Chapter 23 ReadyNot
READY OR NOT
“Where in the world did you two come from?” Ezra asked, rising next to Hardin on the wagon.
“See, I told you these horses knew where they were going,” Hardin said, a smile growing to his eyes as he patted Ezra’s back.
Ezra pulled away from Hardin, saying, “Thought they’d lost their minds when they refused to go any other direction than north from Astral City. And again, when they wouldn’t budge unless we continued north of Fletcher’s Passage. I was questioning my own sanity right up until now.”
Lark waded out from the undergrowth onto the road, Venrick emerging at her side. She glanced over her shoulder, sensing Ingamar there but not seeing him. Something about the bond Venrick insisted was there didn’t feel right. Ingamar’s presence was distant and wild.
“I could ask you the same question,” Venrick said, a twinge of anger in his voice. “How did you manage to steal my wagon. It’s warded.”
A line formed on Ezra’s brow, and he stuck his thumb toward Hardin saying, “You want answers to how he bypassed your Paragon’s wards, ask him.
After your catastrophe with Tel’s dragon, someone made the connection that Lark came from my caravan.
The guard impounded my wagons before we could return.
It wasn’t until Hardin recognized yours that he opened it. ”
“You did? How is that possible without magic?” Venrick asked.
Hardin shrugged, “I didn’t use magic. I just opened it up, checked the interior, then climbed into the driver’s seat. Thunder and Giant led us here.”
“You just waltzed into the wagon without doing anything to destroy the wards that Tel Roan created to protect his own wagon?” Venrick asked again.
“Yeah,” Hardin replied. “I don’t understand why it’s such a big deal. Maybe they finally faded after his death?”
“No, that’s not possible. The magic was imbued into these runes. It can’t be changed or surpassed, unless…” Venrick trailed off. “I hadn’t considered that.”
“It seems there’s more to our bard than meets the eye,” Ezra said, nodding.
Lark cocked her head, trying to discern what they were hinting at.
“Him, a Walker, really?” Venrick asked.
Ezra nodded.
“Look at him. There’s no way,” Venrick said.
“It’s the only explanation. There just isn’t any other rational way to explain how Hardin could walk right through the wards,” Ezra said.
“For my sake, will you just speak plainly, and tell us what you think is so special about him,” Lark said, nodding toward Hardin.
“He’s a Ward Walker. I hadn’t mentioned it as a form of magical being because you’d need to be a demigod,” Venrick said.
Ward Walker, I know that term, she thought.
A clear memory burst through. A conversation she was having with Sasja about the ringed device that predicted which firestorms would produce which god’s power during a firestorm.
Sasja’s words were muddled at first, then she said clearly, “If we’re going to break in to get it, we’re going to need a Ward Walker.
I can steal almost anything, but I can’t get through wards like they can. ”
Lark had responded, “Where are we going to find a willing demigod on such short notice?”
“Cheyanne might know.”
“I should be the one to go to her.”
“No, if he finds out... Do you know what he’d do to you?
To us and what we’re trying to do with that device?
No, ever since…” Sasja said, her voice in the memory turning to the underwater noise again before clearing one final time.
“Cheyanne hasn’t been able to trust you.
But she still trusts me. I need to be the one to go to her. ”
The memory faded.
“No, I’m not a demigod. I have human parents. For those of us who don’t know, what’s a Ward Walker again?” Hardin asked, drawing Lark back to the discussion at the weapons wagon.
“A Ward Walker is just that, they can walk through wards without triggering them,” Venrick said.
“That’s right,” Ezra said. “Their powers come from a direct bloodline of a god.”
“I think I would know if one of my parents was a god,” Hardin said.
“Would you?” Ezra asked.
“I think so,” Hardin frowned.
“Ward Walkers are rarer than Hyalites. Because the laws of magic don’t apply to them in the same way as others, they’re usually executed when their abilities manifest. Keeping it a secret is key to their survival.
I can think of two times Tel Roan crossed paths with a Walker during his time as a Paragon.
The first, he killed. The other was working for the King of Lamar and protected by the Magi Order, otherwise Tel would’ve killed him, too,” Venrick said.
“But I’m not a Ward Walker,” Hardin said defensively.
“If you were, would you admit it?” Lark asked.
Hardin shrugged.
“How could someone not know if he or she was a Ward Walker?” Venrick asked.
“I suppose it’s possible for someone to grow up not knowing that one of their parents had lain with a god or goddess.
The parent could shield the child from ever knowing, especially if they didn’t grow up around magic.
It would have to be somewhere interior and far away from the borders where magi, dragonriders, elves, and dwarves wield magic,” Ezra said.
