The wagon stopped abruptly. Ashur glanced around at the men crammed together on benches that lined both sides. No one had spoken a word since Mansin had talked of Abdiel. Even now as the wagon came to a halt no mouths moved. The men silently filed out of the wagon. No one smiled or joked or looked at one another.
Ashur stepped out of the wagon and into a shadowy forest. Rays of daylight stabbed through the trees here and there. He looked around at the empty stretch of road and the Janin lining up in front of Dain. He and Segurant stood slightly apart from the men lined up in front of the wagon.
Ashur glanced at the Iron Hand but Segurant was watching the forest. He looked calm and relaxed but the light flickering across the swirling marks on his hand said that they were not in a safe place. Ashur looked back over at Dain, The Sword. He was murmuring something to each of the men in turn. After he had finished, the men broke into small teams and vanished into the trees.
Dain stepped up to Ashur and Segurant flanked by two other Janin. His cold eyes were alight with excitement. His hand stroked the hilt of his sword. He stepped close and whispered,
"Have your daggers at the ready boy. Tonight we hunt the shadows!"
Ashur nodded silently and began following him and the other two Janin into the woods. As he followed, running his hands across the hilts of the six daggers across his chest, he couldn't help but remember his father's message:
Watch the shadows.
The Janin moved slowly through the trees. Their feet padded silently across the forest floor. Ashur watched their casual stealth and was reminded of his father once again. He tried to imitate them but his feet seemed unable to match their skill. He glanced over at Segurant.
The other man walked as he always did. He made no attempt to sneak through the shadows of the trees. He walked with his metal hand raised and his eyes flickering around them. He walked as though expecting an attack at any time.
They moved at a steady pace for a time. No one spoke a word. Dain would occasionally make a hand gesture to one or the other of the Janin. The man would disappear for a short time and then return to the group. Ashur watched the trees. He wondered how far they were from the Rashakas. Then, abruptly, Dain stopped and looked straight at him.
"Do you smell it lad?" he whispered.
Ashur looked at the man in confusion for a moment. Then he realized that the air had changed. He could just smell the musty scent of rain on its way. Suddenly, the sky darkened with massive black clouds. The rays of light that had fallen like beacons, vanished. Ashur watched in astonishment as the light faded and the wind began to pick up. The air was damp and cold against his skin. The trees became great black obelisks and the colors of the world faded into black and gray.
Ashur had never seen such a sudden change of weather even in Bordertown. He remembered that the Janin had talked of arranging rain at the meeting. He breathed in a breath of cold wet air, he hadn't realized how abruptly it would happen.
He heard a thunderclap some distance away. At this point they might have been walking through the forest at night. Light had all but disappeared leaving a kind of gray haze that settled against the encroaching darkness. Another thunderclap sounded, much closer than the last one.
Ashur kept his hand on the hilt of one of the daggers. Then, the Janin all stopped. For a moment Ashur thought that they had reached the Rashakas. He whipped his long dagger free and peered out ahead of them searching for an enemy. Then he realized that the Janin were pouring their canteens over the blades of their knives.
Dain gave Ashur a look of slight impatience and Ashur began following suit. The Janin doused both sides of each blade and then plunged them back into their sheathes one by one. Ashur did likewise watching the bone water slide across the surface of each silver blade. The Janin all finished before him and waited expectantly. When he had finished they began moving forward again.
The booming sound of a massive thunderclap suddenly pounded through the forest. The ground trembled slightly and there was sudden flash of lightning. Then the heavens opened and rain began falling in torrents. Ashur and his companions were soaked in seconds. Great fat droplets pounded harder and harder tearing through the trees that would have normally provided shelter. Then the wind picked up and the rain began flying sideways in huge sheets of water.
Dain alone smiled at this new development. The rest of the little band set their faces in grim determination and followed him further into the forest.
* * *
Ravena sat inside her carriage watching the Rashakas. The creatures were all huddled around the tent. They watched it intently. She knew that they were smelling the girl inside. Her eyes followed the human faces of each of her slaves. After a moment she looked back down at the strip of parchment and the writing slate she was holding.
