The Ring Keeper, page 30
“Which is?”
“That you will listen to me. And if I think a situation is too dangerous, I will tell you to get out, and I expect you to obey.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be right behind you.”
With his agreement with Talon in place, Callonen left the Warding, heading east—five men and horses with him. The heat of summer had eased, and the skies were clear. He planned to steal uniforms before they crossed the border into Ara. Hopefully, no one would notice them among the other troops.
During the two weeks since the small group had left Iron Bridge, they’d crossed the North Road under cover of darkness and were moving stealthily toward Hakvere. One night, Talon had selected a hidden space behind a thicket of trees for their camp. There was barely room for them and their horses. Two men were on guard at a time, watching in all directions. Patrols of Aran soldiers had already passed near them several times.
Callonen rolled into his blanket and settled down to sleep. The summer night was balmy.
In the deep hours of the night, it was his turn on guard, and Callonen left his blanket and took up his weapons and post. The woods were silent around him. Looking back over the camp, he saw the others asleep. He should never have allowed them to join him on his hopeless quest. Talon should have gone back to his wife instead of agreeing to come.
The stars turned, and the night grew old.
The sound came from some distance off the first time he heard it. A faint shriek. Inhuman. What kind of animal made that sound? Callonen gripped his sword hilt. The second cry sounded nearer, and he ran back to the camp to raise the alarm.
“Wake up! Something is coming.”
They started out of sleep and woke to look for their weapons. Talon rolled to his feet and came to stand beside him. “What is it?”
Another shriek echoed through the woods, and they all heard it that time. “We need to get out of here!” Talon ordered.
Too late. The next sound they heard was a scream from the other man on guard.
“Run!” Talon yelled. The men scattered, and Callonen ran with Talon beside him. Something pursued them. They could hear it growling and snarling in the undergrowth. It was definitely following their trail.
With his pulse pounding in his ears and his breath coming in gasps, Callonen ran. Brush whipped against him, and the uneven ground attempted to trip him.
“This way,” Talon pointed. “Toward the river. There’s a place we can hide.”
They could hear the water before they could see it. The rushing flow drowned out the sound of the creature behind them. They came out into the open, stumbling through the uneven stones on the bank. Plunging into the river, they crossed to the far side where the water had undercut the bank to create a small, damp cavern. The two of them crawled inside, sitting shoulder to shoulder in the cramped space. Talon kept a knife in his hand, watching back the way they had come.
Callonen drew his own blade and waited.
A black figure slunk to the edge of the water. It walked on two feet like a man, but its shape and movement were distinctly inhuman. Its form was a patch of utter blackness, reflecting nothing, making it difficult to see its exact outline.
In the light of a quarter moon, they could see it pacing the bank. Callonen felt a powerful urge to run again, but it was near now, and if they moved, it would catch them. It snarled in their direction as if it knew they were there, but didn’t try to cross.
He gripped the hilt of his knife.
Talon put a hand on his arm, reminding him to stay still. Callonen nodded.
Moments crawled by. He expected to fight for his life at any moment. But the black creature on the bank kept pacing. Not giving up, but never coming any nearer. Callonen watched, silent and tense, waiting.
At the end of its path, instead of returning, the black thing abruptly disappeared into the woods.
Callonen took in a deep breath. Neither of them dared move for a long time after it left. The gray light of dawn filtered down through the trees. “I’ll go see if it’s gone.” He moved toward the opening.
“No, stay here,” Talon ordered. “I’ll go.” He left their hiding place with the knife still in his hand, slipped back through the water, up the stony bank, and into the trees. He came back into view, unharmed, and beckoned Callonen out of hiding. He crawled out, stretching cramped muscles.
“I can’t find any sign of it nearby,” Talon said. “I followed its tracks here, but I don’t see where it went when it left.”
“We need to find the others,” Callonen said.
They found one of their men on their way back to the camp. They overtook him as he made his way through the trees.
“Faris?” Callonen asked. “You’re hurt?” He could see blood on his neck above the edge of his armor.
“It’s not bad,” Faris said firmly. “Whatever that thing was, it hit me with its claws, but my armor took most of it. It could have been worse.” He tilted his head to the side and Callonen examined the two cuts that ran across Faris’s neck.
They found the rest of their friends at the campsite. Several of them gathered around a prostrate form on the ground. Callonen went to them and saw Will. He had been on guard last night, and whatever the thing was, it had found him first. Deep slashes crossed his face and throat.
“Is he alive?” Callonen asked.
“Barely,” one of the others said.
Will was unconscious. When they removed his armor and examined him, they found several deep wounds, which they tended as well as they could.
Callonen looked at Talon. “Have you ever seen anything like that before?”
“Never,” Talon admitted. “I don’t know what that thing was.”
Callonen rubbed his forehead. “Remember when my father used to tell us stories about fighting demons? He said they only came out at night.”
Talon’s expression was grim. “I think we should get as far from here as we can while the daylight lasts.”
No one disagreed with him. They had only been able to find two of their horses after they had bolted. Two men lifted Will onto a horse, with one of them riding behind to keep him in the saddle. Faris rode the other horse.
