Chasing Evil (5 page)

The villagers were screaming.

“Round up the women and children!” shouted one of the riders. “Any who can work. And keep your eyes peeled for those Beasts and their friends.”

Tanner saw an elderly woman squirming on the ground, her ankles bound with rope. Three varkules had pressed a clutch of Castor's people against a wall, snapping with drooling jaws. Tanner could smell their awful scent from where he was. The foul, snarling animals didn't see Gulkien until his shadow was directly overhead. The wolf collapsed his wings and dropped. Gwen's Beast snarled and fought, tearing men apart with his claws and throwing bodies to the ground. Blood welled up from an open wound in a soldier's chest. With a mixture of ragged growls and human shouts of terror, the varkules and their riders were no more. Gwen was watching Gulkien from a distance, her face white. Then she pulled her rapier from its hiding place in her cloak's lining, ready to fight.

Tanner steered Firepos over the crowd. With two slashes of his sword, two enemy riders fell dead beside their steeds. The varkules, panicked from the aerial attack, ranged up onto their hind legs, nearly throwing their riders. They snarled at the Beasts above them, pawing the air, the hair on their spines bristling. But the Beasts were far out of reach. One by one, they retreated, galloping away. One of them dragged a lifeless armored corpse behind, tangled in his stirrups.

“Fall back!” shouted the soldiers' leader. “Retreat!”

His men responded, charging from the village on any road they could find. The leader wasn't so lucky. Nera pounced from the top of a building, burying her claws in his varkule's chest. The hyena-like creature rolled over its rider, the striped fur on its spine crushed beneath its weight. An ear hung, torn and bloody, from the varkule's head. The animal gave an anguished wail as its rider lay crumpled beneath it. Tanner could see the awkward twist of the man's legs and the way that his head hung at a severe angle from his neck. He would fight no more.

As the square emptied of attackers, Tanner guided Firepos down beside Nera and Gulkien. He jumped off and sheathed his sword, taking a slow breath to calm down. The crowd watched.

“I've never seen the like!” an old woman said.

Castor looked at the enemy's dead leader, his face pale. His eyes shifted to Tanner uncertainly. Tanner's guilt returned, pulsing through him. There was no ignoring it now.

“I'm sorry. You and I are not supposed to fight,” Tanner said. “The riders of the Beasts must work together against things like this happening. We have to stop the warlord Derthsin.”

Castor burst into laughter. “Work with you? You must be joking!”

“Listen to Tanner,” Gwen told Castor. She was sheathing her rapier back in her cloak; Castor watched with eyes wide. “Derthsin is nothing but hate and evil, and if he succeeds, no one will be safe. He'll use the Mask of Death to control the Beasts — including Nera. He'll wreak havoc throughout Avantia.”

Nera growled and pressed her nose into the fur of Gulkien's throat as if they were old friends.

“Maybe,” Castor said. He took out a cloth and began to clean his sword blade. “But have you seen Derthsin's army? They have already been here once. This is just a tiny section of the men. His soldiers are trained killers.” Tanner noticed that Castor's hand was trembling.

“If we don't stop Derthsin, no one will,” said Tanner.

“You can't even beat
me
,” said Castor. “What makes you think you can beat Derthsin?” Castor's bravado had returned, but Tanner wasn't convinced.

“I did beat you, remember?” Tanner said evenly.

“A lucky shot —” Castor began.

“Will you both stop?” said Gwen. Firepos screeched and Gulkien snarled impatiently.

But Tanner's pulse was quickening again. “Derthsin's soldiers killed my grandmother. They —”

“That's a shame,” Castor said, and he turned away. “But grandmothers die all the time, my friend….”

Tanner lunged forward with an ugly cry and tackled Castor from behind. They both went down in a cloud of dust. Castor rolled over, and Tanner punched him in the stomach, until Castor kicked Tanner away and rolled free. They both stood, panting and filthy with dirt.

Tanner's lip was bleeding. “Don't you care about anyone but yourself? Castor, your own people were captured — doesn't that matter to you?”