Doing the deed in her tent had been a mistake. The tent was practically palatial and now she was forced to sleep in her carriage. She hadn't actually planned to use the item that her master had sent at all. She had thought that the girl would break without it. Ravena closed her eyes for a moment. She almost had. The girl was just about to break. She had interrogated enough people to know that look.
She opened her eyes and set her writing quill off to one side. She looked down at the blank parchment before her. She hadn't lost control like that in a long time. She also had never had anyone read her so completely and thoroughly. The little brat had seen straight into her soul. Even the Baron had never been able to do that. Even the Baron didn't know her name.
Her lips curled slightly. But how that girl screamed! She leaned back against the cushioned seat. She was no stranger to torture and interrogation but she had never heard anything quite like it. It had started as a shriek of pure terror. Then it had changed. It had changed to the wasting howl of a soul torn asunder.
Ravena's small smile vanished. She hadn't cared for the latter sound. It had gone on for a time too. The girl had howled for an eternity, shredding Ravena's nerves. She had looked once to see if the Rashakas with their keen senses were bothered as well.
The monsters had all changed into their true forms. They had all edged a little closer to the tent. She had looked at them trying in vain to cover her ears. The creatures didn't seem to mind at all. Then she had seen that all their mouths were slightly open. They were salivating. They enjoyed it.
She suppressed a shudder. It was well that most of the Rashakas were bound to her. She looked at the tent. After that last terrible howl the girl had gone quiet. Ravena had wondered after a time whether the girl had died. She had walked through the circle of Rashakas and listened at the door. Then she had fled back to the carriage.
She frowned slightly. It had been a terrible thing coming close to that tent. Even worse than when she had opened the box the first time. Her heart pounded in her ears just thinking about it. She looked down at the ground. She had heard moans inside that had told her that the girl was still alive. But in truth, even if she had heard nothing but dead silence she would not have opened up that tent.
It disgusted her. This sudden fear that seemed to have taken a hold of her and refused to let go. The candle and the box were the most powerful objects she had ever touched. The raw titillating feel of that power underlied the dark feeling of pure evil.
There is no evil, she whispered in her mind, there is no evil. There is only power and weakness. There is no evil, there is only power and weakness
She whispered the words in her mind over and over again. Yet the memory of the tent and opening the box was still fresh. She knew full well that there was something terribly unnatural about what the Baron had sent her. Something beyond unnatural.
There is no evil there is only power and weakness. There is no evil there is only power and weakness.
It wasn't just a memory either. She could still feel it. It was like a bad taste in her mouth that flavored everything she did. It was like a nasty, corrosive, bile that gripped her insides and lined her throat.
There is no evil there is only power and weakness. There is no evil there is only power and weakness.
The Baron had been the first man that had frightened her since her childhood. The brat had been right about that. She could still remember when she first met the man. She remembered how she had felt in his presence. The fear had excited her. It had drawn her to him. Yet there had always been something about him that went beyond mildly disturbing.
She had now felt that taint in his presence in its most distilled form. The feeling that emanated from that tent was the feeling that always lingered faintly around her master. She wondered how often he consorted with the thing within the box and candle. She wondered how many black nights he had spent with the creature that its presence had imprinted itself upon him. She wondered how he could have withstood standing in such a presence for such an extended period of time.
There is no evil there is only power and weakness. There is no evil there is only power and weakness. There is no evil there is only power and weakness.
She whispered the words like a prayer. But if that was true should she not be drawn to the thing in the tent? Should she not want that terrorizing feeling that lingered around the Baron for herself? Should she not be filled with a burning desire to study and control this power?
She wondered if this was the same creature that had given him the details of this mission. She had long known that he had some sort of supernatural entity that gave him information and advice. She had never liked it. She had never liked the thought that some nonhuman thing was giving him advice. She didn't like the thought that some unknown thing might have influence over the one man in this world that had power over her.
Suddenly she looked up into the lined face and gleaming eyes of Stanis. She snapped out of her reverie and glared at the creature in man's form. It smiled,
"Is our mistress having dreams?" it hissed mockingly.
Ravena grabbed the black rod that rested at her side. She glared at the monster,
"What do you want?"
Stanis reached up and scratched its wrinkled face with a dirty brown fingernail,
"We smell sorcery in the air."
