The Bone Mask Trilogy: (An Epic Fantasy Boxed Set), page 56
“You’re alive, Sofia. Don’t regret killing to survive.” She said nothing and he gave her a gentle shake. “Let’s keep moving.”
Circling a slow-raging fire that had engulfed a hut, Notch led her at last to the clearing where they’d eaten, ringed with fire and clogged with a haze of smoke. In it, the Oynbae had gathered to stand against the attackers. Crowds of Sap-Born and their hammer partners pressed in on a smaller circle. Hunters, warriors and Butterfly-Eaters alike were being struck down. Occasional bursts of powder rose along the front line, slings whirled and bows twanged from both sides.
Even as Notch skidded to a halt inside the tree line, an arrow sped across the clearing. It hurtled toward the dais where the Oyn-Dir stood firm in his yellow. But the man simply crossed his thumbs, fingers splayed, and the air rippled before him. The arrow slowed, finally coming to a halt in the air. The Oyn-Dir sweated as he stood, flanked by the men in white and a handful of green and autumn-clad Oynbae. Was one of them Gelehn?
Whatever other magic the Oyn-Dir worked, Notch couldn’t see, but he hoped it was doing something more than protecting the dais.
Despite the Oyn-Dir’s power, his people were outnumbered. Amber pulses filled the clearing, glowing in the haze. Cries followed.
“Can you help them?” Notch asked.
Sofia coughed and shook her head. “I don’t know how.”
“Anything?”
“What if it brings them down on us?”
“Then we fight.”
“You mean we die.”
He gripped her shoulders. “Would you rather run? Leave these people to their deaths?”
“No.”
“Then we have to act.”
Sofia nodded but made no move at first. Notch gave her room, putting his back against a charred trunk, keeping an eye on the clearing and the forest around them. The autumn grove shimmered like a summer heatwave. Even as the watery flames moved slowly; the air was thin. His neck was slick with sweat and his tunic damp.
“I know what to do,” Sofia said, whirling to face him.
“Is it safe?”
“Just protect my body.”
“I will.”
She drew a shuddering breath and went still. The same spirit-Sofia appeared, translucent and tinted orange. It flowed over the ground, heading for the fighting and Notch straightened. At first, the invaders saw nothing.
But when the first one she touched burst into flames, they saw her.
A ripple of fear spread as she wove through the ranks, touching Sap-Born and hammers at random. Each burst into flame, greasy smoke rising. Shouts of confusion rose. Anyone able to lash out at her was rewarded with naught but the passage of a weapon through air.
She glided through their bodies and blades alike, bringing death wherever she passed, until dozens and dozens of fires burned. Sofia’s body trembled before him as her spirit continued its grim work.
The ranks of attackers were buckling, as people pushed and shoved in an effort to escape her, trampling each other. The front line stumbled, leaving them open to strikes from the Oynbae. Upon seeing Sofia, the Oyn-Dir rallied his people, pushing back.
Notch’s sword arm twitched. If he went out there he’d be overwhelmed. And Sofia’s body was vulnerable. His heart thumped regardless. Battle. No other thrill was the same, even if he was always left feeling empty afterward.
Sofia cried out.
He took her by the shoulders. “What is it?”
She said nothing and in the clearing, her spirit kept burning. Her body was hot to touch and a shudder ran through her limbs.
“Can you hear me?”
A groan.
In the clearing, more screams. He shook her. Up close, her eyes were blazing behind Argeon. “Sofia?”
Her legs buckled and he caught her, fumbling his blade, but she resisted him, shoving at his hands and tearing at her robes. Argeon’s glow grew and something creaked from above. Heat buffeted him and he spun, Sofia in his arms.
Burning trees were straining toward him. A sharp splitting followed and he fell back from the branches as blackened leaves spiralled down. His chest tightened. The slow flames were sucking up the air. He retreated further, just as a massive tree crashed to the forest floor. Flames glittered through the air like droplets, slow moving, everywhere. He ran through a shower of fire, spots burning his head and neck as he shielded Sofia.
