CHAPTER SIX
The massive, ashen-gray walls bordering the Reach into Wauld stretched for miles.
The cluster of forest trees had been cut back, creating a few hundred feet of distance, making it impossible for anyone to climb the giant trees and leap onto the stone parapets.
Guards patrolled the top and the roadside. A garrison protruded near the gate.
In the heavily clouded midday, rain pummeled the stone wall and the dozens of guards and travelers lining the narrow, muddy road.
Even in the dreary conditions, Evylin couldn’t quite bring herself to worry about those guards or the weapons at their sides.
A lightness had settled into her, a knowing that everything would turn out for the best. Despite the strangeness of such a carefree attitude after her weeks of sorrow, she was just so glad to feel like herself again that she didn’t bother to question why she was experiencing this sensation.
The troop stood at the top of a hill, still a half mile’s distance from the gates. They’d passed the small town of Colmar late that morning, giving its boundaries a wide berth. And now they scouted their path ahead.
“You know,” Rafferty muttered to Evylin as they surveyed the land, “I’m rather disappointed so far.”
She passed him an amused grin. “How so?”
“Well, aside from being a grandly depressing place, this half of the country doesn’t seem all that different from our side,” he remarked. “Granted, their forests are a lot denser than ours, but other than that.”
Evylin thought he had a point. She’d also noted how similar it all felt to their homeland in the three days they’d journeyed through the northwest. Though the foliage was larger and greener, she’d not seen anything that made Wauld feel any different from Ephria.
Standing at the front of the group, Deckard spoke with Auden. “How strict is the border patrol?” he asked. Like the rest of them, he still wore his cloak with the hood up to keep the rain off his face.
“It depends,” Auden replied, ginger beard turned cinnamon in the shadow of his hood. “Some guards are lax, and others are more susceptible to a spare silver or two thrown their way. But today, it shouldn’t matter.”
When Deckard gave him a questioning look, Auden patted one of the pouches on his belt. “I have the proper documentation to get us through,” he assured. “The Alliance knew we’d have to come to Wauld eventually.”
“That’s all we need?” Thom asked, a hand on the pommel of his sword. “They won’t be suspicious of five heavily armed Ephrians traveling with two Mages?”
“The endorsement makes provision for that.”
“And if all else fails,” Ilain added, the lilt of her accent exaggerated, “I’ll bat my pretty eyes at them. I’ve yet to fail at bringing a man under my charms.”
Rafferty sniggered. “I don’t think you’ve met my friend Thommy.”
A smug grin pulled at Ilain’s lips as she scanned Thom. “If I wanted him,” she turned to Rafferty, “I’d have him.”
An exasperated sigh rolled out of Thom and Deckard, while Evylin fought to maintain her laughter.
She didn’t know who she’d bet on in a battle of wills: Thom or Ilain.
But something told her that the woman was right—if she truly wanted Thom, then all his denials wouldn’t stop her from achieving her conquest.
Eyes focused on the wall, Ethenn motioned at it. “Is this the only gate between here and Wauld?” he asked.
“No,” Auden said. “There is another much farther west. Verlund Reach’s border is rather small, so it only has the two.”
“And we’ve chosen this one for what purpose?” Ethenn asked, a wary glint in his dark eyes.
“It’s a direct path to Blacklion,” Auden replied, then looked at his sister.
Ilain nodded in confirmation. “If we were to take the other gate, it’d add at least three, maybe even four days, onto our journey. Time we don’t have to spare.”
“Why do you ask?” Deckard interjected.
Ethenn tipped his chin toward the gate. “I think they’re searching people.”
“What?” Auden asked in shock.
“Look—” Ethenn motioned toward the line of people on the road, his keen hunter’s eyes catching what the others hadn’t seen.
“They’re moving slowly. And it seems too slow for the guards to be checking documentation alone.
I can’t make out the details this far away, but .
. . it seems suspicious. Why would they be searching people? ”
“They’re looking for the Relic,” Ilain guessed. “The Order of the Night must have sent word.”
The panic in Auden’s gaze made it clear that he agreed. “Which means that their Mages can’t be far behind.”
“How do we get through, then?” Evylin asked.
Rafferty drew a hand along his wiry, white-blond scruff. “Hm. It’s a shame we don’t know someone who was paid to move illegal contraband from one location to another. Oh, wait—” A bright smile spread across his face. “That was my job.”
Evylin laughed, jabbing him in the ribs. “All right, Mr. Draaw,” she teased, using the name of his favorite legend. “How would you smuggle three Relics across the border?”