Even as it spoke Ravena felt the air around her begin to change. She looked up at the sky in alarm. It was still blue and clear but the air was becoming damp and the once gentle breeze was growing stronger.
"They're coming! Ready your children!"
"Our children are ready, Mistress," it glanced down at the black rod in her hand. Then it brought its face a little closer to hers,
"Is the Mistress ready?"
Ravena looked into its malicious green eyes. It was revolting that this creature wasn't bound to her like its children.
"Do you know how many there are?"
"We want to see our brother," said Stanis its face suddenly deadly serious.
"I already told you that no one is allowed in that tent. No one." Especially not you, you malevolent little devil!
A terrible shadow passed across the gnarled old face. Its yellow green eyes flared up in hateful bloodlust. Then the shadow passed and it smiled,
"Are you afraid, mistress? Does our brother scare you?"
"How many are coming?"
In a blur of movement Stanis suddenly knocked the black wand out of her hand and leaned over her in the carriage. It brought its aged face right up to her and drew in a deep breath of air through its nostrils. Then it brought its mouth right up to her left ear and whispered,
"Don't be afraid, mistress...It's only feeding time."
With that the creature pulled away and stepped over to the Rashakas sitting in a circle around her tent. Ravena watched it go her heart pounding in her chest. She reached down and picked up her black rod. Three engravings were etched into its smooth glossy surface.
With a wild look in her eyes she pointed it at Stanis's back. Then she slowly lowered it to her side. It wouldn't do to try and kill her strongest ally. Not when someone with sorcery was coming against her. She spat on the ground and walked back to her carriage. The wind was really starting to pick up now.
Stanis stood over the Rashakas for a moment. Then they all rose from their circle and vanished into the trees surrounding the little clearing. Stanis watched them go. Its face was calm. Then it looked up at the blackening sky.
Ravena watched the sky as well. Angry storm clouds blocked out the sun and cast massive shadows over the ground below. The world was bathed in ever darkening twilight as the wind hurled against the trees. She saw a blue flash of lightning and heard the rumble of distant thunder.
Then a massive thunderclap shook the earth and rain began to fall.
* * *
Ashur pushed against the sheets of unforgiving rain. The wind howled against the trees and threw itself against his body. Water dripped down his face and fell from his clothes. He tried to focus to keep himself from shivering against the cold. Thunder rumbled across the darkened sky. He looked ahead just barely able to see the Janin walking ahead of him.
"How in the world was the rain a good idea?" he thought bitterly as his boots slogged through mud that seemed to be growing ever deeper. As of yet there had been no sign or sound of a Rashaka in the woods, but in these conditions who would notice? A mist was slowly rising as well. The bottoms of the trees and Ashur's own feet were all but invisible.
Ashur kept his eyes on Dain. He glanced over as Segurant stepped up beside him. Even through the rain and the rising mist the flickering blue light of the man's hand was clearly visible. His eyes went from the glowing symbols to the shadows in the rain and mist.
He could feel something. It wasn't quite fear. He had expected to be terrified going after these creatures but no terror entered his heart. None for himself at least. He supposed that the prospect of what could be happening to Cassandra scared him, but that wasn't his chief emotion. As he stalked through the darkened forest with rain whipping into his face all he felt was anticipation. Anticipation for what he knew was coming. Anticipation for a battle that he expected to unfold with each step.
He wasn't edgy as his eyes flowed from side to side watching for the coming nightmare. He felt himself to be in control. It was a control that he held with a grip of iron. A part of him was inflamed by the anticipation. A part of him wanted to scream into the rain soaked shadows for the creatures to come for him. A part of him wanted to charge ahead of Dain and Segurant and the others screaming for the beasts to attack! To just attack and let the battle begin! To end the anticipation kill the beasts!
He kept that feeling in check with each step he took. He breathed cold wet air in through his nose and controlled his breathing. He shook his arms to loosen his muscles. He could taste it. He could taste the tension in the air. It hung like a tightened cord that was twisting tighter and tighter. He allowed one hand to slide across the hilts of the daggers strapped across his chest. Rainwater washed down his face and he shivered for just a moment. He felt his heart trying to beat faster in his chest. It was coming. They were coming.
