The Chronicles of Lumineia: Book 02 - The Gathering (44 page)

“A little more,”
Anders said, “And more would have made it here if we hadn’t run into those blasted
dogs. I wonder how the Riverguard trains to build up such endurance.”

“If we live, I
will ask her,” Gaze said.

Anders
grimaced, “If we live—a lot of things.”

Gaze sighed
and watched the darkness approach. “We’d better go,” he said tonelessly. With a
grunt of effort he rose to his feet and went to rouse the elves. After several
tries he began to get desperate. “They aren’t waking up!” he said, glancing at
the now visible front line of the army.

Anders, who
was trying to wake Loken, growled, “Grab some water from the river.”

Gaze rushed to
the river and filled a flask, which succeeded in waking Lexi as well as Arzai.
With his heart beating faster, he raced to the river to refill the flask, but
as he sunk it into the cool, clear water, a shape caught his eye. Deep in the
river his eyes were drawn to the slime encrusted barricades at the bottom. “
The
Danre
,” he breathed, remembering that the river was once fast and
treacherous, until the earth magic guild had slowed it to allow commerce to
sail upriver from the ocean. The story about its creation was legendary—but
right now all he could think about was the possibility of destroying it. Hoping
with all his might, his mind reached down to see if the difference in energy
existed.

Then he leapt
to his feet and darted back to Anders still trying to revive an unconscious
elf. “I think I can use my magic to destroy the blocks!” he said, but Anders
just flashed him an annoyed look. “The Danre!” he said, grabbing the prince’s
arm, forcing him to meet his gaze.

It took a
second for the prince to understand, but when it dawned on him his eyes went
wide. “How,” he demanded, and Gaze saw Lexi appear at his side to hear the
answer as well.

A black
shafted spear grew out of the dirt next to him, cutting off his answer. “Get
the Riverguard out of here!” Gaze yelled, throwing an elf onto a horse and strapping
him down. In moments Lexi, Loken, and Anders rushed to place the other still
forms on their steeds. Then all four of them mounted, but Gaze turned west, “I
have to destroy the Danre!” he yelled as more spears sank into the riverbank.

Lexi appeared
about to protest, but a glance at her unconscious command and she growled, “You
had better make it to the city Gaze, or I swear by Ero’s staff I will hunt you
down and kill you!”

Before he
could respond she kicked her horse into a gallop and the other trained horses leapt
to follow. As they faded from sight Anders mounted. “Lead the way my friend.”

Gaze
considered arguing, but one look at his friend's expression told him he would
be wasting his breath. Gritting his teeth against weeks of exhaustion, pain,
and loss, he focused his magic on the river. With all his might he gathered
every drop of energy he could find, but held it fast until it threatened to
engulf him. Just before he thought he would explode, he released the most
powerful bolt of lightning he’d ever called.

Its impact
with the water was like nothing he had ever seen as it sent a geyser of white,
exploding with a thunderclap that rattled the teeth in his skull. Driving deep
until it hit the first barricades, it arced through them. The muted explosion
sent more water blasting outward. Chunks of slimy stone rained down, signaling a
breach in the Danre.

But Gaze
wasn’t finished.

Wheeling his
horse west with Anders at his heels, he plunged into the forest, praying that
his elven horse would find a route in its homeland. Almost blinded by the
energy swirling in the ground and air, he launched a cascade of streaking white
energy that penetrated the water as it sought more of the Danre. Thunder and
lightning pierced the sky as Gaze rode west, drawing on reserves of strength he
did not know he possessed, and blasting the Danre with supreme power.

In their wake
the river began to pick up speed. Unleashed after centuries of confinement, it
became a raging torrent as the fiend army reached its southern bank. Many
fiends plunged into the water, but were carried away by the churning white cauldron
of froth.

With his mind
filled with heavenly light, the giant trees of the forest streaked past in a
blur of green. Two miles, five miles, then ten, they galloped through the
forest as Gaze punished the bottom of the river with an onslaught of celestial
might—but the drain was starting to take a toll.

