The Betrayed Page 21

  The cave fell silent again, save for the uneasy breathing and occasional coughs of her companions. Perhaps some slept. Elynna did not know. But she knew she could not sleep. She walked back toward the entrance of the cave, sat, and stared out through the hole of blackness where no rock reflected the torchlight and let her thoughts drift into a jumble of fears.

  Shortly past midnight, the company arose and left the cave. Tienna and Theo, who were both sure of foot and boasted good vision in the night, led the way. Elynna followed close behind, with the rest of the company trailing after. A thin veil of clouds covered the sky. No stars could be seen through the light haze, but the moon, in the middle of its nightly circuit, gave off a faint glow. It was in its pale phase, Elynna knew, but she could not have told from looking.

  In the near blackness they felt their way first down the steep rocky slope toward the river and then once more turned northward and began the slow climb up through the pass into the Undeani highlands. Elynna heard more than one companion stumble and curse, and she tripped a few times herself, but they risked no torches. Her only comfort was knowing that their pursuers would not be able to move much faster—not at night without torches, and no torches could be seen back down the pass. She was also glad for the slower pace. Even so, before long the lack of sleep and the long labors of the previous day caught up with her, and her legs began to ache.

  After two hours of slow and tedious travel, they paused to rest. From the darker blackness on both sides, Elynna could tell they had entered a deeper and steeper part of the pass. The moon had passed west of the walls and disappeared, leaving it even blacker. “How long until first light?” she asked.

  “If the clouds don’t lift,” Tienna replied, “it will be three more hours. If the sky clears, then sooner.”

  “For all our urgency to get as far from Golach as possible,” Theo said, “there is no reason to exhaust ourselves and risk injury traveling at night when we can make so little speed.”

  “Elynna?” Cane asked. “What do you think?”

  Elynna stared into the darkness, trying to make out the trail ahead. She could not see a rock three feet away from her. She turned and looked behind her. Her companions were nearly invisible in the dark. She might have seen Keet leaning against Marti several steps back. But it might have been a tree. Or a bush.

  Finally she looked at the sky. She could see nothing but the darkest shade of gray. No sense or sight of the Daegmon. “I think Theo is right,” she finally said. “We will need to rest eventually. We should rest now, while travel is slow, and move when there is light.”

  Cane and Tienna agreed. They would take a rest for two hours. They passed the word down the line and set up sentries. Several of them collapsed and fell asleep almost at once. Elynna sat and leaned against a rock. Her legs were tired, but she did not think she could sleep.

  The next thing she knew, Tienna was shaking her. It took her a minute to fully wake and shake the grogginess from her mind. She looked around. Just a hint of light showed in the sky now. The clouds had thinned. A few bright stars poked through. She could make out the dim forms of her companions rising to their feet. She stood and put on her pack. Then, with a few words passed down the line, they started off again.

  They traveled two hours without rest. The sky slowly lightened from dark gray toward twilight. Sometime close to dawn Elynna sensed the Daegmon passing over her on its return route north. The burning came and went quickly, and with it a vague knowledge that the Daegmon was heading somewhere else—a mountain. She shuddered but kept her thoughts to herself. There was no reason to alarm the others. She would tell them when they next halted.

  When the light had grown enough to see more than a few yards to either side, they stopped for a short rest and some food. As they rested, Aram suggested they establish both a rear guard and an advance scout, taking shifts in pairs, two ahead and two behind. “Whoever goes ahead will have to lead the way,” Cane replied. He looked at Elynna.

  As soon as Elynna realized what Cane wanted, she became defensive. “I am not a scout. I have no skill at finding a trail or recognizing signs of an enemy.”

  “But you know where we are going,” Cane said. “You are the only one who can lead us to the Daegmon.”

  Elynna looked around her. “It is in Undeani land. Somewhere there,” she said, pointing up the ravine. “Beyond that, I don’t know. And there is no other way to go until we reach the end of this interminable pass.”