“I’m not a Ward Walker,” Hardin insisted. “I’m just a regular guy. I can’t use magic and never have been able to.”
“Yet you were able to take Tel’s wagon without doing anything special, something that shouldn’t have happened,” Venrick said.
“We can test his ability, prove it to him now,” Ezra suggested.
“I think we’re going to have plenty of opportunities if we’re going to get this Hyalite back,” Venrick said.
“What Hyalite?” Ezra said.
“The one that Sasja stole from me and is probably in Nordraven hands by now,” Lark said.
“Sasja, as in my Sasja?” Hardin asked.
“She was as you described, blonde-haired, and blue-eyed, and she portaled away after retreating to a group of orcs,” Lark said.
“I knew it,” Hardin said. “About what was in your bag and that I saw her in the crowd on the way to the Vermillion Keep.”
“Hold on. Are you telling me that you,” Ezra said pointing to Lark, “had an unclaimed Hyalite with you this whole time?”
“Yes, but she doesn’t have it anymore,” Venrick added.
“And we’re going to get it back,” Lark said.
“How do you know that the Hyalite hasn’t already been tapped?” Ezra said.
“Trust me, I’d know. It hasn’t been used,” Venrick replied, sounding sure of himself.
Lark eyed him curiously. How would Venrick know if that Hyalite’s powers had been used?
“Let’s say that it’s still intact. Sasja teleported away with it. Unless you or Lark is a dragonrider, there’s no hope that you’ll find it. You would need a dragon, and despite what happened in Astral City, I don’t see one here with you now,” Ezra said.
Venrick looked at Lark. Ezra glanced between them, then settled in on Lark, his head cocked. “Are you a?” he started, then shook his head.
“Lark, we should bring them up to speed. A Ward Walker would be useful to have on a crew that is trying to steal back a Hyalite,” Venrick said to Lark.
“What are you two planning?” Ezra growled.
Lark smiled, responding to Venrick. “It sounds like Hardin made a connection with Sasja, which could help.”
“You’re right. And I think it might even work with forging a tracking charm,” Venrick said.
“I don’t like the way you two are talking,” Ezra said.
“If only we knew a warlock who could craft one,” Lark said, folding her arms and looking at Ezra.
“Oh no,” Ezra said, shaking his bald head. “Whatever half-brained plan you are concocting, leave me out of it.”
Hardin scratched his head and said, “Hang on, Lark, how did you end up with a Hyalite in the first place?”
“Lark wasn’t a fire wheat harvester, she was a dragonrider,” Venrick explained. “She was there fighting Marcel when Tel Roan died. Somehow, she got the Hyalite off Marcel and escaped, but in the process was hit with some kind of spell that gave her amnesia.”
“Well, ash,” Ezra cursed.
“What, isn’t this good news? We have a Paragon with us. We have this whole time,” Hardin said.
“I would’ve liked to remain in a position where I didn’t know all that. Now if another dragonrider or a mage catches up with us, we can’t claim ignorance. They’ll scramble our minds for having known and helped since Stormwatch,” Ezra said.
“Are there people coming after her?” Hardin asked.
“They have been this whole time,” Ezra replied. “There were those bearded men following us when we left Stormwatch who disappeared. The Morsythian in Fletcher’s Passage. Then Sasja. And now we’re party to it. Ash, even the Paragons would condemn us if they found out.”
“There’s nothing we can do but move forward,” Venrick said.
“Right then, out with it. Let’s hear the whole story,” Ezra said.
“Lark is a dragonrider?” Hardin said, somewhat delayed in his response to the disclosure.
“We don’t know that for certain,” Lark said.
“So Ingamar didn’t just follow you for the Hyalite?” Ezra said.
“No, Lark cast a powerful spell when the orcs were attacking. Moments later Ingamar ripped the roof off that building and stole her away. I managed to grab hold of the saddle, which was the only reason I have not been locked up or executed,” Venrick said.
“Is that so?” Ezra asked, his focus on Lark.
“If it hadn’t been for my fire fae, I would’ve died from exhaustion,” she said.
“I was wondering about that fae. I wasn’t sure if she was following you or Hardin,” Ezra said.
“You can see her, too?” Lark asked.
Ezra nodded.
“You can all see her then?”
“I couldn’t, only the once,” Hardin said.
“You can see her,” Lark said. “After that first day on the Caravan she hid from you so you wouldn’t see.”
“That confirms it. He is a Ward Walker. Magical folk like riders, elves, dwarves, and, yes, Ward Walkers, can see fae folk. Regular humans can’t see them unless it’s in the moment before someone near them dies,” Venrick said.
“What happened to Lark’s dragon?” Hardin asked.
Lark proceeded to fill them in on exactly what she could remember starting from the village.