Gaze felt his
heart racing, his breathing become shallow, and his strength began to ebb. His
vision dimmed but he forced through hazy sight to continue. His soul felt like
it was about to shatter, but he didn’t stop. In response to his failing
strength, the lightning lost its precision, blasting the ground on both sides of
the river. Fiends were scorched and torn asunder on the southern bank . . . and
the forest of Numenessee began to burn on the northern.

Finally they
reached the bridge, where two krakas followed by countless quare had begun to
cross. In a primal roar of hate and rage, Gaze struck the bridge, charging the
stones, and then he threw a bolt so powerful that it carved through the arch to
the river below. Great stones hurtled hundreds of feet in every direction, and
the ensuing thunderclap knocked the weakened Gaze tumbling from his horse. He
felt a snap in his arm as he struck the ground, and cried out in agony as he
bounced to a stop on the road to Azertorn.

With blurred
vision he looked at the river and saw that finally, gloriously, the river was
racing towards the ocean. Enough of the Danre had been broken that the river
itself became a battering ram of furious water, plowing through every remaining
blockade as if it were kindling. White capped water frothed in anger as it
rushed to reach the sea it so longed to embrace.

Bruised,
broken, and nearly unconscious, Gaze rested his head against the ground, and
smiled. When Anders appeared in his vision a few moments later, he couldn't
hear what he said over the roar of the river, the burning forest, and the
echoing thunder. His long-time friend yelled at him and pointed at the
quivering body of the horse that had gone down when he’d fallen. Two spears
pinned it to the earth and Gaze knew that it was over. With only one horse left
there was no way the two of them could get to Azertorn ahead of the blazing
forest.

Gaze sighed
and closed his eyes, and saw the numerous faces of those who had died in the
conflict. He thought of the king first, and how he'd been like a father to him.
Lexi's elves flashed across his mind next, and he felt a stab of regret that he
wouldn't get the chance to know her better. Last he thought of the hundreds of
soldiers that had perished at the hands of the fiend army. Their heroism and
honor brought tears to his eyes, and he hoped his sacrifice could measure up to
theirs.

Sensing the
end, he fought to open his eyes so he could say goodbye to his friend, but
before he could find the words Anders hauled him to his feet. Through a dull
fog he felt the prince shove him onto the remaining steed.

"I'm
sorry brother, but the horse can't carry two," Anders said. "Take
care of Lexi and Graden for me."

Then he felt
the prince fumble with his hand and slide a ring onto a finger. A slap broke his
muddled thoughts when Anders hit the horse's rump and it began to carry him
towards Azertorn. Gaze bellowed as he watched the prince raise a hand in
farewell. Then he saw Anders turn and pull long spears out of the ground. With
deadly accuracy, he launched them across the destroyed bridge.

Anders looked
back one last time. Boasting the smirk he'd worn his entire life, his
expression conveyed only pride as black spears riddled his body. As he fell, the
lightning spawned fire consumed the area and the prince disappeared from view. His
heart tearing, Gaze screamed against the injustice, against the world, and
against the loss. Then he slumped in defeat as the horse carried him to the
relative safety of Azertorn.

Unable to
contain it, he clenched his eyes shut . . . and wept.

Chapter
34: Dark Valley

Taryn’s gut
tightened as he looked over the valley. As far as he could see, hundreds of
thousands of fiends stretched in a roiling sea of black flesh. Even from this
distance he could make out countless dots of red that marked packs of quare and
the white bone armor of the kraka captains. From their vantage point on the
northwest corner, most of the valley floor and neighboring foothills had been
cleared of trees. Like a last bastion of life, a thin line of trees ringed the
bowl, but there were constant patrols moving in and out of the remaining strip
of forest.

“There is no
way,” Trin said in a choked voice. “This is the first of three valleys that
used to hold the eastern villages. Beyond that is Xshaltheria, but there is no
way we are going to make it.”

“The battle at
Azertorn begins tomorrow,” Siarra said, her voice full of despair. “We have to
find a way.”

