The Ring Keeper, page 4
Ana couldn’t help but smile. She’d worked at the inn for years, and no one had ever mistaken her for a princess. “Then you could both be brave knights in shining armor.”
Zarek made a face. “Do you have any idea how much that stuff weighs?”
Dane grinned. “We would be honored to be your knights, Princess.”
The waitress returned with bowls of steaming porridge and cream, thick slices of bacon, and a fresh loaf of bread. It was all Ana could do not to moan with longing. As soon as the woman turned away, Ana stuck a hot, crispy piece of bacon into her mouth, entranced by the rich savory taste. They’d already come so far, and they’d been so cold and hungry.
“Your fish was great, but this is so good,” Zarek said with his mouth full. Dane nodded and kept chewing. Ana smiled.
They ate everything so quickly that the waitress brought them each another bowl, and they finished those too. When they were finally done, they left the inn.
“We need to get moving,” Dane said as they made their way through the busy streets. “There’s a man with a farm just outside town. He’ll sell me a couple of horses. It’ll use the last of the coins I got from our outpost two months ago, but I should have enough. We’re going home now. Buy supplies and meet me there.”
Zarek nodded, and Dane disappeared into the crowd. Ana walked beside Zarek as they turned a few corners and entered a shop. The place appeared to have everything, with tall piles of goods stacked on shelves reaching to the ceiling and overflowing. They picked out dried meat, fruit, nuts and dry biscuits that would stay good forever. Zarek chose a warm cloak that would fit Ana. He paid the shopkeeper some coins and put everything into his pack, and they went back out into the street.
A few minutes of walking brought them to the crossroads in the center of town, one road leading off in each direction. Zarek took the road heading north. It was thronged with people. Ana followed him as he made a path through the crowd.
They came to the end of a stone bridge spanning the wide river. People on foot made way as carts and wagons passed them. From the middle of the bridge, Ana looked upriver to the lake they had sailed across. When they reached the road on the far side, the crowds thinned a little. The buildings became farther apart until finally there weren’t any more.
Outside of town lay an encampment made up of neat rows of tents. Some of them displayed a gray-and-white flag. Men were coming and going between them, dressed in gray uniforms. “They serve the king of Kethel, gathering here to protect the bridge from the Arans,” Zarek said. He and Ana continued past the camp.
Three of the gray-uniformed men stood on the road, hands on their sword hilts, blocking their path. One of them was a huge man. The others flanked him. These men looked like they didn’t want to let them pass. Ana’s middle tightened in fear. What did they want?
Zarek didn’t alter his pace or turn aside. When they didn’t move, he stopped, facing them, Ana at his side. What were they going to do?
CHAPTER FOUR
Year of Warding 38, Bethor Crossing, Kethel
Ana
ANA STOOD ON THE ROAD beside Zarek as he faced three gray-uniformed soldiers. His stance remained casual, his expression, relaxed. “Good morning, gentlemen.” He didn’t look afraid at all.
“Good morning,” the big one said, grinning. That smile made Ana feel smaller.
“You’re doing a fine job protecting the border,” Zarek said.
“War is brewing,” the man said, no longer smiling. “Ara’s army is growing. We need more men to protect our border.”
“Well, I wish you the best with your search,” Zarek replied. “If I see anyone who’d like to join you, I’ll send them this way. There’s nothing else I can do for you now.”
“Is that so?” The big man looked Zarek up and down.
“My errand is urgent,” Zarek said. “I cannot delay.”
“Urgent, is it?” They snickered and spread out to block the road.
“What’s so urgent?” the big man asked. “You’d like soldiering, boy. Plenty of food, and the wages are fair. Come on—join us.”
“I have other business.” Zarek met the man’s eyes steadily and squared his shoulders.
“You’re pretty cocky for a farm boy. Come with us.”
“Get out of my way,” Zarek ordered.
All three of them laughed. Ana’s chest constricted. They were in trouble. Zarek took the pack from his back and handed it to Ana, giving her a quick, confident nod, as if he wanted to assure her that everything was going to be fine.