Castor shifted uncomfortably, and when he spoke his voice was quieter than before. “Of course I care.”

“You were chosen by a Beast,” Tanner said. “Nera picked you. Out of everyone she picked you, just like our Beasts chose us.”

“Yes,” Castor said.

Gwen brightened. “Think about what we can achieve together,” she said.

Firepos called to Nera. Gulkien stepped forward and barked a greeting, his pale fur bristling, leathery wings protruding. The three Beasts circled one another. Nera threw back her head and gave an eerie yowl, a terrible blast of noise that shook the ruined buildings and made the ground tremble. The hint of a smile passed Castor's lips as he watched the Beasts together.

“I still don't understand,” Tanner said. “Why are you here, Castor? Why didn't Derthsin's men take you with the rest of the boys?”

“Why wasn't I taken?” Castor said, thrusting out his chest. “I pick my fights, and I enter battle when
I
decide.”

“What does that mean?” Gwen asked, frowning.

“It means I'm smart,” Castor said. But Tanner noticed the way that his eyes fell to the ground; he couldn't hold Gwen's gaze. “That's why they didn't get me — anyway, we have to get moving if we're going to save the others.”

“So you're coming with us?” Gwen asked. Castor shrugged his shoulders.

Tanner said, “Do you know where they took the boys?”

“The soldiers led them away in lines, tied together. They're slaves now.”

“Slaves?” Gwen said. “What for?”

“This one's alive!” cried a female voice.

Tanner and the others turned. A woman was standing beside the sprawled body of a varkule. Beneath its body, Tanner saw a set of legs. He ran over with Gwen.

The leader of the attack looked up at them from beneath his dead mount. One side of his face was matted with blood and his chest rose and fell with shallow breaths.

Tanner heard a movement behind him, and Castor leaped on top of the varkule. He pulled out his dagger, ready to stab at the man. Tanner pushed him backward. “No!”

“Let me kill him!” said Castor. As Tanner held a hand against his chest, he leaned in to whisper.

“He might be able to tell us something.”

Castor lowered the dagger, and nodded, rubbing his eyes with the back of his sleeve. He shoved the dagger back down the side of his boot. Tanner returned to the injured soldier and knelt beside him, bringing his face close to the man's bloodied ear.

“Who sent you?” he said. “Was it Derthsin?”

The soldier grimaced. “Don't be a fool!” he croaked. “Derthsin died years ago!”

Tanner shared a look with Gwen. They both knew that Derthsin wasn't dead.

“Then who do you work for?” she snapped.

The soldier's eyes settled on her face. “Why should I tell you anything,
little girl
?”

Gwen drew her rapier, quick as lightning, and pressed the point into the exposed part of the soldier's neck. She leaned close to him.

“Because this little girl is all that stands between you and death,” she hissed.

The soldier swallowed. “All right,” he said quickly, “I work for General Gor, in the Hidden Mines.”

Castor snorted. “Lies!” he said. “The mines were abandoned long ago.”

Tanner saw Gwen press the sword point harder into the fallen soldier's neck.

“I'm not lying,” he rushed out his words. “We've been digging there since winter at General Gor's orders. Opening up the old tunnels.”

“Digging for what?” asked Tanner.

The soldier shook his head and a trickle of blood escaped over his neck. He groaned in agony. “Iron ore,” he said. “The general wants a bigger army with more weapons. Captain Brutus has the slaves digging day and night. Others are working on an underground armory. I haven't seen it with my own eyes, but you can hear the hammers and anvils at all hours.”

Gwen drew back her rapier. Tanner pulled his friend aside, and Castor followed.

“Where are these mines?” he asked Castor.

“About half a day north of here,” he replied.

“Could you show us?” said Gwen. She was already taking out the map, laying it on the ground. Castor knelt beside her, frowning and tracing its surface with his finger. “I've raced that way on Nera,” he muttered. “It's up this valley. Over the pass and along to the third ridge.” He stabbed his finger at a spot located in the well between three peaks. “Here!” he said.