 “Even if
there wasn’t a soul in sight," Mae said, her expression one of dismay,
"we would be hard pressed to make it before the battle starts.” Taryn shook
his head and threw a look skyward as if searching for heavenly guidance.
Ero
save us
, he thought.

He didn’t want
to see it anymore, so he slipped back into the stand of oak trees where they
had taken refuge. Just fifteen miles separated them from the ancient forge city
where Draeken was imprisoned, but it might as well have been a thousand.

Dropping to a
seat, he reached for his pack and grabbed a dry crust of bread. Chewing to allow
it to soften, he felt numb. He already had a headache from the effort to find a
solution, but he couldn’t stop himself. Of its own volition, his mind ran
through everything they had argued about in the last few hours.

They could
backtrack through the pass, and then follow the mountains east and hope for
another way in. In Taryn’s mind, it was the worst possible plan, for if they
found no opening, then there would not be enough time to make it back to their
current location for a different attempt.

The second
idea, suggested by Jack, was to use a series of diversions to draw the army’s
attention to one side of the valley and allow the rest of the group to slip
past. Although possible, the chance of survival for whoever provided the
diversion was below minimal. Taryn cringed at the idea of trading lives for
time.

Last, Siarra
had suggested that she use magic to allow them to skirt the valley. Her idea meant
working their way through the line of trees. If they encountered a patrol, Siarra
would use her power to create a hiding place. Although in theory it seemed plausible,
it would be slow. As of tomorrow they would have seven days to get to Draeken—and
defeat him, or all the gathered races of Lumineia would be exterminated at
Azertorn.

And thousands
would be dying every second.

“Don’t see a
way out, huh?” Liri said, sitting down beside him.

He shook his
head, despair stealing into his voice. “Is it over, Liri?”

She surprised
him by laughing, and when he looked at her he saw a sincere smile on her lean features.
“I have never seen you or your sister stopped by anything. You will figure something
out, even if it’s on the last day. The two of you—" She searched for the
words. "—are unbeatable. There is no doubt in my mind that we will
succeed.”

His lips twitched
into a smile at her confidence in him and Siarra. “I wish I felt the same, but
I just don’t see how we can.” He clenched his fist. “There are so many people
that are going to die because of me, because we didn’t get there in time.”

She eased her
slim hand into his and leaned forward until he looked at her. “The people who
will lose their lives are going to die either way. You are going to
save
more than you can possibly know.”

“
If
we
succeed,” he said.

“
When
we succeed,” she corrected with a raised eyebrow.

The others
started coming back into the small clearing, ending their conversation. As they
filed into their camp with hunched shoulders and downcast eyes, the only one
who didn’t appear discouraged was Kell, whose expression could only be
described as elated. Taryn got the feeling he liked the odds, and wondered if
the rock trolls trained them to be insane. During the last engagement outside
the gap, he had killed nearly as many as Siarra without breaking a sweat or
being injured. Indeed the few glimpses Taryn had had of him, the rock troll had
been jubilant.

“Do you want
to take a walk?” Liri asked, the sound barely reaching his ears.

“Where?” he
asked, and she motioned uphill where the trees gave cover.

He looked
around at his silent friends, the feeling of discouragement so palpable he
could almost taste it. He nodded at Liri and the two of them slipped out of
camp. They took their time ascending the slope, for it became steep enough that
they had to use trees and rocks to help them. After several minutes they
reached a flat section of rock that overlooked the valley, but was just high
enough to give a view of the distant Blue Lake, where the sun was still
shining. Taryn had forgotten that it was still daytime. The shadow grayed
everything and time had lost its meaning.

Liri settled
next to him, still breathing hard from the climb, and for a moment they just
stared west at the light. After a while, she leaned against his shoulder,
shifting until she was comfortable.

She chuckled.
“Why couldn’t you have noticed me
before
? Now we might only have a few
days together.”

“What do you
mean,
noticed
you?” Taryn said, feigning innocence. Since he and Liri
and drawn closer, he’d learned a great deal about what he’d missed over the
last several years, much to his chagrin. She lifted her head enough for him to
see her knowing grin.