Blood of the Red

Chapter 24 - Dain

Chapter 24 – Dain

Raymell Greon watched the skyline. Dark eyes narrowed. In the distance, above the stony hills, the sky was smudged with smoke. His lips pressed into a thin line whose subtle camber suggested the world tasted sour in his mouth. Dain studied his captor. His skin had prickled when Raymell passed him in that Glorsa street. Now, close to, Dain felt the Arkasian's power crawling over him. The man radiated energy, it packed his stocky frame. Dain's gaze fell to Raymell's hands, half expecting to find them still coated with gore from the men he slew in Glorsa.

"Why did you steal me?" Dain asked.

He didn't expect an answer. All his questions had been ignored for two days. Dain's fingers found a fist-sized rock behind his back, and closed around it.

"Several reasons." Raymell's voice was deep, his words strangely clipped.

The wind carried snow, big flakes that spotted the midnight blue of Raymell's cloak. He drew it about him, folding his arms across his barrel-chest. He glanced back and Dain's hand froze on the rock.

"You have great potential," Raymell continued, "Lord Marluk will reward me richly for bringing you into his service."

Dain scowled, moving the rock by fractions. "If you make me into a Blood Guard I'll be able to destroy you, and this Marluk!"

Raymell smiled briefly and returned to his study of the sky. "I would expect no less, boy. If life were that simple I would be a Blood Lord, and it would be my minions roaming the wilds. However, the power given to the Blood Guard is not given without conditions. The Brotherhood controls the Blood of the Blue, just as the Red Priests control the Blood of the Red. Whatever strength is given you, will avail you naught against the Brotherhood. Marluk is high in their order."

The weight of the rock felt good in Dain's hands. He considered the back of Raymell's head, selecting his spot.

"Why didn't you grab me in Glorsa?" Dain asked.

'Throw the damn stone!' he thought. His muscles felt like water. Bodies reduced to steaming offal - the vision of Raymell turning men to carrion filled Dain's mind. Throw it! The soldier, with his hair on fire, veins bursting. Throw it! His arm shook violently. I'll miss . . .

"I am hunting a bard. I was told he traveled with a young blond urchin. The bard has been Blooded, you would catch his eye. When I saw you I knew you were his companion.

"It is far easier to find a man travelling with a boy than on his own. So I let you go."

Ingold! Dain flung the stone. He turned with the throw, putting his body, his whole strength, into the effort. His shoulder almost wrenched from its socket and the heavy projectile flew from his fingers. Dain heard, rather than saw, the impact. He was already running, fair flying over the broken ground. He ran beyond prudence, he ran with the slope, letting it carry his feet away.

Two great boulders loomed ahead. Beyond them dozens more lay scattered, a maze in which Dain could lose himself. He ricocheted between the two rocks and tamed his speed by impacting a third. The wind was knocked from his lungs and he staggered on, barely able to draw breath. Spots of light danced across Dain's vision. He aimed for a shadowed nook, between two arms of crumbled stone, and sank to his haunches.

Dain crouched for an age, willing his heart not to beat so loud. His ears strained for any sound of pursuit. There was nothing. Just the low moan of the wind. His breath steamed out before him. He huddled in his fleece, shivering. Then, almost lost against the wind, he picked out a soft humming. It grew louder, a low buzz, and floating into view came a ball of bluish light. No bigger than an apple, wreathed in faintly glowing streamers, it moved against the wind. A thing of wonder and beauty. It halted before Dain's hiding place. For a moment he sat lost in fascination, then with a start he rose, fearing discovery. As he did so a strong hand seized his hair and lifted him bodily from his concealment.

Raymell did not look happy. His eyes were lit from within and a trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth. He threw Dain to the ground and sat down on a convenient boulder. The Arkasian put his hand to the back of his head and the fingers came away crimson.

"Try something like that again boy and I'll forget all about taking you to Marluk. I'll forget about taking you anywhere."

Quicker than a cobra Raymell grabbed Dain's wrist. "Never . . . again . . ."

Crackling white fire sparked around his hand, running back and forth across Dain's arm. The strangest sensation, fierce and prickling. Raymell's eyes widened, his brow furrowed and the fire intensified. Dain met the man's stare. With a snarl Raymell exerted his strength, squeezing until bones grated in Dain's wrist and he cried out in pain.

"Never again." Raymell released his grip and turned away, puzzled.

"We wait here until my men return." He glanced toward the thin line of smoke rising in the east. "When we have the key we'll move on."

Dain's stomach suddenly felt hollow, the throb in his wrist forgotten, "Ingold!"

"That's the man we've been chasing," Raymell agreed.

"But ... you don't need that key... You could break down the door." Dain's words carried a pleading edge.

Raymell's fingers explored the wound in the back of his head. "Not this door. It was built to keep out uninvited guests, Blood Guard or not."

"But how could Ingold have the key you need?" Dain protested, "Why would the Red Priests give Ingold their key?"

"The door was built before the War of Bloods. Its secrets have been forgotten. A key was kept from the Red Priests. Your bard learned that it rested in the vaults of Thelim Keep. Its presence there was the foundation of a pact that has kept the Red Priests from Thelim for many generations."

"But..."

"Be silent now. We will wait."

Raymell sat, motionless, watching the hills as the shadows lengthened and merged into dusk. In the failing light he made shelter for them in the lee of the largest boulder. The snow fell more thickly now, swirled on the wind. Dain pressed close to his captor, teeth chattering against the cold. The elements made comrades of them. He had no thought of escape now. In the utter darkness Dain would find only death.

Dain had barely slept when Raymell shook awake. The Arkasian set him on his feet and sent him forward with a shove. Dawn still promised in the east as they trudged on, through a crisp inch of snow. Within the hour they arrived at a single standing stone on the plains below the foothills of the Matteracks. The first rays of morning sun lit the obelisk. Raymell called a halt before the monument.

"Truly your friends are a rare breed. I can only surmise that all the tales told of Gartus Redkin are true, and my men lie dead on the mountain. Else they would be here. It seems that Ingold also overcame the men I sent against him... Now, that is a mystery."

Raymell rubbed thoughtfully at his short black beard. His gaze fell to the bruises on Dain's wrist. Dain met the Arkasian's eyes, "You should let me go."

"Heh! I have a few tricks up my sleeve child. We'll meet your friend soon enough, and when we do I'll need no force of arms to bring him to his knees." 

Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes http://eepurl.com/cimnK1    ....dooooo iiiiit!