He turned back to face the three men. “I said, get out of my way.”
The leader was still smiling. Deliberately, he drew his sword, pointing it at Zarek’s chest. “With an attitude like that, you could be a captain someday. Come with us, boy. We’ll make a soldier out of you.”
“I’m already a soldier,” Zarek said. He darted to one side, away from the sword, and expertly kicked the man’s knee, toppling him with a yell.
What happened next was so fast Ana’s eyes could barely follow. The other two men tried to grab Zarek, but he moved much too quickly. By the time Ana had taken a breath, they both lay on the ground.
The leader got back to his feet. With an enraged roar, he charged with his fists flailing. Zarek sidestepped his attack and drove his fist into the man’s side as he passed. A few more blows sent him back to the ground with his friends.
Zarek turned back to Ana, who stared at him in shock. He took the pack, slung it over his shoulder, and offered her his hand. “Come on,” he said. They hurried away.
A little farther along the road, they saw Dane coming back to meet them, mounted on a sturdy black horse and leading a brown one. He held his arm out to Ana. “Come on, Princess. You can ride with me for a while.” He pulled her up behind him. “What took you so long?” he asked Zarek.
“After we crossed the bridge, we stopped to chat with the soldiers.” Zarek swung into the saddle.
“The man I bought the horses from said they’re signing on any man between fifteen and sixty. They’re getting worried about Ara.”
They rode away.
“Did they try to stop Zarek?” Dane asked Ana over his shoulder.
“There were three of them with swords! I was so scared. But he beat all of them. How can he fight so well?”
“I told you he was the best soldier in Sarine. He’s had years of training and practice.”
“Has he been doing this since he was a little boy?”
Dane sighed. “Yes. He’s my friend, and I wish he could have been a child a little longer. His father was Talon, a captain of the Emperor’s Guard and the emperor’s most trusted friend. When Zarek got the news that Talon wasn’t coming back, he started training. I’ve never seen anyone work so hard.”
For a few days, they continued to see gray-uniformed soldiers. Dane shook his head. “If Kethel has its army out here, the Arans do too. We need to be careful.” They stayed under the cover of woods as often as possible and took turns keeping watch as they rested.
On horseback, they made good time for several days and nights of travel. It had been two weeks since they left Bethor Crossing. They still followed the road toward Sarine, even though they didn’t ride on the road itself. Instead, they rode through woods and fields, which made their progress slower, but Dane thought it was better to stay out of sight.
One afternoon, they halted in a small group of trees for a meal and to rest the horses. They could hear the sounds of running water nearby. After they ate, Zarek said, “I’m going to wash and get some water. I’ll be back in a moment.”
Dane nodded, leaning back against a tree trunk while Ana curled up to rest.
Zarek
WHEN ZAREK STARTED BACK toward the others, he froze halfway up the riverbank. Movement caught his eye, and his stomach dropped. It wasn’t Ana and Dane.
He saw several armed men in the dark-blue tunics and black armor of Ara’s army. A few of them had already taken Dane’s horses and were far down the hill.
How had he not seen the men sooner? Zarek sprinted toward them. The sun flashed off the polished metal of weapons, and he could hear the ringing as blades met.
Dane fought for his life in the middle of them.
Zarek had to run faster.
Dane fell to the ground, and the soldiers disappeared into the trees.
Seconds later, Zarek dropped to the ground beside his friend. “Dane!” He pressed his hands to the worst of the wounds, trying to slow the bleeding.
“They found the ring. They took Ana!”
“Just hold on! She can use the ring on you!” Zarek placed Dane’s hand over the wound. “Keep your hand here. I’ll get her back!”
Dane nodded without speaking.
Zarek wiped his bloody hands on his pants, picked up Dane’s sword, and ran after the soldiers. They were keeping out of sight under the cover of the little groups of trees. That was good. If they’d been out in the open, they would have seen him coming.
