Splintered Fate (21 page)

"Garin?" Kaiden whispered in
question.

"No" Donn replied, taking a few
steps forward till he stood beside them. "Your brother is a few
days behind us."

An unfamiliar voice came from the
dark forest as a figure came into view from behind the trees. "What
in the land's name are you doing, Donn? Trying to bring a princess
here. You are making quite a mess." It was a Madonian man
approaching with seemingly unwashed shaggy dark brown hair. He was
clothed in brown fabric. The hilt of a sword he wore on his hip
shinned in the light. The man was about Lana's height and
thin.

"Bredin, how nice of you to finally grace us
with your presence, I was beginning to think that bird of yours had
become blind or dumb… perhaps both.” Donn replied to the strange
man, yet again shocking Lana by his harsh response. In their time
together he seemed rather docile, never impolite or coarse. Maybe
she didn’t know him after all.

Ardin scanned
the forest and growled again.
We are
surrounded
.

Turning her head, Lana surveyed
the woods surrounding them but she couldn’t see or hear anyone.
Bredin shifted his attention to Lana, noticing her scanning the
forest around. When she brought her attention back to him she
realized his eyes were locked on her.

"Smart little princess. Yes, you
are surrounded."

I
s he talking to me?
Princess?
Lana thought as she tightened
her grip on her sword.
Who does he think
he is?

"I am Lana Casteel, member of the Madonian
council… not a princess."

Bredin did not acknowledge Lana's
response and instead turned to Donn, speaking in a hushed tone.
Lana could feel the anger rise within her. Who did he think he was,
to outright ignore her like that? She did not like this
Bredin.

Donn and Bredin spoke a for few
moments while Lana and Kaiden exchanged uneasy glances and scanned
the perimeter around them. Bredin whistled and men suddenly emerged
from the forest, surrounding them.

"My men will blindfold you and take you into
Alogrin.” Bredin spoke to Lana and Kaiden.

"How are we to leave the city if
we do not know how we entered?" Kaiden asked.

"You, Rami, will leave whenever we let
you."

Kaiden raised his sword to one of Bredin's men
when they tried to approach. Ardin added a low growl.

Slowly, Lana scanned the men
around them, she counted maybe ten men and that’s just what she
could see. More men could still have been hidden within the forest.
There was no getting out of this. She had no idea how many more men
they had, plus this was what they came for. Donn trusted these
people enough, but did she trust Donn?

What do you
think?
Lana asked Ardin.

I don’t trust him nor the
situation, however if they wanted to kill us they would have tried
by now. Many do not know that Alogrin exists. Outsiders do not
normally enter the ancient city. So I suppose they are extremely
careful when they do.

Lana sheathed her blade and took a
step towards Kaiden who was staring intently at the men around
them. She could see the strength in his stance, the fearlessness in
his eyes. There was no doubt that he was ready to act if need
be.

"Put your sword away." Lana spoke
calmly to Kaiden. His blue eyes looked at her in surprise, she
continued before he had a chance to retaliate. "They have us
outnumbered, Alogrin is a secret, nearly a myth. They don't know or
trust us. It is understandable why they would want to keep the
entrance protected and a secret."

Kaiden looked uneasily into Lana's eyes and to
her surprise sheathed his sword without a rebuttal.

"Wise of you to listen to the
little princess, Rami." Bredin spoke lamely.

Lana had to bite her tongue at Bredin’s
remark. She was beginning to hate the man in their very short time
together.

"What about Ardin?" Lana asked gesturing to
the handsome white wolf standing alert next to her.

"Your two Aorra's go in there."
Bredin replied to Lana and Nadina nodding toward a small wooden box
on wheels that was pulled up from the woods by a horse. It looked
too small for Ardin let alone for him to share with Nila too. Lana
turned to Bredin in disbelief. As if reading her mind, he added,
"All we got” with a shrug.

Growling in
protest, Ardin spun to face Lana.
Absolutely not! I am not leaving you outnumbered. I do not
trust them.
His
voice entered her mind and Lana turned to see her Aorra
looking up at her before showing his teeth to the surrounding
men.

I too don't like
this... but we are surrounded. You said so yourself, if they wanted
to kill us they could have already.

Ardin took a
protective step closer to her
.
Having me separated and locked up would risk less
of their own men in a slaughter. I wouldn’t be able to protect you
in time.

This is a risk we have no choice
but to make. We chose to travel to Alogrin, this is the price of
entrance. We will still be traveling together.

Ardin released a small whine. Lana
brought her hand to his nose. He moved his body so that her hand
ran over his head. She could feel the apprehension within her
Aorra. They were never separated like this, by force.

Very
well.
He said as he
turned from her and walked to the wooden box, followed by
Nila.

Lana looked over to Nadina and
wondered if she and her Aorra had a similar
conversation.

Donn placed a hand on Lana’s
shoulder, bringing his lips to her ear. “You will be before the
council of Alogrin and all their advisors when you first get there.
This will be your best chance to get them to help, you must use
your time wisely. Draw them in. The council doesn’t normally gather
with outsiders.” He whispered to her and then turned, walking back
to Bredin.

"Our horses will attach to yours, keeping you
with us." Bredin said as Lana walked over to Nadina. The girl stood
bravely, seeming on the verge of tears but holding back.

"Mind if we share a horse?" Lana asked Nadina.
They had been riding together for days now but Lana wanted to say
something to take Nadina's mind off of Nila. Nadina gave Lana a
weak smile.

"Actually, the kids and Donn will
be breaking off from the group when we get there so you two will
have to ride separately." One of the men said as he walked by. Lana
frowned, she placed a hand on Nadina’s arm and have the girl a
reassuring squeeze.

