Spell Fade (22 page)

While Dartan watched Logan, Aliet had headed towards her brother and collected her pack from him. “Wait!” Dartan called out once he realized she was no longer in front of him.

“Make up your mind,” she groaned as Marcus helped put the pack on her shoulders. “Wait or go – which is it going to be?” She then added with a quick nod towards Logan, “I don’t think you’re going to be able to stop him without a fight.”

He hadn’t exactly won the argument, but this felt even worse than losing. “So, you understand why we have to leave now?” he ventured.

“No,” she answered simply, adjusting the weight on her back. She looked Dartan in the eye. “What I understand is that everyone else is ready to either blindly follow the wizard, who appeared to you in a dream, or out to satisfy some unexplainable and undeniable urge to march straight up that mountain, and into a valley that has killed everyone who dared enter it.” What could he say? How could he argue with her? She was right, of course, but the way she presented it made him doubt himself.

“But I’m not in either of those groups,” she continued. “No, mine is probably the craziest of all. I’m following you.” Her voice broke a little and was that a tear he saw? She turned too quickly to be sure, and he was unable to move as he watched her hurry away, catching up to Logan. Almost out of earshot, Dartan heard her voice in an even tone say to Logan, “You certainly left her in a hurry.”

Logan gave her a quick glance before replying, “We already said our good-byes.”

“Wait,” Dartan half-heartedly tried again, but was stopped by a hand on his arm. A large hand.

“Now,” Marcus said quietly, “let me try to talk some sense in to you.” Dartan looked down at Marcus’s hand, confused, and nodded his head hesitantly. “She’s doing what you wanted, right?” Nod. “But it still feels like you lost, right?” Another nod, more interested now. “That’s as close as you get to winning with her.” He clapped Dartan hard on the back, but it was his smile that stunned Dartan most. “You got what you wanted, but she got to make you feel bad about it. Just leave her be for now. She’ll come around.”

Dartan looked back at Aliet walking next to Logan towards the mountains, and he felt a pull. This time there was no mistaking where it originated. It was Aliet, and he wanted nothing more than to heed its call and run to her. The gentle, but firm, pressure of Marcus’s hand was all that kept him rooted. He looked back at Marcus, who simply gave him a shake of the head. Dartan lowered his head and nodded agreement. In that moment he felt his entire body relax, unaware of the tenseness he had built.

Marcus held Dartan’s bag out to him. “We’d better get going if we want to keep up with those two.” Dartan slipped the pack onto his shoulders and started away. He only made it a few steps before stopping and turning.

“Thanks,” he said with sincerity, unsure of what else to say.

“You’re welcome.”

Dartan started to turn again, then thought of something else. “You know, Aliet thinks you don’t like me very much.”

“I know,” he said with that same almost out of place smile. “You’re welcome.”

Chapter Twenty-two

The group travelled in silence for most of the day, but it didn’t start that way. Logan and Aliet led the way with Dartan far enough behind to hear Aliet’s voice, but not close enough to understand any of the words. Further back was Marcus, mindful of Farnir’s warning about the Northern mercenaries. No sign had been seen since the four scouts spotted prowling around the outskirts of town the day before, but no one believed they had just moved on.

Finally growing frustrated with looking for possible signs of a Northern force on ground already trodden over by three people ahead of him, Marcus moved to the front. “Don’t fall behind,” he warned Dartan as he passed. Dartan lengthened his stride, drawing a few yards closer to Aliet and Logan, but still making sure not to get close enough to hear.

While he couldn’t hear the topic of conversation, it was obvious to Dartan it was almost entirely one-sided. Pauses in Aliet’s light voice were punctuated with an occasional one syllable reply from Logan. Even from behind, Dartan could see Logan’s focus was solely on the mountain. This fact seemed to be slowly dawning on Aliet as the gaps in her conversation grew in length and frequency. Soon there was no human sound other than the crunch of boots upon the ground and rustle of packs.

In the silence that settled, Dartan’s attention was drawn to the mountain pass as well. What could possibly be up there? Something more important than a stone that possibly held the entire world together?

His eye caught Logan’s head, tilted back, also peering up at the mountain. What was pulling him? It hadn’t occurred to him before, but now it made him wonder. Why exactly did Alain include him in their group?

