Illengond Read online

  And Tienna. His heart raced yet again with the memory of her lips on his.

  About forty minutes of riding brought the company out the other end of the cut. They emerged from between the steep ledges onto an open hillside with a wide view of the north. Ahead of them Thimeon saw the mountain range that ran northwestward along the eastern edge first of the Ceadani highlands and then the Andani highlands. Down the backside lay the Northlands, the land known to its people as Anghatte. Far to the northwest, the towering spire of Mount Illengond rose against the blue sky.

  “It is there that we go,” Thimeon said to the two young women beside him.

  “What is that mountain?” asked Corandra.

  “It is called Illengond in the trade tongue,” Thimeon replied. “But it has many other names as well. There, it is said, the All-Maker comes and lets his presence dwell.”

  “I can believe it,” Jhonna said in awe.

  “Have you never seen it before?”

  Corandra thought for a moment. “It is said that on a clear day it can be seen from the highest walls of Citadel, looking due north. But clear days are rare in Citadel these days, such is the smoke from the new mills. And I have been upon the walls only a few times in my life. The fires atop the mountains of Entain to the south are more readily visible, though they are farther away.”

  “Then look upon Illengond now,” Thimeon replied. “There lies our hope. Here the battle against the Daegmon seems hopeless, a futile struggle against a foe greater than us all. But for the All-Maker, the battle is no battle at all. His power is beyond what we can imagine.”

  “Then why does he sit and do nothing?” Jhonna asked. A hint of bitterness leaked through in her voice. “Why does he sit in the mountain silent, and not come and defeat this enemy? Does he care for the peoples of Gondisle?”

  Thimeon did not know how to answer. He could guess without looking at her that Jhonna was thinking of her parents, perhaps slaves in Entain. Or even dead. He hesitated to say anything to trivialize that. Finally, he gave a soft answer. “Maybe he wants us to choose whether we serve Illengond or Entain. Even our friend Lyn, if given time, may come to appreciate the All-Maker’s patience. In any case, the All-Maker has not been silent. The gifts are not called ‘gifts’ for nothing.”

  “You think, then, that he really is present here in the realm of Gondisle?” Corandra asked. “That Illengond really is a holy mountain, and that he sits at the top looking out at us?”

  Thimeon stared for several seconds at the distant triune spire. He was wondering how to answer when he heard a commotion behind them. He spun in his saddle to see three of Terrid’s soldiers riding forward with a forth figure bound and gagged between them.

  Thimeon recognized the prisoner at once. At the sight of Lyn, Thimeon sighed. He had not wished to see him again. Yet it hadn’t taken long for trouble to reappear. He reigned his horse off the trail to wait. A few seconds later, the prince returned and came to rest beside him.

  “We caught him spying on us,” one of Terrid’s men said, as they rode up to the prince. “I think this is the one who sought to betray you both in Citadel and in Kreana.”

  “He is the same,” Dhan replied. “Kill him.”

  One of the soldiers drew his sword and prepared to obey. Lyn’s face went white and he shook his head frantically.

  “Wait,” Thimeon interjected. “Ungag him. At the least, he deserves to be rewarded for helping Terrid find us.”

  The soldier shook his head. “If he’s the one who left those signs on the road, he wasn’t doing it to help you. He was trying to betray you. He just didn’t know we were coming to help you.”

  “Probably true,” Thimeon replied. He turned and looked straight at Jhonna. “But maybe somebody else knew. Maybe somebody had a plan for all this.”

  “I don’t know who else could have a plan for this,” Dhan interjected, “but it doesn’t excuse the traitor.”

  “I understand,” Thimeon said quietly. “Nonetheless, I will hear what he has to say and why he was following us.”

  “You’ll hear more lies,” the prince argued, but he signaled for the soldiers to obey Thimeon.

  “They’re coming,” Lyn said, as soon as the cloth was out of his mouth. “A large company of soldiers—at least a hundred. El-Phern is leading them. I saw his banner several miles back down the road. They were heading straight toward the ravine, riding hard. If you stay here, they’ll be upon you in an hour.”