  Relief rushed over her when Tienna came to her defense. “Elynna is right. I will take the first shift. With Theo. Give us a quarter of an hour to get ahead, and then follow.”

  The remaining companions huddled together and waited. Cane appointed Hruach and Hrevia to take the first shift as rear guard. When it seemed that the right amount of time had passed, they continued on. The pass had again become almost a canyon. The walls were nearly vertical and the bottom had narrowed to a quarter mile across at the widest. It was even tighter in places. They climbed steadily all morning, noting only that the terrain was too steep and difficult for horses. That, at least, would put Golach on even terms with them.

  Still upward they climbed. Despite the chilly mountain air blowing down the gap upon her face, Elynna began to sweat. Although now and then their trail brought them nearer to the river, as best as they were able, they kept close to the south wall. Elynna knew from what she had seen of the maps at Citadel that this line of peaks ran east and west, separating the Plains from the Undeani highlands. Westward the range grew higher and more precipitous until it reached the sea, where it fell away sharply. Tienna had promised they would be through the notch before the day was over.

  No sun was visible beneath the gray cloud blanket to tell them when midday had come, but after several hours of climbing, Elynna and the others found Tienna and Theo waiting for them. They halted briefly for a rest and quick meal. They all drank deeply from the cold river water. Elynna was too tired to do more than eat a few bites of bread. As they marched on, a light snow began to fall. It continued off and on for the next hour until a dusting had covered the ground—enough to coat the rocks and make them slippery. Their legs were already tired by then, and several of them took knee-bruising tumbles in the early afternoon. Somehow Elynna was spared.

  Sometime later, the company crested a small rise, and Elynna found herself looking out at a broad expanse of hills, mountains, and long valleys. She enjoyed the view for several moments because she knew what it meant. They had made it through the pass—the Undeani Notch—and into the southern reaches of Undeani highlands. Noaem and Noab, who had taken a shift scouting ahead, were waiting, unsure which way to go. The rest of the company stopped with them, absorbing the view as they rested from the strenuous climb and waited for the rear guards, Nahoon and Anchara, to catch up. When all were together again, they turned one by one and looked at Elynna.

  Once more the burden of setting their course fell on Elynna, and she did not like it. She turned away for a moment. Far to the northeast the lower slopes of Illengond ascended into clouds that hid its higher peaks. It was the first time in many days she had seen any portion of the mountain that so many in Gondisle had once considered holy. That some still considered holy. She stared at it for a while, then turned and looked at the surrounding lands. “We should be able to escape any pursuit in these hills no matter which way we go,” she said to nobody in particular.

  “You think only of our human pursuers,” Cathros said quietly. But Elynna did not need to be told. The moment the words had left her mouth, she realized she was wrong.

  “But we can lose ourselves in these hills,” Tienna added a moment later. “Since my youth I have been warned that the Undeani highlands are deceptive and treacherous. It is a narrow land full of hidden valleys and dead ends.”

  “So I have heard too,” commented Bandor, who had become a spokesman for the Andani and Ceadani in Thimeon’s absence. “Let us he
ad eastward, back to Andani land. There I know my way better, and also we should have the help of our kin. Or at least if we must wander in these mountains, let’s keep Illengond in sight.” Theo and Alrew nodded in agreement.

  “Have none of you traveled in these lands?” Lluach queried.

  More silence followed. Since Lluach had replaced Siyen to represent the Southland, the Undeani were the only major people of Gondisle not represented in the company. There were three Westwashers, three Andani, three Ceadani, several Northlanders, and members of all four of the largest Plains tribes. Yet none of them had ever traveled among the Undeani.

  “Thimeon has,” Bandor finally answered, a little sullenly. “He told me once of his trip to these western mountains. He even speaks the Undeani tongue—a little bit, at least.”

  Elynna bit her lip. Was Bandor reprimanding her for letting Thimeon go?

