The Ring Keeper, page 6
Zarek heard a sound in the stillness. Shekkar. No.
Not now.
They needed to get through the passage. Zarek looked down the hill. He could see the black shapes against the patches of snow. He had hoped the cold would hide their scent more. The demons appeared to avoid the snow, and maybe it slowed them down, but now they were coming fast.
Zarek reached the edge of the fissure and gripped Ana’s shoulder. He pointed through the crack. “Go through. Find somewhere to hide on the other side.”
“No!” she protested. “We’re both going through.”
“If we do, the demons will catch us. I can hold them back here. Go now. Run!”
He could tell she wanted to argue, but she obeyed. She ran through the narrow pass and disappeared.
He’d done everything he could for Ana.
Run. Hide. Don’t let them catch you.
Zarek took a deep breath, wiped his sweaty palms on his pants, and drew his weapons. His dagger cast a faint green glow as he stood in the cleft between the rocks, watching the Shekkar run up the slope. At least they wouldn’t be able to surround him, and he could hold them off for a while. How many were there? A dozen?
Shrieking in triumph when they spotted him, the demons rushed forward. When the first one reached Zarek, it struck at him with its claws. His sword blocked the blow, and the demon screamed when his knife bit. He drove the blade in a second time, and the creature toppled over. Heedless of their fallen comrade, the others leapt across the crumpled form to attack. Zarek held them back with his sword as they snarled and snapped at him and tried to reach him in the narrow space.
Their attack drove him deeper into the passageway. Black claws slashed at him, and he blocked them with the sword, only to feel burning pain as a second blow ripped the flesh of his arm and shoulder. He drove his dagger into the nearest demon, and it collapsed with a final snarl.
Shekkar claws raked across his face. His head burned like fire, and he could no longer see properly. Searing pain took over as poisonous claws tore into his chest, and he heard himself scream. It sounded like it came from a great distance.
Dimly, he heard a demon shriek as if it had discovered something. Ana’s trail?
Zarek lay on the ground. Quiet surrounded him, and he was alone. He closed his hand, futilely searching for his weapons. He had to get up, to go after them. They were hunting Ana, and she had no one to help her.
Get up.
But it was too late. His limbs twitched when he tried to move, but that was all. His body throbbed with scorching pain, except where it touched the chilling stone and snow. He could feel his warm blood escaping from many wounds. It wouldn’t be long now.
Was this how Dane had felt? Lying alone and hurt, feeling the life draining out of him, waiting for help that didn’t come in time?
With one eye, Zarek could see the white stars in the black sky. He would have screamed from the pain, but he didn’t have the breath or energy. He passed in and out of consciousness.
The periods of oblivion granted a blessed relief from the agony. How many times would he wake back up? The stars faded.
When he woke again, he saw morning sunlight, and the thin clear sky of the mountains. The only sound came from the wind whistling in the passage between the rocks.
Ana
AT DAWN, Ana left the tree where she had hidden until the demons disappeared with the first light. Then, she stumbled back up the hill as fast as her tired legs would go. Reaching the passage, she started through it. Just beyond the opening, she could see Zarek, and her stomach twisted into a knot. She couldn’t breathe. It was going to be like Dane. Feeling that same desperate need to help him and arriving too late.
“Zarek!” She ran and knelt beside him. When she saw what they had done to him, her empty belly heaved. Blood covered him. Claws had slashed his face, raking across his forehead and destroying one eye, but she couldn’t look away from the long gaping wound in his chest. She could sense the agony of his broken body.
No. That was impossible. He could not still be alive. But she could sense his pain. Ana touched his forehead.
A flash of green light came from the ring, and for a moment, she became him. She was Zarek. Her flesh and skin shredded, her ribs ripped out of place. She felt searing pain from the wounds. There was no hope of surviving. No hope of recovering. The damage was too severe.
It could not be. The part of them that was Ana bent all her will on taking the pain away. Zarek must live. Zarek must be whole and happy. He must smile and be full of energy and ready to do anything.
He must live.
The pain was too much, and she screamed until oblivion claimed her.
Zarek
ZAREK HEARD ANA SCREAM and sat up. She lay crumpled beside him. “Ana!” he rolled her onto her back, checking her breathing, looking for any sign of injury.
Her breath was steady, her heart beat regularly. She was alive. The pain must have passed, since her face was peaceful now. She’d done it. She’d healed him. But who would ask someone else to experience that kind of pain? Zarek knew exactly what it had felt like. He would never have given the agony to someone he cared for.
Zarek took a deep breath. He touched his face and found it whole and uninjured. His eye? He looked around and could see normally with it. He gazed down at himself and saw his clothes slashed and covered in blood. Through the gaping rent in his shirt, he saw a long scar across his chest.
Suddenly, he couldn’t breathe. His mind flashed back to the hours he lay alone. The burning pain had consumed him. He’d been dying, his body destroyed beyond recovery. His life had been over.
Zarek sank to the ground and cried.
Ana had taken his pain on herself, and she had healed him.
The sun was high in the sky. As soon as night fell, the deadly pursuit would resume. Zarek wiped his face with his hands and took a deep breath.