One flame quivered on Sofia’s robe and he set her down, sheathing his blade to swat it out. She’d stopped resisting him, her body growing heavier. He stumbled on, twisting through flame, smoke and the falling tree branches – none of which fell slowly.
The heat punished him.
Notch slowed, coughing. He ducked down to avoid the smoke but couldn’t stop. Branches and tree trunks still leaned for them, as if drawn by some force – by Argeon! Where was Sofia’s spirit?
Ahead, a tree boomed to the ground and he jumped back. Another smashed down to his left and he flinched, protecting Sofia from the spray of dirt and flame. Yet another crack and he was knocked down, Sofia spilling from his arms. A branch had pinned his leg. Heat seared his skin and he cried out, reaching for her. The world wavered but his fingers found Argeon.
He tore the mask free and lay back gasping.
The heat receded and smoke cleared enough that he saw the trees straighten. They burned yet, but no longer bent toward them. Pain in his leg eased.
Sofia jerked awake beside him, coughing and spluttering. He croaked her name and she crawled closer.
“We have to get out of here,” she gasped.
“I’m pinned.”
She scrambled to his leg. “It’s too large.”
Gods, what could he do? “Take my sword and cut it. Or try levering it.”
Her eyes were wide. “Won’t it break the blade?”
Idiot. Of course it would. “Cut it. We have to try something.”
She drew his blade, face full of doubt. “Ready?”
He nodded, cursing as the slow flame spread up his thigh. Sofia placed the sword against the branch then drew it behind her head, swinging it into the wood. The blade bit deep enough to snag. She put her foot against the smouldering branch and heaved.
Stuck.
Leaves rustled. Notch craned his neck from where he lay. A Sap-Born stood before them. His veins already glowed amber and he sneered, flexing his hands. Sofia tugged at the blade as he stalked forward, giving Notch wide berth. Notch clawed at the earth, cursing the man.
The Sap-Born didn’t even glance at him.
Sofia jerked at the blade, face twisted.
“Use Argeon,” he cried.
She kept pulling on the sword. Had she even heard him? Her eyes were locked on the amber-man, who was but steps away. Notch heaved at his own leg.
Something pale flashed over Sofia’s shoulder. It struck the invader in the face, a puff of powder rising. A Butterfly-Eater followed the flash, streaking forward to knock the disoriented man down. She knelt, drew a blade and drove it into his chest, all in a fluid motion.
Nia.
Chapter 29
Notch fell back, closing his eyes to the pain. Rescue.
“Let’s get that off you.” Nia bent to the log, cupped her hands and blew. White powder doused the flames on the branch. She took a pair of gloves from her belt and pulled them on, and with Sofia’s help, hauled the branch off.
Notch gave a cry as patches of skin and cloth tore from his leg. Nia bent at his head, Sofia on the other side. Up close, the worry in Nia’s eyes was clear. “We have to leave the Grove.”
“What about your father?”
The two helped him up. He winced as he tried his leg. It wasn’t broken, he hoped, but putting weight on it hurt enough. He wasn’t running anywhere.
Nia wrenched his sword free and handed it to him. One of the edges would be dull now and his pack and whetstone were in his hut. Likely burnt to the ground. “He has already fled,” she said.
“After Sofia attacked?”
“No. When the Sap-Born first infiltrated the Grove.”
Notch frowned. Sofia’s face was a mirror. “But we saw him on the dais, working magic.”
“You saw his Echo. Now come.” Nia put an arm around him and took his weight, pulling him back onto the trail. What did she mean? An echo of what? He’d been there, he’d been real. He stopped the arrow. Notch cursed when his leg clipped a stone. Time enough to figure it out later. Smoke clung to the trees and flames burned on but Nia detoured both the raging fire and skirmishes. People still fought, but in fewer numbers. In the distance, hunters were driving back a small group of intruders.
By the time they reached a region free of smoke, Notch called for a halt. “I need water.”
“Good idea,” Sofia said. She kept casting worried glances at him, so he gave her a smile.
“I’m fine.”