  “The people here are none too hospitable, I’ve heard,” Beth said. “But maybe that’s just Plainsfolk talk.” Elynna and her companions continued to look around them. The land certainly appeared inhospitable. “Whatever we do, let’s not stand here any longer,” Beth added. “At least make Golach work to find us.”

  “Let us go to where the Daegmons are,” Cane finally said. “That is what we came for, isn’t it? Does it change anything whether Golach is pursuing us again? Any way we turn except back south, we will be fleeing Golach. We might as well pursue our own enemy as well. We will take what adventure we meet.”

  Several others nodded, and again they turned toward Elynna—the only one with the gift to lead them toward that enemy. And what if I lead you astray? If I fail to find it? Or if we do find it, and we all perish?

  She took one last look at Illengond, praying that she might draw the same strength as Thimeon had from its presence. Then she closed her eyes and listened for the scent of her enemy. As her mind quieted, her extra sense became more acute, seeking any faint perception of the Daegmon—at the same time she braced herself against the painful jolt of its heat. But there was nothing. She probed outward with her thoughts. Still no awareness of the enemy. She was about to give up, when a hand came down on her arm.

  Distracted, she opened her eyes. It was Cane. He held the stone in his left hand and had put his right hand on her. Her body tingled as power surged from the stone about his neck through him and into her. Or was it the excitement of his touch? She closed her eyes again.

  Power surged through her, and she probed again. This time she felt it. A distant presence of the hostile mind, somewhere in the mountains to the west. She relaxed and opened her eyes. She had done it. She had felt it further away than ever before. And with less pain. Could her gift always be enhanced like this? A new hope grew within her. “Westward,” she said.

  “Deeper into Undeani land?” asked Bandor. His raised eyebrows suggested he was not excited by the idea. Elynna only nodded.

  “Then let us go,” Cane said. “The longer we remain in one place, the more vulnerable we are.”

  The others girded themselves to continue. They abandoned the forward scouts, since Elynna would have to guide them, but arranged the rear guard once more and set off. They followed the river northward another mile around the edge of a hill where there opened up for them a way west. Here, at Bandor’s suggestion, in order to confuse any pursuit, they made tracks down toward the water as though they would ford toward the east. They then turned and followed the rocky riverbank a few hundred yards north before turning westward. Whether Golach’s scouts would ever see the false tracks, they didn’t know. If Elynna was right about the Daegmon, their tracks didn’t matter. The confusion might buy them a few minutes or an hour, but it would not put off their pursuers indefinitely. Elynna said nothing. Leaving the river behind, they turned toward the faint scent of their prey.

  As Tienna and others had warned, the land was not friendly. The going was rough in places. The trees, though not dense, were old, and every path they followed led to deadfall, wetlands, or steep shale. The clouds that had threatened earlier began to spit out snow—softly at first but then with greater intensity as afternoon went on. All were glad for the boots and heavier cloaks given them by the Plainsfolk. Even with these, many complained of the cold. But Elynna trudged onward without complaint. For the first time in days, she had a clear sense of where she would find the enemy, with none of the impending terror that it was pursuing her.

  As dusk approached, they came to a thick stand of fir trees that had borne the brunt of a recent storm. Or, Elynna thought, like a pile of debris carried down from the mountains by the spring floods and dumped beside the river near her old home in the Westwash. Several trees lay on the ground, and others leaned and bowed precariously. In the falling snow, the scene felt eerie to Elynna. But Theo saw something else. “This would be both shelter and firewood if we spent the night here.”

  Though she had not complained, Elynna was ready for rest. She did not think any human pursuers would find them amid this heavier snowfall. She voiced her support for Theo’s suggestion, and Cane and Tienna agreed. They had traveled hard all day, with no more than three or so hours of rest since midnight. They would rest for the night here.

  They soon started a small fire in the hollow, surrounded by boughs where the light would not carry far. And while a group prepared a warm meal, Theo and Bandor brought together some long fallen logs and a pile of evergreen boughs and built a shelter against a slope.

