ready to face a Shadow Warrior one on one yet. He quietly retreated to heavier vegetation and slid his bright sword beneath the pine needles and soft soil as Taras had taught him. He soiled his face with the black dirt of the forest floor to dull the shine of his pale skin, then grabbed the hilt of his sword
and listened. He could just see their approach out of the corner of his eyes.

“I’m tired of patrolling this forsaken mountain,” one of the Shadow Warriors said.

The two warriors walked close to the spot where Taras and Quinlan had just been standing, and stopped. The first warrior held up his hand to shush his comrade and knelt down. Quinlan’s heart was now beating so loudly he was sure the warriors could hear it. He held his breath, gripped his sword tightly, and waited.

“What is it?” the standing warrior asked.

The other warrior looked all around, then stood. “Nothing. Let’s go.”

The two warriors proceeded on, and Quinlan started to breathe again. He waited to move until he saw Taras stand and then quietly joined him.

“They didn’t see us,” Quinlan whispered.

“Perhaps not.” Taras kept his eyes in the direction the warriors had gone. “But they know we are here.”

“How could you tell?” Quinlan asked.

“That was Baraat.” Taras scowled. “He doesn’t miss anything. He just didn’t know how many of us there are and considered the risk too great to give alarm. But he will report our presence, and now your mission will be all the more difficult.”

“What mission?”

“Discover why that valley is glowing so green.”

CLOSE TO THE ENEMY

Quinlan and Taras navigated their way closer to the valley. Taras grew more uneasy with every stealthy step.

Quinlan kept the crystal coin close at hand and was able to help them avoid multiple patrols. As the sun rose higher into the sky and the western face of the mountain became brighter, however, his range of identification lessened, so he and Taras staggered their advance. One would serve as lookout while the other moved ahead and found cover.

They had just evaded a group of three Shadow Warriors near the rim of the small valley when two more mounted warriors appeared. “Lord Hatlin,” one of the newcomers said, “the patrols are reporting all clear.”

The warrior named Hatlin glared at his subordinate, then slowly scanned the area himself. The mere sight of him made Quinlan shudder. He was a massive figure who wore a constant scowl, creased by decades of evil deeds. Quinlan imagined his face was but a faint image of the darkened mind and heart behind it. His silver armor fit his muscular torso snugly and was ornately decked with gold and red markings that apparently signified his position and allegiance. The other four warriors, though intimidating, seemed inferior in every way.

“Widen the patrols,” Hatlin commanded. “Lord Luskan makes his
report to Master Lucius tomorrow, and I don’t want to tell him we’ve been compromised.”

“Yes, my lord.” The reporting warrior galloped off with his comrade, clearly anxious to be out of Hatlin’s presence. Hatlin sat still on his mount for another moment while the other two warriors waited tensely.

“I smell something, Ectar.” Hatlin turned to his lieutenant. “I’m holding you personally responsible for security within the inner ring. Do you understand?”

The warrior named Ectar saluted. “Yes, my lord.”

“Get the warriors you need. I brief Lord Luskan this afternoon. Notify me immediately if you discover anything.” Hatlin pulled on the reins of his horse and wheeled around.

“Even if it means interrupting your briefing?” Ectar asked.

“Of course, you imbecile!” Hatlin kicked his horse, who reared and bolted off in the direction from which they’d come.

Ectar scowled after Hatlin, then turned on the remaining warrior. “Don’t sit there gawking, dolt. Fetch me thirty warriors immediately!”

Quinlan and Taras waited until both warriors had left; then Taras crawled the short distance to Quinlan. A look of grave concern was on his face.

“How many warriors did you see through the crystal earlier?” he whispered.

“I’m not sure,” Quinlan replied. “Perhaps a thousand.”

Taras’s eyes widened. “We need to get out of here now!”

“What’s happening?” Quinlan asked.

