Remnant of Power

Chapter Twenty-two

Mal

Mal put his hand on the hilt of the sword, his hairs stood up on the back of his neck.

"We've been waiting for you." Another man the same as the first materialized from the left.

"You need to come with us."

Mal took about three seconds to make his decision. He didn't know who they were, but he'd never seen anyone who looked like them before and something about them was strange. He spun around and burst into a run. Another one of them stepped into him, and he tripped and fell over. The third one stepped over him so he couldn't move, his cloak brushing Mal's legs. He looked up and saw she was a woman. Well, that was just too bad. He punched the back of one of her knees, so her joint collapsed slightly and she lost her balance. With all his strength, he twisted onto his knees, and burst into a run. He sprinted down the street back towards the gate, just as another of the pale people ran out towards him from the end of another street. But what was he doing? He was going in the wrong direction. He wasn't going to let anyone stop him finding Yoldas. He skidded to a halt, and looked over his shoulder. One of the pale people was running straight for him. Damn it, where on earth were the wolves?

He heard a noise behind him and turned. Ragnar was standing just behind him, in his way. "Mal, stop." The pale man had almost reached him. Mal tried to dart around Ragnar, but the wolf blocked him. Mal took a frantic breath. Had the wolves been pretending all along? They were working with the pale people. The man reached him, and put his hand out. He grabbed Mal's arm, he was taller and broader. Mal's insides rolled. But he wasn't giving up.

Torun slid to a halt at Mal's side. "Mal, stop, they're friends. They're Ithrim, Thirdkind - Giryan is the Ithrim king's second in command."

Mal stared at him, gimlet-eyed. He didn't know whether to believe Torun or not. Instinctively he'd thought the young wolf was trustworthy, but standing in the dark with these three people who'd appeared from nowhere and who looked very slightly not-quite-human, he didn't know what to think. Some strange things had been happening lately.

"We have got three and a half hours till they change the guards. That is not much time to break into the prison and search the castle." The pale man looked at him. "We won't have a second chance. Once we've broken in this time, they will triple the guards. We should go quickly to the prison." He started to walk.

Ragnar lifted his head and padded after him.

"They are friends, Mal, you don't need to run. They are Giryan, Channa, Falzal and Berezan. They've come to help us." His eyes met Mal's. They hate Ulric as much as we do. He's persecuted them in the same way he's persecuted us. He hates non-humans and over the past seventeen years he's tried to kill us all."

The Ithrim called Giryan looked down his nose at Mal as he strode through the shadows. "My King Hirnan had a message from Chieftain Gloden that Yoldas had been taken and that Mal Wainwright had come of age. He sent us out to look for you. We met Ragnar in the city earlier today and told us what you were planning. It is good for you that we are here. You will need our help." His face grew colder. "My King Hirnan lost part of his left arm a few months ago when we were attacked by the King's soldiers." He drew a wide sword from a sheath around his hips. "We need you to be King now, Mal Wainwright. When you have found Yoldas and your friend you should go to Thringevan and beg the Dryads for help to raise an army."

Mal looked at him sideways as he walked. "Why do you need an army?"

"You need to raise an army. That's what Yoldas's father Gloden is expecting you to do. For over one thousand years the Talahund Chieftain has ruled as the human King's deputy. Except for the last seventeen years. You are our only hope to save Arvad from this swine Ulric." He looked Mal up and down. "If you truly are who Ragnar says you are, then you were born to be King."