“This way.” Nia changed course, moving down a slope and following the base of a spur to a tiny stream, one that barely filled a narrow rut between tree trunks. Notch lowered himself with a grimace, and no small help from Nia, to drink. The cool water soothed his throat and he sighed.
He splashed water onto his face, wiping away ash and grime.
“Thank you.”
Nia helped him up and he leaned against a tree. His leg throbbed and the air stung the raw skin. The edges of the burn were a mangled mess of skin, hair and cloth. He clenched his jaw.
“Does it hurt much?” Sofia asked.
“Enough.”
“Here.” Nia pulled off her gloves. She crouched before his leg, cupping her hands. “May I?”
He grinned. “I don’t remember you asking before.”
She laughed. “This time you’ll stay awake.” She blew, gently, and a cloud of powder covered his leg. It tingled but the pain receded. Even a deeper ache eased.
“How do you do that?” he asked. Sofia stepped closer.
“Butterfly-Eater secrets,” Nia said. She pointed to the trees beyond the spur. “I’ll scout ahead. Keep that sword handy.”
She slipped into the forest, feet making little sound on the loam. Notch drew his sword and paced the area around the stream, testing his leg. It wasn’t strong, but the pain was gone. “This is wondrous.”
Sofia raised a hand to her mouth.
He glanced at her. “What?”
“Nia. You’re impressed with her, aren’t you?”
“I suppose so.” What was Sofia talking about? It didn’t matter. Her face was drawn, despite her cheer. How much had using Argeon taken out of her? “How do you feel? I haven’t asked.”
“Oh.” She shrugged. “Better now that I’ve had water.”
“It’s hard, isn’t it? Afterwards.”
“Using Argeon?”
“Killing.”
Sofia looked away.
He sighed. “I’ve forgotten most of their faces, but some remain.”
“Who?”
“The men and women I’ve killed.”
“Women?”
“Medah women sometimes fought in the war.”
“Oh.”
“There was another time, a woman. She was a pirate from somewhere beyond Renovar.” He shook his head. “But I’m glad it’s always difficult. That’s how it should be.”
She looked into the trees. “Whenever I touched someone, I felt the fire charge through me and then into them, shrivelling even their spirits.” She shivered. “I can remember exactly how burning flesh smells and I tell myself it was Argeon, but I know it was me. I showed him what to do. I burned them.”
“Without Argeon you couldn’t have done it.”
“But I found a way. I knew I couldn’t touch them so I showed Argeon a picture of what I wanted. Fire.” She shrugged. “It was all around, why not? I don’t know if I even expected it to work.”
Smoke continued to rise behind them. “And he took it from the trees? From the strange fire?”
“I think so. But I couldn’t make him stop. He kept drawing it in. I couldn’t get rid of it quick enough.”
It explained the trees, why they were drawn to her mask. “It overcame you.”
She nodded.
Nia reappeared and waved them forward. “The way to the edge is clear. We have to hurry.”
“What about your people?” Notch asked.
“We will survive. Father had already begun moving the Autumn Grove.”
The answer didn’t make sense but Notch saved his breath for keeping up. Nia set a swift pace, weaving through the trunks, head swivelling often. She paused at another pair of statues, the same pair he’d seen on the way in to the Grove. One headless.
“Where are we going?” Sofia asked.
“Deep into Wiraced. Where Efran and his killers have befouled the sap groves.” She made to spit, but stopped. “My apologies, Lady Sofia. Now is the best time to rescue your father. With so many Sap-Born out of the groves, their defences will be lighter.”
“But what about your own father?” she asked.
“You mentioned an echo?” Notch said.
Nia glanced at their backtrail. “Quickly then. Did you notice that the flames burned slowly?”
“Of course.”
“The Autumn Grove is an old, old part of the forest. So old that some say it is the whole forest, that its seeds are everywhere if an Oyn-Dir wishes it so. If only he can remember a time that it were so.”
“I don’t follow,” Sofia said.
“You have powerful magic.”
“I suppose.”