The day passed all too quickly. Callonen felt a shiver run down his spine as darkness fell. They didn’t stop, but kept moving until it was very late.
The men camped against a cliff face in a hidden place under an overhanging boulder. Callonen helped the others pull Will off the horse. The soldier didn’t respond at all. His skin felt cold. They laid him on the ground, and Callonen knelt beside him, listening for any sign of breath. He felt the side of his neck for a pulse, and he waited for several anxious moments. Finding no sign of life, he shook his head and pulled a blanket up over Will’s face.
While Callonen had been working over Will, the others had kindled a tiny fire in a hidden spot.
Faris sat beside the fire, and Callonen saw beads of sweat on his forehead. “Are you all right, Faris?”
“I don’t feel good,” Faris admitted.
In the light of the little fire, Callonen inspected the wounds again. The cuts had swollen badly since dawn, and they were an ugly dark color. Callonen helped him clean and wrap them. Faris was shivering by then, even though the night wasn’t cold.
Callonen remembered the old stories of demons with poisoned claws. His father called them Shekkar.
The night wore on, and it was past midnight when they heard the creature shriek. Talon kicked dirt into the fire, extinguishing it. “Split up,” he ordered. “You two, take one horse and help Faris. We’ll take the other and meet you again at dawn.”
By morning, it was obvious that the creature pursued Callonen. “It could have followed any of us,” he told the others when they had gathered. “With one man on foot, you were moving more slowly, but still it came after me. I don’t know if the Warding will stop it, but I hope it will. We need to separate. The rest of you get back to the border as quickly as you can. I will go by another route. It’s never attacked us in the daylight. Rest for a few hours now, then go.”
“We’re not leaving you alone, Your Highness,” they protested.
“I’ll take one of the horses and ride for the border.”
“The rest of you will be safe once Callonen is gone,” Talon said to his men. “Make your way back on foot. I’ll take the other horse and stay with Prince Callonen.”
“They need the horse so Faris can ride. Talon, you have to go with them,” Callonen objected.
Talon folded his muscular arms across his chest and stared back at Callonen stubbornly. “I don’t think so.”
“I order you!” Callonen said through clenched teeth.
Talon smiled slowly. “Your Highness, normally that would work, but not this time.”
“And why not, Captain Talon?”
“You’re not yet Emperor of Sarine. My orders came from Emperor Caldoreth. I promised him I would keep you safe. And that means I’m not leaving you.”
Callonen didn’t have an answer to that. He knew Talon well enough to know he was incredibly stubborn.
It took them three days and nights of riding to get back to the Warding. Callonen could hear the Shekkar growling and snarling behind them as they galloped the last mile through the moonlit fields to the border. The dark creature seemed to gain on them until suddenly it stopped as if it had hit a wall. It shrieked in frustration, but came no farther.
Callonen halted, breathing hard. “It’s stopped!” He glanced back. There were two of the dark creatures now. “They can’t get through,” he exclaimed. Relief flooded through him. Dismounting, Callonen and Talon walked side by side back toward the Warding. They didn’t cross the line again, but stood facing the dark figures.
This was the first time they’d seen them so close. The white moonlight shone on two man-like shapes. But there was something about the way they moved that didn’t look human. Perhaps their joints moved differently or their proportions were off. Darkness made it impossible to identify exactly what it was.
“Can these really be Shekkar?” Callonen asked.
“Demons,” Talon said. He drew his sword and moved closer to the border. The demons snarled and snapped at him, and beckoned to him with their claws. Talon had no intention of crossing outside again. But he moved closer until he was near enough to drive his blade into the middle of one of the dark creatures. It screamed and jerked back, but it didn’t fall. A few moments later, it was back at the border, trying to get through again.
Talon thrust his blade at it a second time, with no better result. He turned to Callonen, shaking his head. “It should be dead. My sword doesn’t hurt it.”
“No,” Callonen agreed. “There’s only one weapon that can destroy them. We have to return to the city to get it from my father.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Year of Warding 22, Hakvere, Ara
Allia
NO SOONER HAD ALLIA RECOVERED enough from healing Haldreth to walk again than he was back, and the agonizing cycle repeated itself. She counted the times, scratching marks into the battered wood of her bed frame.
When she had any strength, she took care of her baby, cherishing every moment with her. Every time she woke after a healing, Cirana looked bigger. Her hair grew perceptibly, her face subtly changed. Allia wanted to watch her grow, hating how much time she missed. And she felt considerably weaker after each time she healed. Haldreth wasn’t allowing enough time in between for her to recover.
He was slowly killing her. It took longer and longer to wake up after each healing and more time for her to be able to move or walk again.
It wouldn’t be long before she didn’t wake up at all. Then what would happen to Cirana?
Haldreth would have her. Perhaps he would torment her, as he had Allia. Perhaps he would teach her to be like him. With Allia gone, the baby would grow up with no memory of her mother, and if Haldreth were her only influence…
That possibility was the worst of all.