They had to get out of here. He searched the ground for his dagger. The enchanted weapon had destroyed two of the Shekkar before they’d taken him down. His efforts produced the hilt, but the blade had been broken. He threw the pieces into his pack, buckled his sword to it, and slung it onto his back. Then, Zarek picked Ana up in his arms and headed down the mountain.
Ana
ANA DID NOT KNOW how long the nothingness lasted. She didn’t know if she was alive or dead, and she didn’t really care. Either way, the pain had passed, and she was content.
Gradually, a few sounds and sensations invaded the silence. Once she thought she heard someone calling her name. She felt motion from time to time. Above all else, she felt the cold.
When Ana finally woke, she found herself resting uncomfortably across something hard. The last thing she remembered clearly was Zarek lying on the ground. She had to help him. She opened her eyes and saw snow, rocks and mountain. They were moving. Someone carried her over his shoulder. Zarek, where was Zarek? She couldn’t leave him injured. He needed help.
“Please, we have to help Zarek,” she cried. But she faded out again.
When Ana woke, the light looked different, and she lay on the ground. Someone sat nearby. “Where’s Zarek? We have to help him!”
He turned so she could see his face. It was Zarek. He was alive. His clothes were torn and stained with blood, his hair matted with it. But he no longer appeared injured.
A wave of relief washed over her.
He came near and bent over her. “Are you all right, Ana?”
When he leaned close, she saw his face didn’t look exactly as it had. He had two thin white scars that ran from his forehead, over his eyebrow, and down across his cheekbone to his jaw.
It had all been real. It hadn’t been a nightmare. But he was all right now. Somehow, Zarek was all right.
He helped her drink some water, and then her eyes closed again. She drifted in and out of consciousness, only occasionally aware of her surroundings. She felt something warm against her lips. When she smelled meat, she opened her mouth to accept a bite and savored the most wonderful thing she’d ever eaten. She didn’t even know how long it had been since her last meal.
“What is it?” she murmured.
“Grouse,” Zarek said, offering her another bite.
She opened her eyes and saw him against a background of green forest. He looked well and whole.
“When I saw what the demons had done to you, I thought you were dead,” she said. “You sent me away to save my life, and you knew they would kill you…” Tears welled in her eyes, and she closed them as if that would shut out the picture of his slashed and bleeding body. “How can you be all right?”
“Because of the ring,” he said. “You healed me.”
She remembered now, there had been a flash of green light and pain so severe she’d been sure she wouldn’t survive it. She’d thought they would both be dead. “It hurt,” she admitted.
“I know,” he said. “I know it hurt you. Thank you for doing that for me.”
“I couldn’t let you die.”
“Thanks,” he smiled. “Now we have to take care of you. Can I see your arm?”
She intended to hold it out to him, but nothing happened when she tried. “I can’t move,” she said, frightened. “What’s wrong with me?”
“I’ve seen this before, years ago, when Allia used the ring. It’s because you used its power,” he said. “You’ll feel better in a few days.” He checked the splint on her arm and prepared to go on.
Zarek carried her, and she slept much of the time. She wasn’t sure how long it had been. Gradually, she managed to stay awake longer. She could move her hands and feet and finally walk again.
They had come down a long way from the peaks. It grew warmer, and Zarek could find food in the forest. Never as much as they wanted. But enough to keep them going.
One night, as they descended the slopes, they heard the Shekkar behind them in the trees. Ana’s stomach clenched.
No. This couldn’t happen again. They had to get away.
Zarek threw Ana over his shoulder and ran. Branches slapped at them and brush snagged them, but he kept going. Ana could hear the demons, but she couldn’t see anything from that position. She heard Zarek splash into water, and she saw a dark river. His steps lurched up the far bank, and they were running again.
The night lasted forever, and Ana wasn’t even conscious for all of it. She knew Zarek was still running, still carrying her. She could hear the demons, sometimes faintly, sometimes near. They couldn’t seem to lose them. It remained the same for all the dark hours of the night. She grew ever more uncomfortable, but she knew Zarek was doing all he could. There was nothing she could do to help him.
Ana woke up to the impact of them hitting the ground. Forest surrounded them, and the layers of pine needles absorbed some of the shock. The light of dawn shone down through the trees. Zarek lay on his face.
“Zarek!” She shook him. He didn’t respond. “Please wake up. Are you hurt?”
He answered with a muffled groan. She pushed hard and rolled him onto his side. “I’m all right,” he mumbled without opening his eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“Can’t run anymore…”
He’d been running all night, carrying her.
She brought him water and wiped the sweat from his face with a cloth. “Rest,” she said, wrapping a blanket around him. His skin was pale.
What were they going to do when it got dark?
Zarek needed rest and food. Ana could walk. She searched the area for something to eat. She picked berries and dug up some edible roots, quickly rinsing them in the river. It wasn’t much of a meal.
When she got back to him, he still hadn’t moved. She wiped his face with the cloth again and gave him more water. He drank and turned to look up at her. “Ana? What happened? What time is it?”