“Well so does my father. His magic is a magic which remembers. And the better that memory, the easier it is for him to make it real. There have been dozens of Autumn Groves over the centuries. Father has already long been preparing the next one. Most of our people are there already, those of us who stayed back, who stayed here, were as much a rear guard as custodians.”
Notch shook his head.
“What?”
“You knew the Sap-Born were close? That’s too great a risk for you and your father, isn’t it?”
“They have been close for a long time. We couldn’t know exactly when they would find us.”
“And the moment you did, your father started the fire?” Sofia asked.
“No. That was the Sap-Born. But Father slowed it with his magic and began moving the Grove. Next he escaped, taking many of our people. Only volunteers were left behind, to bolster the Echoes.”
Notch frowned. “Wait, then were people really dying back there?”
“Of course,” Nia snapped. “I told you, volunteers stayed behind to prevent the Sap-Born following.”
“But what are echoes?” Sofia asked.
“And how did your father stop the arrow I saw?” Notch added.
“His remembering stopped the arrow. There must have been a tree in its path, at one time in the past. As it began to return, it stopped the arrow.”
Notch raised an eyebrow. Impressive magic indeed. “And the Echoes?”
“Perhaps not unlike what Lady Sofia did with her mask. A piece of my father, and some of our warriors, stayed behind when we fled. He is able to remember himself and others. An echo of places they’ve been, actions they’ve performed. Sometimes, echoes of any actions taken in the forest.”
“So he can raise the dead?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No. It’s not that. He can only remember them, and only within the Grove. And further, memories can only do so much.” Her voice trailed off before she straightened. “Come, we have to keep moving.”
Notch exchanged a glance with Sofia as he fell into line behind Nia. The Oyn-Dir was powerful indeed. A powerful ally or a powerful enemy. He hoped Seto did send someone, even if it was probably too late now. The gesture would be important.
At the edge of the Autumn Grove, Nia raised a hand. “There’s someone out there.”
“Sap-Born?” Sofia asked.
“I don’t think so; they value speed. This one is trying to be quiet.”
Notch held his breath. The green of the Bloodwood beyond the border was silent, sky darkening. “I can’t hear anything.”
“I’ve got better hearing than you.”
Sofia shrugged. “So let them go and we’ll move on.”
“I want to be sure, Lady Sofia.” Nia slipped into the trees again and Notch took a step after her before giving up. He wouldn’t catch her and she’d only get angry with him for trying.
Sounds of a struggle followed, the snap of twigs and then a grunt as a man in forest greens stumbled into the clearing. A sword was belted at his waist and a thin pack slung over his shoulder. He had a weary expression, but determination burned in his gaze.
And he was Anaskari.
Sofia gave a cry, flinging herself forward. “Emilio!”
His eyes widened and he gave a weak smile as he caught her hands. “Sofia. It is wonderful to see you alive.” He turned his smile to Notch. “And you, Captain.”
Notch moved forward and gripped Emilio’s hand, placing him finally. The young Captain who’d been imprisoned by Oson. “Captain no longer, lad.”
Emilio glanced around, eyes taking in the statues and the autumn colours. “Can we speak here? Your friend didn’t seem happy to see me.”
“You’re lucky to be alive,” Nia said. “I thought you were someone else.”
“I agree. There are strange warriors in these woods and unfriendly eyes everywhere.”
Nia chuckled.
Emilio’s brow furrowed but he continued. “I’m glad to have found you both. Now we can begin the journey home.”
Sofia opened her mouth to answer but Notch shook his head. “We can’t do that.”
“But King Oseto sent us to –”
“Emilio, we can’t. I have to find my father and Nia is going to help us,” Sofia said.
“I understand. But I swore an oath, My Lady.”
Notch tried to keep his voice gentle. “You can’t stop us, Captain, and I doubt you truly want to.”
Sofia nodded when Emilio hesitated, conflicting emotions running across his face. “And you’re exhausted yourself. You need our help.”
“I am feeling the strain. We’ve been tracking you for weeks,” he said, casting around for a place to sit. They found a log.
“You mention ‘we’ as if there were others,” Nia said.
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