* * *
Ravena cursed whatever sorcery had brought on the sudden storm. The wind howled in the little clearing and pushed against the sides of her carriage and the tent. Large droplets of rain pounded against her where she stood. She had considered, only briefly, retreating into the shelter of her carriage but she had then dismissed it as nonsense. She would not be hiding away when her attackers came.
She stood in between her tent and her carriage. He black dress and cloak billowed in the wind. She stood as still and cold as a statue. Her white skin had at first stood out against the rising dark but now it was hid in rain and mist along with everything else.
She clutched the black wand that was her protection in her right hand. The tip was pointed at the muddied ground. She looked ahead and waited for her enemies to show themselves. All the Rashakas were gone. They had disappeared in three different directions.
Except for Stanis, she was alone with the storm. It was pacing back and forth in front of her like a wild animal in a cage. Its yellow green eyes were glowing brightly in the gloom. Its nostrils flared periodically as it sniffed the air but its head and eyes were focused on the ground in front of it. Its crooked yellow teeth were bared and they ran wet with rain and saliva.
Seeing the creature pace back and forth mirrored Ravena's own impatience. Her eyes scanned the barely visible world before her, searching for her invisible enemy. This storm was an impressive feat; it worried her that her enemies should have such power. It made her wonder what other powers they possessed. Who were they? What connection did they have to the girl? How many were there? She kept her body and emotions frozen as these thoughts raced through her mind.
Her hair came unbound and whipped about in the wind. She let it go. Wet strands flicked across her face but she remained impassive. For a time she was as still as the darkened shapes of the trees that were slowly vanishing in the rising mist. When she finally did move it was to raise the black rod in her hand. Her fingered slid across the three mystic runes. Whoever they were, they were going to die today.
Stanis suddenly stopped pacing. Its head turned to one side. Ravena followed its gaze into the shrouded woods. She saw nothing but rain tearing through the air. She heard nothing but the howling wind. She turned and looked at Stanis again.
The creature was still. It was looking fixedly into a certain spot in the forest. Ravena followed its gaze again. This time she waited a little longer. The wind flung stinging droplets into the side of her face. Despite her normal control she felt her heart quicken in her chest. Her eyes squinted as she struggle to see what the monster saw.
Then she heard it.
* * *
Ashur continued pushing through the wind. His boots were sinking deeper into a muddy ground he could no longer see. He kept a quick pace to keep Dain in his sight. Or rather the man shaped shadow that he could just make out through the mist and the rain.
The anticipation was pushing him to an edge. He knew that the Rashakas were here. He knew it. It wasn't just that the Janin had said they would be here. He believed he could feel them. He could feel the stinking presence of the creatures that had broken his legs and stolen his sister. And now it's my turn, he thought grimly. Even with wind and rain pounding against him and his entire body soaked to the bone he thought could feel them out there.
His eyes scanned the darkened storm that ripped its way through the trees. He found Segurant and his gaze stopped there for a moment. The hand was glowing brighter and brighter, like some kind of magical beacon in the grim weather. With an effort he turned his eyes back to The Sword.
Dain was moving ahead without hesitation or deliberation. Or so it seemed. Ashur remembered his father telling him that true vigilance is so natural that a man can run top speed and know everything going on around him down to the last detail. Ashur wondered if Dain was such a man. He wondered if The Sword could somehow sense how close their enemies were. He wondered if the man could even see where he was going.
Dain suddenly stopped in his tracks. Ashur kept going for a moment longer before he realized it. He was close enough to see the man's hand drop to the hilt of his sword. Dains shadowy face was alit with a blazing intensity. Ashur watched the world freeze for just a half a second. Ashur turned his head to look at Segurant. The Iron Hand was looking at something through the wet blackened spaces in between the trees. His glimmering metal hand rose up protectively. Ashur's own hand dropped to the hilt of one of his daggers.
Then there was a shrieking haunting roar. Sets of glowing green eyes seemed to suddenly appear out of nowhere. The stillness was broken and everything was in motion. Ashur saw Segurant's magic come alive and sheath his body like plate armor made of blue light. Then he was looking up as a massive green eyed beast detached itself from the shadows and flung itself at him.