Looking over at Donn she saw him
drinking a vial of something given to him by one of Bredin’s men.
She looked back to Bredin, who was speaking to one of his
men.

“
What’s Donn drinking?” Lana asked
Bredin, not caring that she was interrupting whatever he was saying
to his men.

“
Oil from the Yellow Root. He has
those pesky little lizard creatures everywhere. The drink breaks
his connection with them and also has a side affect of making him
very weak. It will wear off but in the mean time it keeps him from
knowing the way in.”

“
Can’t he just call the lizards to
him when it wears off or they can follow him?”

“
You know nothing of your friend
here huh, princess?” Bredin gazed over her. She was not going to
give him the pleasure of a response, she would not let him know
just how far under her skin he was getting. He smirked at her
glare, but then told her, “No. They do not have memory they can
only share with him what is happening in that moment. The only
exception is his Aorra, that one he keeps in his satchel and will
be joining us in Alogrin. Now get moving.” He walked away, moving
past a man who was carrying strips of fabric.

After grabbing a blindfold from
one of the nearby men Lana turned to Nadina who now stood with
Alex. “We are going to one of the most beautiful and amazing places
in all the land. It is a legend! I will see you both when we get
there okay?” She said to the siblings, helping them onto a horse,
and wrapping the fabric around their eyes.

She then joined Kaiden on his
horse and tied a blindfold around her eyes. The fabric felt thick
and uncomfortably heavy. Once everyone was ready and the horses all
connected they began riding.

When the horses began moving, Lana
wrapped her arms around Kaiden. She felt his body go ridged at her
touch but then he quickly relaxed. She could feel the muscles of
his back move with the motion of the horse. Her lungs filled with
the pine scent of his skin. Being so close to him was more
comforting than it should ever have been.

They rode in silence for what
appeared like an eternity. Their trail seemed to be taking them
higher up the mountain. Lana wondered how far they had traveled in
this manner. It was very uncomfortable to be blind folded, riding
into who knows what.

How are
you?
She heard Ardin’s voice. His presence
kept her grounded. It was calming and safe, even though she could
feel his anxiety. He hated being separated from her like
this.

As good as I could be. You know
where we are going?

No, this box is
disorienting.

So are the blindfolds.

Unexpectedly the air grew damp and
cool. Lana could hear rushing water somewhere in the distance. The
ground turned to stone beneath the horse’s hooves. They must be
traveling underground now. They traveled in that manner a while,
until the moistness in the air disappeared, replaced by dry crisp
air. The horses came to a few stops along the way. There were
voices but Lana could only hear muffled whispers, unable to make
anything out.

Suddenly they came yet again to a
stop except this time there was a clear voice heard.

"Take off your blindfolds." the
voice commanded.

Lana was more than happy to
oblige, only to feel the sharp sting of sudden light blinding her.
She blinked through the stinging of the light and shapes began to
form in front of her.

They were in a large room with pillars that
held up the infinitely tall celling. Sunlight shone from the center
of the ceiling, the only opening to the outside world. There were
several men in the room and Bredin was amongst them, however the
company that had brought them to this place seemed to have
gone.

Kaiden sat in front of her and
Ardin too was in the room, but Donn and the children were not
visibly near. They must have broken off from them during one of the
previous stops. Lana saw a glimpse of Nila, who had ridden with
Ardin, being quietly and quickly escorted from the room.

"You may dismount your horse.
Connor will take him for you. Do not worry you'll get him back.”
The voice spoke again. They did what they were told.

From behind Lana and Kaiden entered a boy just
roughly older than Nadina, he collected their horse silently and
left, shutting a massive door behind him.

The room was immense, grander then
any room she had seen in even the city of Abder, which was quite
overwhelming for Lana. The stonewalls had carvings and designs
etched in them. The pillars seemed to be of solid brown stone,
though Lana decided against walking up to one and knocking on it to
make sure.

"I am Micah, this is Cale and Clyte." The
voice brought Lana's attention back to the people in the room. "We
are the council here, leading the people of Alogrin.” Micah stood
tall with brown curls that just grazed his shoulders. He wore a
loose tunic and brown pants.

Alogrin... it's
truly real.
Lana thought to herself in
awe.

“
Clyte?” Kaiden spoke, his words
laced with what Lana thought to be an excited disbelief. He looked
at the Rami woman with large eyes.

Clyte stood beside Micah, a full head shorter
than he. She had long straight black hair that she wore loose and
sun kissed skin. A cream blouse wrapped around her muscular body
with tight brown pants. Weapons of all kinds hung from the brown
belt around her waist.

“
You know of me?” She asked
casually, as if not surprised.

“
You are a legend. You were the
most amazing warrior.” Kaiden seemed almost giddy and Lana wished
that he had been forced to go separately with Donn.

“
I still am.” She wore a smug
smirk.

“
We thought you had died. This is
truly an honor.”

Lana was taken aback by Kaiden’s
reaction to Clyte. The two were now staring at one another, Clyte
with a smug smile, Kaiden with bright shining eyes.

Lana decided to
intervene.

"I am..."

"We know who you are, Lana Casteel of
Selviria, what we don’t know is why you have come here” The voice
sounded annoyed, coming from Cale. He had light hair and facial
scruff. His brown Madonian eyes showed no kindness towards
her.

Lana eyed the three before her and those who
stood behind them, three men and a woman, all eyes were on her.
Donn had told her that she needed to make this meeting count, to
draw them in. She swallowed and drew a deep breath before
starting.