  “Lies,” the prince said.

  Thimeon turned to Lyn. The prince was probably right, he thought. But there something in Lyn’s face. Fear or desperation, but not evil. Was it possible he was telling the truth? “Why should we trust you? Why have you decided to help us now, when you have betrayed so often before?”

  Lyn had no answer. He opened his mouth, but whatever he intended died on his tongue.

  Thimeon studied him a moment, and then turned to the prince. “I believe him.”

  Dhan shook his head. “And I say it’s a ruse.”

  Thimeon voiced his thoughts aloud. “To what end? What would such a lie gain him? Or how would it hurt us?”

  Dhan thought for a moment before an idea struck him. “Perhaps his plan was to spur us to flee heedlessly north, thinking the enemy was behind us, only to run headlong into another trap.”

  “No!” Lyn objected.

  Thimeon ignored Lyn, and continued speaking to the prince. “News of an enemy behind us would not change our direction. We were heading north anyway.”

  “Perhaps, but not so carelessly. That’s only one thought. The other is that he was coming to collect a reward from Terrid.”

  “He wasn’t coming at all,” interrupted the guard. “We caught him sneaking away.”

  Thimeon turned his gaze on Lyn, once again wavering about whether to believe him. “Were you coming to warn us, or not?”

  “It’s true,” Lyn admitted. “I was trying to escape when they caught me. I had come to warn you, but when I saw the soldiers I thought it was too late and I turned around.”

  “His story makes sense,” Thimeon replied. “If he was coming to collect a reward, then he wouldn’t have fled when he saw the soldiers.”

  “I still don’t trust him,” Dhan said. “He is a coward and a thief, and from the start he has done nothing but betray those who have trusted him.”

  “That,” Thimeon agreed, “is largely true.” He turned to Lyn. “What do you say?”

  Lyn looked down at his hands that were tied to his saddle in front of him. “You said you wanted to give me another chance.”

  A long silence followed as Thimeon wrestled with the burden placed on him to decide.

  “Come,” Terrid said. “Let us waste no more time. Though I do not trust this one, there seems to be less risk in heeding his advice than ignoring it. Let me return with my company to the same place we waited in ambush for you. If we are being followed, I will do what I can to waylay our pursuers.”

  Thimeon pondered this. He was not at all sure believing Lyn held less risk. He turned to Terrid. “He says there are more than a hundred in the company pursuing us. And you are only twenty-five. The odds do not favor you, even in an ambush.”

  “Does your little traitor know for sure who leads this mythical company?” Terrid asked. “Is it really El-Phern?”

  “It is El-Phern,” Lyn said in a sulking voice. “I have had dealings with him before, when I was riding with Golach. I know his yellow banner, and I saw it there.”

  Terrid frowned. “If the traitor is right, then I share Thimeon’s fear. El-Phern will be a tough one. I’m not his match for strategy. If he had twenty-five and I had a hundred, I might still be afraid.”

  “Then stay with us,” Dhan said. “If we are attacked we will fight together. You’ve already been left behind once.”

  “No,” Terrid replied. “I still
think Lyn is lying. If so, we’ll catch up with you by morning. But if he speaks the truth, we must lead El-Phern’s company elsewhere. You have said yourself that the real battle is against the Daegmons.”

  Dhan turned to Thimeon. “What do you say? Do we trust Lyn and leave Terrid behind, risking both a delay and a diminishing of our numbers?”

  Thimeon was about to answer no when he remembered words his father had once spoken. It is better to risk trusting one who may be lying than to claim one is lying who speaks the truth. But what did his father mean by “better”?

  “Go back,” Thimeon said to Terrid. “Wait in ambush at least through the morning tomorrow. We will continue on.”

  Terrid nodded, but then he turned to the prince as though for confirmation.