They walked this way until the sun dipped below the horizon, turning the mountains into nothing more than a dark mass against the sky. With the sun gone, a chill began to work through Dartan’s body, and with it he began to notice a weariness. They had walked all day, he suddenly realized, with no rest. What little he had bothered to eat had been while on his feet.

His feet. They were where the dull throb started which was now working its way up his legs. He was looking at them, wondering if he would actually be able to see them pulsing under his pants, when he almost crashed into Logan.

“I’m tired.” Logan’s head hung down, for probably the first time that day. He and Aliet were both stopped, also probably for the first time that day. Marcus appeared from the darkness in front of them.

“We’ll rest here for the night,” Marcus said. “Tomorrow we begin the climb to Varlain Pass.” All three of them practically collapsed to the ground, leaning against their packs for support. In what felt like no more than a blink, Dartan found food and fire in front of him. Across from him, Aliet and Logan were eating, although Aliet appeared to be doing more talking. Dartan began eating, and much like when he realized he was so weary, the first taste revealed just how famished he was.

Filled with food, and no longer walking, Dartan’s body was satiated. His mind, however, had no intention of slowing down. In fact, he was finding it near impossible to just get it to settle and stay focused on one thing for more than a moment. Instead, it shifted obsessive focus between the mountain and Aliet.

What’s up there? What is she saying to Logan? Why is Alain sending us there? Is she mad at me? What will we do when we reach the pass? Will she ever speak to me again?

The rapid-fire nature of the questions was maddening, and Dartan felt himself close to standing and screaming ‘Stop!’ It was why he didn’t see Logan rise and cross over behind him. He almost screamed out something completely different when Logan tapped him on the shoulder.

“You have to make up with your girlfriend,” Logan said as he sat next to Dartan.

“What?” Dartan was still struggling with the questions his mind kept asking, and it was taking a moment to process Logan’s words.

“Fine. I know, I know, she’s not your girlfriend,” Logan said, rolling his eyes. “Whatever she is, you have got to make up with her. I can’t stand another second of her constant chatter.”

Dartan glanced over at Aliet. She was staring down into her lap, but her head was tilted towards them. “She can hear you,” Dartan whispered.

“Don’t care,” Logan said, and gave Dartan a push. “Now, off you go.” Dartan stumbled around the fire until he stood next to Aliet.

“Hello,” he said.

“Hi,” she answered without looking up.

“Mind if I sit?” he asked awkwardly.

She answered with a simple shrug. Dartan glanced back at Logan who promptly pointed his finger down, and mouthed ‘sit’. Dartan slowly lowered himself to the ground next to Aliet, and waited. Truthfully, he wasn’t exactly sure what to do now. He and Aliet had certainly had arguments before, and he wanted the silent treatment to end, but he had no idea what to apologize for, or even if he could apologize with enough sincerity to be believable.

He looked back up at Logan, who was ready to explode. Logan threw his hands up in the air, then pointed fiercely at Aliet as he mouthed ‘talk to her’. Dartan nodded, took a deep breath, and opened his mouth. He had no idea what was going to spill out, but luckily he was interrupted.

“I didn’t mean what I said, you know.” Aliet spoke quickly, and without looking up.

Dartan struggled to stop the flood of words he had been ready to loose, somehow stemming it down to a simple, “Really?”

“Yes, really,” she said, finally looking up at him. She shrugged her shoulders and added, “At least, I didn’t mean it the way it sounded.” Dartan relaxed a tiny bit, but didn’t dare speak. Stopping her now could be catastrophic.

“Following you isn’t crazy,” she admitted. “I just felt crazy for doing it blindly.” She sighed loudly. “I don’t know why I felt that way. I’ve always done what you wanted.”

“Never blindly though,” Dartan said with a grin. “I’ve always had to pay for your allegiance in one way or another.”

“Ah, how many sweets have you bribed me with over the years?” she asked with a laugh.

“More than I care to count.”

“I suppose that will change soon enough though, right,
Your Highness
?”

“Is that what all this is about?” he asked, flash-frozen smile on his face. “It is, isn’t it?”