“Had I known how many there are—or
who
they are—I would have never risked this.” Taras clenched his jaw. “Luskan and Hatlin are Lucius’s top two commanders. Whatever is happening here is serious—
very
serious.”

He looked for the best cover for their retreat and pointed. “We’ll travel northeast and give a wide berth to this valley. Once we’re clear, you must travel to Chesney Isle just off the coast in the north country, due west of the Wasteland. A Silent Warrior named Rafe will continue your training in my absence. Here, you’ll need this.”

Taras handed Quinlan a vellum map of the kingdom, and Quinlan stuffed it into his tunic. “Where are you going?” he asked, a little disconcerted.

“I must report our findings to headquarters. If we get separated”—Taras hesitated, apparently contemplating his own words—“you must continue your travel north as planned.”

Quinlan nodded, though the idea of navigating in this hostile country without Taras seemed unthinkable.

Moving slowly and carefully, Taras led the first leg out away from the valley. Quinlan looked through the crystal coin for some sign of the enemy while he waited for Taras to find cover. Taras was perhaps fifty paces northeast when he signaled for Quinlan to come, but just as Quinlan began to move, he heard a horse snort. He ducked back into his hiding place and looked through the coin again. An entire contingent of mounted Shadow Warriors was coming his way.

Quinlan pressed himself into a thicket of heavy brush, then peered out to see thirteen warriors halted right between him and Taras. He recognized the one named Ectar, who ordered, “Set your posts up along this line within sight of each other across the valley rim. Any breach of this inner circle, and I will personally see to your lashings.”

Ectar slapped his steed and rode off. Two of the remaining warriors dismounted and separated, remaining just within visual range of each other, which was not far considering the thick foliage of the area. The other ten split and rode farther left and right to set up their posts.

Quinlan tried to stay calm as he considered his options. Evidently he was already in the inner circle of the Shadow Warrior patrols, and Taras had just crossed outside of it. There was no way they could reconnect without being identified. Quinlan doubted he could even move without being spotted.

He stayed perfectly still for a long while, waiting for the Shadow Warriors to become bored at their posts. Fortunately, as the day warmed, the wind began to blow. The forest trees rustled and creaked, affording him a sound cover from which to attempt a move.

The two nearest guards were still directly between him and Taras.
Inch by inch, timing each painfully slow movement with the sounds of the wind, Quinlan was able to move away from them, down into the valley below. He was traveling the wrong direction, but he had no choice. He hoped to find a better location to breach the inner circle of patrols, but the farther he crawled, the more impossible that seemed. As he continued inward toward the base camp, however, he noticed that the security actually decreased. Presumably the camp patrols had been pulled out to the inner circle.

At that point, Quinlan conceived a bold yet potentially foolish idea. He was already trapped, so why not learn as much as possible? Taras needed to report the situation, but they still didn’t know what it was really all about. If Quinlan could get close enough to actually hear something of importance, the information could be invaluable.

Quinlan tried to implement every detail of Taras’s training as he maneuvered closer and closer to the heart of the Shadow Warrior camp. The crystal coin saved him twice and helped him avoid a dozen other encounters.

He finally stopped at a shallow ridge line to collect himself. He knew that being discovered would mean instant death, and he was amazed that the timid Twitch of Burkfield was even considering his next action. He knew he dared not hesitate long. Given enough time, his fear of entering one of the darkest abodes of evil would overcome the courage that drove him onward.

The ridge line gave him the first view of the camp below. It was hardly a camp at all, just a single, heavily guarded tent, but everything about the place whispered secrecy.

Quinlan cut leafy branches from shrubs and tied the stems to his arms, legs, and back. Then he slowly moved closer, crawling the last one hundred paces to the outskirts of the camp. The near side of the tent was less heavily guarded, but Quinlan still had a difficult time getting close enough to hear anything.

Using painstakingly slow moves, he finally maneuvered to within a few paces of the tent. He sank into a natural recess near a group of trees, covered himself in pine needles, dirt, and brush, and waited.