“I’d ask for a lot of money,” he replied, then held up a finger.
“At which point, I’d keep ninety-eight percent for myself and give the other two percent to a very hungover-looking guard.
If there weren’t one of those gentlemen available, I’d seek out a different assistant.
Perhaps a fellow traveler who had reason to want the guards’ attention off them just as much as I wanted it off me. ”
“Or,” Ethenn interjected dryly, “we could use magic.”
Rafferty’s wily eyebrows shot onto his large forehead, making him look even more like a weasel. “Take all the fun out of it, why don’t you?”
“You mean a shroud?” Deckard surmised.
Auden frowned. “That’s not a feasible idea.”
“Why not?” Thom asked. “You did it when we ran from the Night Keep. With the Relic and your energy restored, surely you can do it again.”
The Mage’s expression grew tense. “I’m a Day Mage. We are at direct odds with Night magic. Yes, I can use it, but my hold on it is tenuous. With how slowly they’re moving people through the gates, it will take us an hour to get through. I don’t have that kind of strength.”
Hesitantly, Ilain lifted a finger, drawing her brother’s attention. “You could attempt to disguise them,” she suggested.
Auden frowned. “I’d have to connect to Space for that.”
Remembering their brief reference to that magical resource, Evylin furrowed her brow. “Why should that be a problem?” she asked.
His sharp green eyes turned to her, surprisingly bright amongst all the dark green around them.
“Space is the most unknown resource,” he explained.
“To reach into it is . . . well, it’s nearly impossible for a non-Space Mage.
And there have existed only a handful of those in history.
As far as I know, there are only two living today.
Studies on Space are nearly as rare as they are on Warriors. ”
“Any particular reason for that?” Deckard prompted.
“Beyond the rarity of them?” Auden shook his head. “No. There are truly just too few of them in this world.”
“And you can’t connect with the resource at all?” Evylin asked.
“I can try,” he replied. “But it isn’t a guarantee.”
Rafferty grinned. “Sounds like we’re doing things my way.”
“How long will it take you to devise a plan?” Deckard asked.
The weasel shrugged. “I’m fastest thinking on my feet. Let’s say we get down there, head for the gate, and if all else fails, our highlord taps into that magic of his.”
“I’m not leaving this up to chance, Rafferty,” he protested. Then he turned to Auden. “It’s either Night or Space. You choose.”
Auden looked truly conflicted. His face screwed up in deep thought as though he were waging war with his thoughts.
Suddenly, Ilain stepped forward. “There’s another option,” she said, then turned to Rafferty. “Give me the Night Relic, please.”
Auden jerked out of his internal debate. “You’re not an Existential,” he objected. “You won’t have the strength for it.”
She gave him a withering look. “I’m the most powerful Mage born in the last two centuries, Pyra’s Heiress, and I’ve trained with all the elements and the existents. You’ve taught me how to connect with Day just as well as many of your contemporaries. Don’t tell me I won’t be strong enough.”
Evylin felt her lips part in surprise at Ilain’s credentials. She’d known the woman was powerful but hadn’t realized she was that powerful.
“You’re the most powerful Mage in two centuries?” Thom exclaimed, clearly baffled.
Ilain’s smirk turned smug. “I told you,” she crooned. “I can have any man I want.” Then she turned to Deckard. “I can do this,” she promised. “With your permission, I would like to shroud myself and Evylin with the Relics.”
Deckard pressed his lips together in consideration, but Thom jumped in first to ask, “Why just you two?”
“The fewer people I have to conceal, the better,” Ilain said.
“I can’t carry anything but Night, as Fire and Day will distract me from the resource.
It will be an extremely tremulous connection.
However, as Evylin is a Warrior, I can borrow her magic, and it will give me additional strength.
Therefore, she’ll carry the Day and Fire Relics, giving her even more power and focus to help me ensure we both make it through the border completely unseen. ”
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Deckard looked about ready to drop from exhaustion. Evylin understood. They’d been traveling for so long, pushing so hard. And they’d only just begun.
Stepping up to his side, Evylin set her hand on Deckard’s arm, his cloak wet against her palm. He jerked in surprise, staring down at her. She rubbed his arm comfortingly. “We’ll be safe,” she said reassuringly. “I believe that Ilain can do this.”
“Admittedly,” Ilain interrupted, “I’ll be out of commission afterward.”
The Ephrians looked at her, confused. Auden just looked disappointed in himself.