  “Do what Thimeon says,” Dhan said with a sigh. “Little though I trust Lyn, it seems most prudent. If El-Phern pursues us, do what you can to disrupt him. Delay them at least, or make them fear to travel too fast, or lead them astray. I trust your judgment. But don’t enter into open battle if you can avoid it. You will be outnumbered four to one.”

  Terrid looked at the sky. Less than an hour remained until dusk. “We’ll have surprise on our side, and we’ll fight only as long as we need to. We’ll try to lead them back to the south through the hills. Would that I were home in the Westwash. I’d lead him into one of the wetlands and he’d disappear. I wish I knew these mountains as well.”

  “Trust the highlanders in your company,” Thimeon said quietly. “Any of the Ceadani or Andani will know how to move through these hills.”

  Terrid nodded. “It will be dark and we will choose our place of ambush to allow a retreat. And if they follow you instead of us, we’ll come right back on their heels and harry them as best we can.”

  “So be it,” Dhan agreed. “But you are right about El-Phern. Don’t underestimate him. Of any officer save Golach—and those with me here now—he is the one I would least like chasing me.”

  Terrid smiled. “Then I’ll do my best to see that he isn’t chasing you.”

  Two minutes later, Terrid and his company road hard southward back down the road. Thimeon watched them out of sight. Once again his own band was diminished. He tried to keep his hopes from shrinking also. They had gained at least one thing from their brief time with Terrid. Thimeon’s company now had several more weapons to supplement those they had escaped Citadel with and picked up from the household of Corandra and Jhonna in Citadel and from Jhaban’s family in Kreana. Nearly everybody in his company now had both a bow and a sword, and they had a few spears as well and a good collection of arrows. He only hoped they would not have to use them against other men. But as Thimeon turned and followed the prince, his premonitions told him they would make use of these weapons against both men and Daegmons.

  16

  STORM ROCKED

  The burning of her sense told Elynna a Daegmon was upon them. She could feel the sharp ache of its malice so deeply that all other senses went numb. When its loud shriek cut through the howling wind, the sound seemed magnified by the intensity of its hate-filled thoughts directed at her soul. The shriek tore at her hair and ears. She wanted to cast herself into the icy water.

  She fought the pain and panic. She heard Braga behind her, yelling over the force of the wind. “Push off. The Daegmon-beast comes.”

  Elynna turned and looked. Braga stood with Bandor knee deep in the icy waves holding the boat. Theo, Amark, Kreeg and Arreg had just charged down from the woods and leapt into the boat. All of the companions were there now but two. Tienna and Namha. She could not abandon them.

  “No,” she yellowed at Braga. “We must wait for Tienna and Namha.”

  “We can’t.”

  “We must,” Elynna yelled back. Without waiting for an answer, and without even knowing what she was doing, she charged up the shoreline away from the water and her one hope of escape.

  She heard Bandor yelling at her as she ran, but whatever he said the words were lost. The wind was growing louder and wilder by the moment. Sparks whirled from their fire and flew through the air to sizzle out in the snow several yards away. Elynna stopped at the edge of the trees and strained her eyes looking into the dark night for some sign of her friends—or of the approaching soldiers. The sinking pale moon cast just enough light to make shadows in the trees. She could sense a Daegmon circling above her and she knew it was readying for the attack. But there was a taste of frustration in its thoughts as well, intensifying its hatred. Was it angry at the wind? Some distance away Elynna caught the fainter sense of two of its kin, also approaching for the kill. She was aware as well of her own terror, but also strangely cognizant that her terror was not paralyzing her. Not yet.

  She looked back through the trees toward the lake. A shadow on the water marked the boat, fighting with the wind, but still waiting. She turned again up the hill. She realized now that she could not risk all of her companions’ lives to wait for her friend. Or for Namha, even if he was the last of the Amanti. She could not risk their very reason for being—the hope of defeating the Daegmons. If Tienna and Nahma did not return soon, she would have to abandon them to fend for themselves.

  Just as she thought that, three shadows appeared in the trees less than a hundred yards away. “Tienna,” Elynna shouted, with joy.