“No,” she said quickly, but couldn’t look him in the face. “Well, at least, not at first.” Dartan raised his eyebrows. “My first objection had to do more with sleeping on the ground again so soon, but I’ll admit I let it blow up in my head. Before I even realized it, I was mad just because you were getting what you wanted without even considering what I wanted.”

“And now?” Dartan had wondered what kind of leader he would make. Aliet’s reaction was not making him feel confident in his abilities.

“And now,” she echoed, “I realize I was just mad because I didn’t get my bribe.” They both laughed and Dartan could feel the tension between them dissolve completely. He still wasn’t sure he had made the right decision, feeling a little crazy himself for his insistence to leave, but at least Aliet was talking to him again. Something he regretted almost immediately.

“So,” she said, “what exactly are we looking for?” Dartan peered over his shoulder into the darkness. In the light it had been easy to be blinded by the mountain pass and its pull, but here in the dark, the question stared him in the face and demanded an answer.

“I don’t really know.” He was shocked to hear the words actually come out of his mouth. Even if it was true, there had to be a better way to phrase it. He would deal with his traitorous mouth later, right now he had to deal with Aliet.

“What do you mean, ‘you don’t know’?” she asked in a tone that increased in volume and accusation simultaneously. “So, the wizard says go, and you don’t even ask why?”

“No, not exactly,” Dartan managed to interject before she broke in again.

“What exactly is the plan once we reach the pass? Stand around and just hope Alain appears to show us the way? Because he’s been so reliable up until now.”

No, not the wizard. Dartan was remembering parts of his conversation with Alain. He hadn’t told Dartan what they were going there for, but he had told him how to find it. Dartan looked over Aliet’s shoulder, and there was his answer. Marcus never even saw it coming.

“There’s no need to wait on Alain,” Dartan said, rising and moving towards Marcus. “He told me someone else knows the way.”

“Who?” Aliet asked, following Dartan to where he had stopped – directly behind Marcus, who was readying his bed roll.

“Marcus.”

He answered with a grunt, followed closely by, “You two are blocking my light.”

They both took a giant step to the left in unison, and Aliet repeated, “Marcus?” Her mouth hung open a moment, her eyes shifting from Dartan to Marcus. “So, he must know what Alain wants.”

“No,” Marcus corrected her. “I know the way.”

Dartan nodded, the memory becoming clearer. “That’s right. Alain only said Marcus knows the way.” Marcus grunted again, then went back to his work. Aliet was not satisfied.

“Come on, Brother,” she pleaded. “You have to know something more than just ‘the way’.”

“Yes,” Dartan joined, pleased his plan had worked, but sure he would pay for it later. “What is it that’s so special about Varlain Pass?”

Marcus gave a heavy sigh that moved through his crouched body. “You both know the story of that pass,” he said quietly.

“You mean that everyone who’s attempted to cross it has died?” Dartan asked. “We’ve all heard that story, but there must be easier ways to kill four people.”

“There certainly are,” Marcus replied with a smirk. “But we aren’t going there to die, and the stories you’ve heard aren’t true.”

A shuffling noise behind them made them all turn, hands on hilts. It was Logan, frozen mid-scoot under their collective stare. “What?” he finally asked of their silence. When they didn’t respond he continued moving over next to them. “Come on,” he said. “I haven’t heard Marcus say much more than two sentences at a time, and you think I’m going to miss him telling a story?” Aliet and Dartan looked at one another, shrugged, and sat down next to Logan. Marcus shrugged as well, then settled down in front of them with another grunt.

“It wasn’t always known as Varlain Pass,” he began. “Of course, there’s only one person alive today that might remember it by any other name.”

“The wizard,” Aliet whispered, to which Marcus nodded.

“It’s also seen many more deaths than just those foolish enough to attempt its crossing,” he continued. “The Great Dragon War took the lives of hundreds of thousands men, women and children across this entire land. That high mountain pass was the site of the final battle. I have no idea how many scorched and broken bodies lie beneath the frozen ground there, but one thing is certain - without the Great Wizard it would have been the end of us all. That pass was where he defeated the remaining dragon army, banishing them from this land using their own magic against them. He locked them behind a gateway, a window into a world of fire, ash, and death of their own making.”