Gwen looked at Tanner. “That's where the mask is hidden,” she murmured.

“And now Geffen's told Derthsin exactly where to go — to the eastern tunnels,” said Tanner. “Now that they've been opened up again, he'll have no problem getting there.”

“Who's Geffen?” asked Castor. “What mask?”

Gwen sighed. “Geffen's my brother,” she said. “He was a brave fighter, though not as skilled as you.” Tanner started to open his mouth to protest, but Gwen sent him a sly wink. He saw Castor grin with pride.
She's humoring him,
he realized.
Playing to Castor's ego.
He turned away to hide his smile. She was a clever one, all right. “He's betrayed us,” Gwen continued, “and is leading our enemy to his prize.”

“The Mask of Death,” Tanner added, turning back. “The pieces are scattered around Avantia. If Derthsin can gather them all back, he'll have total power over the Beasts.”

Castor gave a low whistle and stood up. “It sounds like you need a hero,” he said.

“And that would be you?” Gwen asked, folding her arms.

“Why not?” Castor grinned. “There's nothing left in this town, and if it comes to a battle, you two will need someone to show you how to fight!”

Tanner and Gwen exchanged a glance. What were they taking on?

Castor jabbed his sword into the air, then clapped them both on the back.

“Thank you, Castor,” Gwen said, staggering forward slightly.

Tanner nodded. “It's good to have you with us.” Castor was a Chosen Rider — Tanner would just have to accept it. Their Fates were intertwined.

W
hat are we waiting for?” said Castor.

He climbed onto Nera's back, settling himself amid her gold fur. Now that they were no longer fighting, Tanner could see that Castor's Beast had intricate markings in her fur. Her face was patterned with darker streaks, and patches of gold and chestnut rippled across her body. Nera batted at Castor playfully with her paw, claws gleaming as she pushed him up her side so that he was able to scramble onto her neck. He pressed his hand to the top of her head, and the Beast seemed to calm down.

“What will you do when you find your brother again?” he asked.

Gwen climbed onto Gulkien. The wolf shook himself and snapped at the air, as if he was stretching his jaws. “I don't know,” she said quietly, staring straight ahead and refusing to look at either of them.

“We've all lost something or someone,” said Tanner. “But Derthsin's going to pay.”

As they were about to take off, Gwen cried, “Wait! Castor, won't you be missed here? Isn't there anyone you need to say good-bye to?”

Tanner saw him tense. “No. No one.”

Gulkien and Firepos beat their wings and soared into the air, their shadows rippling over the village square. Firepos's feathers shone like bronze as they ruffled in the breeze, and Gulkien's fur flattened over his long snout. Nera raced ahead, across the land, leaping from hillock to valley, her tail flying out behind her. Tanner had never seen a Beast move so fast across land.

Castor and Nera led the way. From up above, the two other Beasts banked around until they were heading toward the Northern Mountains where the Hidden Mines must be. Low, ugly gray clouds hung over the mountainside. Ahead, the ground was dark.

They passed through chilly clouds, toward the steep, iron gray faces of the Northern Mountains. The two winged Beasts flew single file up a pass threaded with a silver stream, and the vegetation petered out below. Nera leaped from rock to rock, her claws sending out sparks. Nothing seemed to slow her down, not even the barren land and thin air.

Sharp-edged shadows were cast by the mountain rocks and jagged peaks. Boulders and crumbling drifts of black-slate rock wound like dry rivers up the mountains. Castor whistled, and Nera raced up a riverbed, only to loop back — all in the time it had taken Gulkien and Firepos to fly the same distance. Castor called up: “I bet your Beasts can't fly that fast!”

“Of course they can,” Tanner said, not wanting to admit the truth. Nera was faster.

Nera shot back and forth in maddening bursts. Firepos's feathers shook in the air with her steady wing beats, and Gulkien's wings creaked and stretched on the wind gusts. Nera was toying with them.

“Prove it,” Castor yelled. “Let's see if you can keep up!”