He couldn’t let them take Ana.
The two men who made up their rearguard barely had time to reach for their weapons as Zarek struck them down. When he crashed into the larger group of them, they all stopped and turned on him. Zarek moved faster than anyone else. That’s what Dane always said. Zarek needed it now.
Three of the Arans were on the ground quickly, and the other four whirled around to face him. One of them seized Ana and began dragging her away, kicking and fighting, while the other three advanced on him, their swords ready.
They came at him from both sides. As he blocked a thrust coming from the left, one of the others snagged Zarek’s side with the point of his blade. He gritted his teeth against the pain, but he would not give up so easily. They slashed through his guard twice more. But the wounds weren’t deep, and he kept fighting.
From the corner of his eye, he saw the man who had Ana strike her, then throw her over his shoulder and run. Zarek defeated the last of the three men and bolted after Ana’s captor.
He had to stop the man before he escaped with her. Everything depended on the ring. Zarek ran, his feet pounding against the ground as he gained on the man.
Despite his burden, the Aran moved as fast as he could. Ana struggled and her body partially blocked his view, so he didn’t see Zarek coming until he tackled the man from the side. They tumbled to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs. The Aran had lost his grip on Ana, and she scrambled away from him.
Rolling to his feet, the soldier drew his sword. He aimed a blow at the girl, and Zarek leapt forward to deflect the blade. When he wasn’t quite fast enough, the Aran’s blade sliced across Ana’s back and she cried out in pain. Zarek pushed the weapon away from her, placing himself between them. He traded blows with the Aran, as he saw Ana circle around to get behind the man.
She hit the soldier with a sturdy tree branch, and he lurched forward, completely off balance.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Zarek landed a slash to the man’s side. It wasn’t deep enough to stop him, but the man jumped back away from them both. He stared at Zarek for a moment and then turned and fled down the hill toward the rest of the Aran troops.
Zarek ran after him, but he stopped after only a few strides. He couldn’t leave Ana here alone, and they had to help Dane.
When he turned back to her, Ana stared at Zarek, frozen in shock.
“Dane!” she gasped. “They hurt Dane. He tried to keep them from taking me, and I saw them wound him. You said the ring could heal him!”
Ana and Zarek ran back the way they had come.
Dane lay where Zarek had left him. His hand no longer covered the wound. It had fallen to one side. A small trail of blood ran from his mouth.
Ana knelt beside him and put her hand on his forehead. “Heal him!” she cried. “I don’t know how to make it work. How do I make it work?”
Dane’s eyes stared at nothing. He lay utterly still. Zarek looked at the wound. Dane’s heart no longer pumped blood from the gash.
“You said I could heal him!” Ana yelled. “Why isn’t it working? Why?”
“It’s not working because he’s dead. It’s too late. Too late…” Zarek dropped to the ground, letting the sword fall from his hand, crying and holding onto his friend.
“He can’t be dead. You said the ring could heal any injury! We have to help him!” She shook Zarek’s arm.
He threw off her hands. “I’ve seen the ring heal before, but there’s nothing I know of that can bring back the dead.”
Zarek touched his friend’s face and closed his empty eyes. The weight of it settled on him. Dane was dead. Zarek was the last one left to complete their quest. The fate of his nation rested on him now. All those people. His chest constricted, and he couldn’t breathe. What was he going to do?
Ana bent over Dane, sobbing. “He tried to save me. It’s my fault!”
Dane had been Zarek’s friend for many years, and his only companion since they left Sarine nearly a year ago. He was the one who had guided and led them. How could Zarek do this alone? The grief stabbed at him as painfully as the sword blades had. How could he go on without Dane?
The soldiers who had attacked them weren’t alone. Dane had hoped to continue as they had been going, crossing the river at Iron Bridge and following the road into Sarine. If Aran troops were between them and the bridge, they didn’t have a chance that way.
“What do I do, Dane?” He realized he’d asked the question out loud. Dane couldn’t answer him. And Zarek couldn’t talk like that in front of Ana. She relied on him to protect her.