“Almost midday,” she said.
“Midday—” He shook his head and dragged himself into a sitting position. His color was better, but he still appeared exhausted.
“I brought you some berries.” She held them out to him.
“Thank you,” he said, eating one from her hand.
“Eat them all,” she ordered.
He obeyed. Then she gave him the roots, and he ate those too.
“Feel better?” she asked.
He smiled slightly. “Yes.” He drank more water, then stiffly got to his feet.
“What are we going to do tonight?” she asked. He still seemed too tired to run.
“Let’s see if we can lose them before it gets dark,” he said.
She gathered their things and put them in the pack, the sword still buckled to it. She shouldered them both, and they went on.
They spent a lot of time near the river that day. Zarek moved slower than usual. But they kept moving, and at least they were going downhill. They followed the river as it cascaded down the mountainside.
Below them, spreading across the hills, ran a heavy dark line of forest. “What is that?” she asked Zarek.
“The Forest of Varda,” he said.
“Do we have to go through it?”
“Yes. There is an old road that would be easier to travel, but it’s far east of here. After last night, I’m afraid the Shekkar are too close for that.”
“Then we go through,” she said. “They’re only trees, right?”
He looked back at her, and she could feel that he didn’t want to go into the forest. There was obviously something he wasn’t saying.
She stared at him with eyebrows furrowed. “Well, what is it?”
“What is what?”
“What is the thing you’re not telling me?” she demanded.
“I—” he faltered. “It’s not a nice place.” He took the pack from her, removing the sword and slinging its belt around his waist.
“Why?”
“Does it matter?” he countered. “We have to go that way. We’re heading for the narrowest part of the forest.”
The decision made, they entered the woods, and they walked as fast as they could all that afternoon. Even though Zarek was tired, Ana still struggled to keep up. As they traveled deeper into the forest, the trees grew thicker and larger, draped with moss and vines. It was gloomy under the dark branches and the air felt stuffy.
“You’re right. It’s not a nice forest,” Ana said, looking at the gnarled trees. “I don’t like it.”
“Me neither,” Zarek agreed.
Darkness came early under the trees, and soon they couldn’t see anything. Zarek kindled a small fire and made a crude torch. It was risky to make a light, but they had to see to keep moving. “We have to be able to find our way out.”
Black night fell around them, and they could see no end to the woods. There was no light anywhere except the small flickering gleam from the torch.
“We have to hurry,” Zarek urged. “Can you run?”
They ran, stumbling over fallen branches and tree roots in the faint torchlight.
“Zarek!” Ana paused, gasping for breath.
He stopped and turned back to her.
“Can we rest?” she begged. “Please!”
“No!”
They both heard a snarl from back the way they had come. Shekkar.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Year of Warding 38, Mountains of Sarine
Ana
ZAREK TOOK ANA’S HAND and they ran, struggling through the thick growth. They came to a little stream. “Step in the water,” he said. He dropped the torch, and it hissed and went out, leaving them in complete darkness. Zarek grabbed her arm. “Stay close,” he whispered.
They felt their way through treacherous footing in the water. The stones were mossy and slippery, and brush and overhanging branches scratched them. Trailing vines tried to entangle them and clung to their hands and faces.
They stumbled a long way in utter blackness. Pausing for a moment, they listened hard over the sound of the water, but could hear no sign of pursuit.
“I’m going to make a light again,” he said, slogging to the bank. He made a tiny fire to start another makeshift torch.
In the flickering light, several dark shapes on the branches overhead skittered back into the shadows.
“What are those?” Ana stepped closer to him.
“Squirrels,” Zarek said, taking her hand. “Come on. Keep moving.” Her hand in his felt good. She took comfort from his strength.
They went on, the glimmer of light from the torch helping their progress. Now they could see trailing lines hanging everywhere, and they passed the remains of animals, large and small, tightly wrapped in the entangling threads.
Ana stared at them with a growing knot in her stomach. “What lives here?” she demanded.
Zarek opened his mouth to reply.
But before he could speak, she said, “And don’t lie to me again!”
He shut his mouth without saying anything. Just then, the torchlight illuminated a large, eight-legged shape that lowered itself on a line, right in their path.
“Spiders!” Ana screamed. She’d never seen one so big. It was the size of Fergen’s favorite serving platter back at the inn.
Zarek swung the torch at it and knocked the spider far away into the dark.
“Please get us out of here!”
“Keep going!” Zarek said. “We need to get through the woods.”
Zarek
ZAREK WASN’T SURE when he realized the spiders were following them. It seemed they had multiplied since the last time he’d been here as a boy. Every time he looked back, clusters of eyes glittered in the torchlight.
Dark, many-legged shapes ran along their webs, skittering out of reach of the light. They made almost no sound, but they grew bolder every passing moment, as if they didn’t want their prey to escape.
Ana huddled close to Zarek, shuddering. They went on. The night had to be nearly over by now.
At his side, Ana screamed. He turned just in time to see a spider scuttle off into the brush.
“It bit me!” She held out her arm. The spider had left two bleeding puncture wounds just above her elbow and the splint she still wore.