  Elynna and her companions sat beneath the low shelter and ate their evening meal, speaking softly of the past few days and of their distant homes. Keet soon fell asleep, but the rest of them sat awake for some while into the night. From time to time Elynna’s eyes met the mysterious gaze of Anchara, who watched in silence. Most often they fell on Cane. He seemed to have grown in strength and stature since his acquisition of the stone. Yet he had also become more distant—at least from her. Cathros talked much more, telling of their cousins who worked in the mines, and of the gems and precious metals found there. The others listened as they drank wine from their skins.

  Elynna enjoyed the stories, glad to learn about Cane and Cathros’s family. Glad for the momentary distraction from the fears and decisions weighing upon her. She leaned over and warmed her hands over the small fire. When she looked up, a tall figure stood in the falling snow at edge of the light directly across from the fire gazing down at them. It took her a moment to realize this was not one of the company—not a scout returning from their shift. She had never seen him before.

  21

  NAMHA’S TALE

  Elynna exhaled a soft gasp of panic and jumped backward, almost falling into the wall of the shelter behind her. Her reaction got the attention of the others, who turned and looked. Elynna heard several shouts of fear and warning.

  But the stranger made no move. Cane and several others reached for their weapons and rose to their feet. But Nahoon was ahead of them all. His eyes gazed wide with awe. He took one step forward, then stopped. And to Elynna’s surprise, Nahoon sank to one knee and lowered his head in honor.

  Elynna looked again at the stranger and understood. He was tall—taller even than Cathros. His hair was dark red, almost black, and his skin dark. In the firelight his brown eyes flashed with some mysterious energy and emotion. He was dressed in fur and animal skin from his shoulders to his feet. A band with a single bright blue feather adorned his arm. It was one of the Amanti. And he was alone.

  Whether it was the falling snow, or the lateness of the day, or some other strange impact of the stranger’s presence, the scene seemed to move in slow motion. Cane was on his feet with his sword drawn, but he made no move to advance on the stranger. The Amanti warrior was armed. Around his belt were several knives of different lengths and shapes, and in his left hand he held a long-shafted spear with a head of polished black metal. He had about him a look of untainted skill and power. Even the battle-trained Anghare looked insignificant compared to him. Yet he
was not evil. Elynna could see that at once in his eyes. Deadly yes, but not violent.

  But where were the others? The other fourteen?

  The scene remained frozen as several slow breaths passed in and out of Elynna’s mouth. And then finally, as though some spell had been broken, Cathros took a step forward. “Be welcome,” he said, gesturing to the fire with an open hand.

  “He will not speak or even respond to the common tongue,” Nahoon whispered. He was still on his knees. “If ever he knew any other language as a child, he has vowed to speak no tongue but his own—the Uët tongue, the language of my mother’s people—until he dies.”

  “Can you speak to him for us?” Cane asked.

  Nahoon turned white and swallowed. “I will try.” He lifted his head, then lowered it, seemingly ashamed to look in the stranger’s face. Staring instead at his chest, he spoke a few words in a melodic tonal language. When the stranger answered in the same tongue, Nahoon’s eyes lit up even more. So did Tienna’s.

  “What is it?” Cane asked.

  “He has come to join us,” Nahoon replied.

  Elynna heard several murmurs of approval, but she was worried. “Why?” she said. “Ask him why.” She felt a sudden strange urgency in the question. And yet, at the same time, she was afraid to know. And where are the others?

  Nahoon relayed Elynna’s question. The stranger answered. Before Nahoon even translated, Tienna nodded and then she spoke to him haltingly in his own language. He turned and fixed his eyes on her for a moment without answering as Nahoon translated for the others. “He says he was sent to join us. Tienna asks him what happened back there.”

  The stranger stepped closer to the fire. The glint in his eyes looked even more dangerous. Elynna tried to inch backward, wishing she had not asked. “Don’t make him answer,” she whispered.