Chapter 42
Allie
By the time the sleds and wolves had been hidden in the safety of the ancient trees and we silently prowled toward the wall, I was spent.
We crept through the forest, tense and tired. The warriors had been trained well for a ground attack, weaving easily through the snow and trees.
The spells had worked, too, our steps silenced in the early morning.
The sun was barely peeking in the distance, the menacing wall only letting a trickle of rays descend down to us mortals. The shadows were long and slid slowly, eerie in their shift.
But none of them compared to the darkness the wall imposed on us all.
Cold and ominous, it waited as we advanced toward it, thick, icy cave entrances pelted along its bowels. A chill raced down my spine, flashes of the crater’s passage and its obstinate magic clouding my mind.
Yet my eyes didn’t catch any of the signs which had alarmed me last night.
No thick ropes hanging from the icy wall.
No missing arrows strewn on the ground below.
The snow and ice right at the bottom of the wall didn’t look disturbed, but the night winds could have erased any marks.
Had I truly imagined danger in the darkness?
But Sylvester, who flew behind us, low to the ground, had sensed something amiss, too. Had I let his panic infuse images in my mind?
No.
I’d cast a spell. I knew what I’d seen.
I swallowed thickly and blinked against the fatigue. The incantation had heated up my body so much, I’d unbuttoned my coat, face red and slick with sweat. My tunic clung to my skin, restricting my already sluggish movements.
I clutched my bow tight, arrow ready. Death itself couldn’t pry it out of my hands.
But I knew my haggard breaths weren’t doing me any favors with looking the part of the resilient leader all these young warriors expected.
Ryker wouldn’t have been wheezing, hair clinging to his forehead.
He would have stood tall. Controlled. Sure of his decisions.
Ryker isn’t here.
I clenched my jaw.
No.
I had brought these warriors to the rim of the crater, through a wild midnight dash through the woods. All on my own.
Dax kept watching me from the corner of his eyes, worried.
Vylkor did the same, but with a smugness I would have loved to have the energy to wipe off his face.
At least he didn’t barge ahead, breaking rank, just to show me how wrong I’d been.
“No ropes dangling from the rim,” Vylkor whispered with quiet triumph, even as his hewn gaze traveled around us.
Whether to point out more flaws in my decision or to actually assess the area, I didn’t care at this point, as long as the job got done.
I’d take the hit to my pride in stride if it meant the crater was safe and I’d dreamt the whole thing up.
“Be wary of the caves. Trolls live in this area,” Vylkor muttered, moving his fingers in an intricate pattern to warn the warriors on the edges.
I gripped my bow tighter.
The last thing we needed was being seen by the trolls, armed and ready for battle, right near their home.
I let out a stuttered breath.
“You can talk freely,” I said. “I cast a spell to silence us from prying ears.”
Vylkor’s pompousness melted into quiet panic, as he looked down at his body as if I’d thrown leeches onto him.
“When?” he asked.
It was a good thing I was too tired to expend energy rolling my eyes. “A few miles before we stopped.”
I hadn’t know who we’d face or when. I’d taken every precaution I could, even though they’d sapped me.
He gulped and looked at the sky, a quick prayer on his lips.
Was he–was he afraid of my spell?
He breathed through whatever ancient fright made him look at me like I was some evil forest sprite.
“It’s the same power I used in the passage to save us,” I muttered, already moving ahead of him. “And the same one which brought us here quicker. You thought the wolves just magically moved faster?”
I expected more snide remarks. Another muttered prayer or two.
“I–” Something broke in Vylkor’s voice. Something which dripped of disillusionment. “I thought the crater came to our aid.”
I looked at him over my shoulder, only to see a man who was losing some light in his gaze right in front of me.
“It did help me in the passage.” I shrugged out of instinct to reassure, but even that small movement winded me. “Not today.”
Maybe it never would again.
Vylkor remained still, like all the trees around us, blending into the forest which had formed him through all his long years.
I walked forward, leaving him to his revelation. Goosebumps erupted up my arm the closer we got to the bottom of the wall.
I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that it was too quiet. Too serene. Even through the flimsy sound tampering incantation I managed to muster, something felt off.
The further we advanced into the wall’s shadow, the unsettling feeling nipped harder at my senses.
Even Vylkor moved more slowly, his Solkar’s Reach senses finally overtaking his pride and fear.
I wasn’t insane.
Something was off.
But what?
I kept scanning the area, listening for any disturbance, any hint–
My parched throat seized as I looked up at the tree tops.
“What is it?” Vylkor’s voice whipped through the spell encasing and protecting our voices.
My gaze slashed to his. “Why aren’t the birds singing?”
His eye widened as it jumped around us. “Perhaps the crater’s shadow–”
He didn’t finish the thought.
Not even he believed it anymore.
It would have been useless anyway.
Because from the shadows of the trees ahead of us, hundreds of soldiers rose, armed and ready to slash our throats.