  Her shout caused the figures to stop. She saw the flash of a sword, and in a flicker of moonlight the bright blue of a Citadel uniform against the backdrop of snow. And she realized her mistake. Now a different type of fear gripped her—a fear more rational than the terror the Daegmons caused, but every bit as real.

  The soldiers turned toward Elynna and stopped. Two of them raised their swords in self-defense. Though she could not see their eyes, she saw their faces turn one way and then the other, as though making sure they hadn’t run into an ambush. But there was no ambush. Elynna was alone. The soldiers must have realized that, for the two with swords started forward again. The third raised his bow and put an arrow on the string.

  Elynna backed up a step and reached for her knife, only to realize she was unarmed. She had already thrown her weapons in the boat. The two soldiers with swords kept coming. They were twenty yards away. The third had rested his thumb beneath his chin, and was taking his time sighting the arrow. Caught between the threat of blade and arrow, Elynna stood paralyzed.

  Another shadow—a bigger one—separated itself from the trees and flew at the archer. He released his arrow just as the shadow collided with him. The wind was howling too loud for Elynna to hear the string. She heard only a scream. The arrow flew several yards high and wide as the massive shape beheaded the archer with a single swipe of a giant paw. The dark shape did not slow down. As two soldiers rushed toward Elynna with swords raised, the one in the back fell to the snow, crushed beneath several hundred pounds of tiger.

  But the third was upon her, seemingly unaware of the fate of his companions. Elynna stumbled backward, only to see the soldier fall face down at her feet, felled by some invisible blow two strides before the tiger was on him.

  Elynna heard another scream and realized it was her own. She looked up and saw Namha and Tienna emerge from the trees. Elynna stood trembling, realizing how close she had come to her own death. She could only watch as Namha approached the man laying unmoving at her feet. He reached down and retrieved a knife from his back.

  Tienna rushed to Elynna’s side. “They’re on three sides now,” she shouted over the wind. “There is no escape through the woods. Where are the others?”

  Elynna, her heart still pounding, pointed toward the shore where the boat waited fifty yards away. “There!” she shouted back. Tienna nodded. She said something to the Amanti in his tongue, then grabbed Elynna and started running toward the waiting boat.

  Elynna lowered her head into the fierce wind and ran toward the boat, just a step behind Tienna. Namha, she thought, was behind her. But she did not turn to look.
She had taken only a few strides when four more soldiers burst from the trees to her left. They charged across the rocky shoreline, angling on a path toward the boat. Elynna tried to run faster, but the rocks were icy and uneven and the wind blew full on in her face. The soldiers were going to beat her.

  Elynna looked over her shoulder for Namha. At the instant her brain recognized that he had veered off to the left to meet the soldiers, her right foot caught the edge of an ice covered rock. She tumbled forward. Flailing her arms, she tried to regain her balance. She failed and went headlong into the rocks. A sharp jolt of pain jarred her hands and knees. She ignored it as she tried to stumble back to her feet. Tienna was beside her in an instant, helping to pick her up. She looked at the boat and then at the soldiers. The soldiers were just twenty yards away.

  Without breaking stride, Namha threw his weapon. A soldier crashed down, an Amanti knife in his neck. With impossible swiftness, Namha pulled out another knife. A second soldier fell. A shadow burst past Elynna and a third soldier tried to stop and dodge. He fell as a giant paw broke his neck.

  But the fourth soldier darted out in front of Tienna and spun to meet her with his sword raised. Elynna shouted and tried to veer to the side. The young Plains huntress made no effort to evade the attacker. She took one more step forward. As he committed his weight to a slashing blow with his sword, she leapt. High into the air, she went, pulling her feet to her chest in a neat summersault as she flew over his head and avoided the slash of his blade. As she sailed over him upside down, the knife in her hand opened a huge gash above his left ear. The soldier yelled in pain and almost dropped his weapon. Too late he spun around, wondering as he did whether he was beset by human or beast. A quick flip of Tienna’s rope caught him neatly around the ankles and he went over backward. Then the tiger was on him.