Callonen
HEADING FROM THE BORDER toward the White City, Callonen and Talon rode for nearly a full day before they met a company of soldiers. They borrowed blankets and food, and two of the soldiers rode with them. They made good time and reached the city walls as the sun was going down on the fourth day. They rode through the streets to the palace and left the horses with a groom.
To Callonen, the palace halls seemed familiar and strange at the same time. How long had he been gone? The last time he’d been here, Allia had been by his side. How could he have come back without her?
With Talon following him, Callonen entered his father’s study and found Caldoreth sitting behind his desk. He appeared older, somehow.
Caldoreth jumped to his feet. “Callonen!” He came around the desk to embrace his son. “I’m so relieved you’re safe. Talon, thank you for protecting him.”
Callonen returned his father’s embrace. He’d missed him.
Finally, Caldoreth drew back and looked at him. “Is there good news? Have you brought her home?”
Callonen bowed his head, overwhelmed with guilt and sorrow. “No, Father,” he murmured.
Caldoreth embraced him again. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, son.”
A hot pain twisted through his chest. “I tried. And I can’t give up. I won’t. But the situation keeps getting worse. Shekkar attacked us outside the border.”
The emperor’s face fell, his features frozen in shock. “That can’t be true. We destroyed them years ago. There’s been no word of demons in over twenty years. This must be a mistake.”
“It’s not a mistake, Emperor,” Talon said.
“I saw them, Father. They clawed two of my men and poisoned them. They are Shekkar.”
“Who would bring such vile creatures back into the world?” Caldoreth shook his head in sorrow. He took a deep breath. “There’s only one thing we can do. Come with me.”
Callonen and Talon followed Caldoreth to the treasury. It was heavily guarded, as always, and the emperor took the key from its chain around his neck. He inserted it in the lock and turned it. Slowly, the heavy latch opened and the massive door swung outward. He took a lantern from a bracket in the hall, and they entered the room.
This was where the most valuable of Sarine’s treasures were stored. Jewelry, gold, weapons and strange items that he couldn’t identify.
Caldoreth didn’t stop to look around. He moved confidently to a wooden chest at the back of the room. It was long and narrow, with designs and runes carved into the wood. “This contains the sword named Blackbane,” Caldoreth said. “It’s the one I went looking for when the demons killed your mother. This is the enchanted blade I used to destroy the Shekkar. With this blade, I won an empire. It saved the lives of countless thousands of people. I had hoped we would never need it again. Now, it appears we do.”
Callonen stood at his father’s shoulder, eagerly looking on as Caldoreth fit another key into the lock and opened it. The heavy lid creaked slowly open.
The chest was empty.
Unwilling to wait in the city, knowing the Shekkar were roaming the land, Callonen and Talon returned to the border. The number of demons there had grown to four.
A camp had taken root just inside the Warding. Callonen and his friends were housed in the small cluster of tents. The town of Varda wasn’t far away, but it lay outside the shield, and like all the lands beyond, it was now out of reach to Callonen.
Every night, the demons waited outside. Over the next few months, their number grew to a dozen.
Callonen remained there through the autumn, watching the border as the season changed to winter. The place was cold and uncomfortable, and with the enchanted sword gone, they couldn’t do anything other than count the number of demons as they increased. They still appeared every single night. Not always the same number, but there were at least three consistently.
Callonen seethed with frustration. If he wanted to live for more than a day, he couldn’t leave the border.
A messenger arrived one evening as the soldiers were preparing to settle down for the night. Wordlessly, he held the parchment out to Callonen. As he opened it and scanned the words, his stomach tightened into a knot.
“What is it?” Talon asked, putting a hand on his arm in concern.
“My father. He’s very ill.”
“This situation is dangerous, Cal. The demons are roaming our borders, trying to get in. If they find a way…” Talon shook his head. “We can’t allow that to happen. They would destroy Sarine. I need to go to him. But…”
“I know,” Talon said. “I’m so sorry, Cal. Allia didn’t deserve this. I know it’s killing you not to rescue her yourself.”
“I love her. And that’s exactly what I should do,” Callonen said.
Talon took a deep breath and met Callonen’s eyes. “I wouldn’t say this unless I had to, but have you considered that he might have killed her? We have no way of knowing whether she’s alive after all this time.”
Callonen closed his eyes. “She’s alive. I know she is.”
“But everyone in Sarine is depending on you to take care of them. How bad is your father’s illness?”
“It sounds very serious,” Callonen said. “I wondered if something was wrong the last time we saw him, he seemed so frail and tired, but he didn’t say anything about it.”
“Go back to your father, Cal. Protect the Warding. I’ll try one last time to go after Allia.”
“What could you do that we haven’t already tried?”
“One of our scouts found a passageway that leads from the canyon wall into the dungeon of Hakvere,” Talon said.
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Callonen demanded.
“He just returned with the news this afternoon. I knew you couldn’t leave the Warding safely, and I was trying to decide what to do. If you go back to the city, I’ll find a way to get her out. Harrow can come with me. There is less risk of either of us being recognized.”
“But it’s too dangerous!” Callonen protested.