He had to keep going.
As if waking up, he glanced around and saw the sun lowering into the west. They needed to move. More soldiers could arrive anytime. He took a deep breath and wiped his hand across his eyes.
He picked up Dane’s pack. There was something about looking through Dane’s meager belongings that he’d carried so far. Zarek felt tears on his face as he transferred the food into his own pack, as well as Dane’s cloak and blanket.
Casting aside the now-empty pack, Zarek took his friend’s sword belt and put it on. He picked up the weapon from the ground. “I’ll keep your sword.” Zarek looked down at his friend. “I’ll try to carry it as well as you did.”
Shouldering his pack, Zarek glanced around in the gathering darkness. The horses were gone, and the Aran army blocked the way north. He couldn’t go east toward Ara, and he couldn’t go back.
To the west rose the mountains, the lofty peaks already capped with snow. Sarine and the safety of the Warding lay on the other side, if only they could reach them. They had to go through the mountains. And if Zarek was wrong, they would die. He wished Dane were coming with them. He always knew what to do.
Zarek looked down toward the road. As the evening darkened, he saw watch fires that could only belong to the Aran army. Some of the small points of light were moving. Torches.
They were advancing this way. It made sense they would come looking for their companions. Zarek gripped the fallen man’s shoulder. “You were the best friend I ever had. Goodbye, Dane.”
“We have to go, Ana,” he said. “They’re coming.”
She clung to Dane’s hand. “We can’t just leave him!”
“We have to.” He pulled her away.
She struggled against his hold at first, but she knew they had no other choice.
Ana
EVERY TIME ANA CLOSED HER EYES, she thought of Dane. If not for her, he’d still be alive. The guilt sat like acid in her belly. She and Zarek walked in silence for days and nights, not knowing what to say. He felt it too. They halted at dawn and rested against a ridge of rocks. Zarek sat beside her, silent, staring at the ground.
Tentatively, she reached out and touched his arm. “I tried to fight them,” she said. “But I don’t know how.”
“I do,” Zarek said bitterly. “That’s all I’ve done my whole life, learn to fight. Dane was my best friend. If I hadn’t left, we could have held them back together…”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Ana protested. “They were looking for me. If not for me, they wouldn’t have killed him.”
“You can’t blame this on yourself!”
“I miss him,” Ana said. “There aren’t very many people in the world who care about me.”
“Dane wasn’t the only one. I care about you too. You can’t think this was your fault. You didn’t cause any of it.”
She looked up into his gray eyes. “Neither did you.”
By sunset, they were walking uphill again. Ana longed for a soft, warm bed with a feather pillow and thick blankets. She remembered her little room at the back of the inn. It seemed a distant memory of comfort now that they spent the dark hours of every night stumbling through ravines and hillsides choked with brush. It continued to get colder and sometimes rained, but they wrapped their cloaks around themselves and kept walking. The valley looked far below them now.
Ana grew too tired to think or wonder much about anything. She had to keep going. Keep climbing. Follow Zarek. He was tireless. His long legs were always ready to walk or run.
Dane should have been there beside them. Ana shut her eyes tightly against the image of him lying unmoving on the ground.
It had been a week since they left the lowlands. They were steadily climbing the slopes of a mountain, following the course of the river. Sometimes they passed through thick forest. At this higher altitude, the leaves were already golden against the dark green of the pines.
Often, they had to force their way through the underbrush. Ana had long scratches on her legs from finding thorn bushes in the dark.
But the Shekkar hadn’t found them yet, and they hadn’t seen any more Aran soldiers.
As Ana and Zarek climbed higher, the air grew thinner and colder, and the forest shrank to short scrubby trees, sculpted by the wind. Ana looked back and saw the land spread out below them in a patchwork of farmlands. She could see the river and the distant lake. Beyond them were the hills where the town of Bright Springs lay. It had been her home for as long as she could remember.