“You're on!” Tanner called down. “Oh, and Castor? If I beat you to the next mountain, you have to be quiet for the rest of the trip.”

Castor smiled and sat back, his hands behind his head, so he was holding on to Nera with only his thighs. “And if I beat you,” Castor said, “you have to give me your sword.”

“I'm not going to give you my sword, Castor.”

“Just until we get there,” Castor shouted. “Besides, I thought you said your bird was fast.”

Tanner glanced at Gwen. “All right, Castor. Ready …”

Castor said, “Set …”

They hunched forward.

“Go!” Gwen yelled.

Tanner and Castor stared in astonishment as Gulkien streaked ahead of them, his paws tucked up underneath him, his leathery wings flapping hard.

“Now, Firepos!” Tanner shouted.

Castor yelled, “Go, Nera!”

The boys and their Beasts raced after her. Tanner held tightly to Firepos's neck, his eyes streaming in the rushing air. She shot like an arrow after Gulkien, her wings close to her back. Below Firepos, Nera ran in a rapid, frantic rhythm. Her huge paws thudded against the rocks and her coat rippled as she darted from boulder to mountain ledge. Gulkien's movements in the air were more measured and even, while Firepos used her wings only occasionally, zooming as straight as a dagger through the sky. Tanner could hear Castor shouting encouragement to Nera below them.

As they burst over the pass at the end of the valley, Gulkien suddenly pulled back, directly into the path of Firepos's flight. Nera jerked to a stop below them, and Firepos beat her wings to stay in the same spot of mountain air.

Castor shouted, “What's the matter with you two? We're still racing!”

“No, we're not,” Gwen said.

“Why?” Castor demanded.

“Look.”

A black mountain range of three peaks loomed ahead of them. Plumes of gray-white smoke rose amid the summits. The mountains tapered into ugly spikes that seemed to stab at the sky, and as they flew closer, Tanner realized the smoke was coming from long slits in the high rock.
Vents,
he thought.
The kind an armory would need.

They flew between the peaks. Just as Castor had said, the inner slopes fell into a deep cavity, the bottom of which was filled with gray water. About halfway up the nearest black mountain, Tanner spotted a square entrance, braced with wooden supports, like a mine shaft.

“Why aren't there guards outside?” Gwen called over the wind.

“Maybe Derthsin doesn't think he needs them,” Tanner said. “Remember how his soldiers were attacking ordinary farmers, just because they could? Derthsin is overconfident.”

Castor urged Nera on. “Beat you there!”

“Castor, wait!” Tanner shouted. The time for games was over. Firepos dove after them in a steep drop that made Tanner's stomach jump. He gripped Firepos's feathers — the ground was rushing up too fast. Firepos pulled out of her dive and glided to land at the cave entrance. Nera arrived beside her, and a moment later, Gulkien brought Gwen down. After they all dismounted from their Beasts, Gulkien began to stalk the area outside the cave, sniffing and growling. Firepos sat seriously, her head poised to watch the sky. Nera paced and scratched the rock impatiently, her gold fur rippling.

“Impressive,” Castor said. “At least your bird knows how to dive.”

“That's enough!” Tanner snapped at him. He raised a finger to his lips. “This place is dangerous. We need to be quiet.”

Tanner felt the ground trembling. Pebbles danced and shook, and as he approached the cave, he heard a heavy metallic clanking and banging. There was a distant hiss, like steam being released, and then the noise of metal striking metal sounded even louder. A low voice boomed over the racket, barking unintelligible orders, bellowing from somewhere deep inside the earth. Tanner hesitated at the dark cave entrance. It sounded like the noise of dungeons and nightmares. He heard Castor and Gwen approach behind him.

“I'll see what's happening,” Tanner whispered. “I'll go as far as I can without being seen.”

“We should all go,” Gwen said. “Geffen might be in there.”

“No, it's too risky,” he said. “Only one of us needs to see what's happening to come up with a plan.”

To Tanner's surprise, Castor didn't put up a fight. Instead, he stayed on Nera's back. His face was dark and unreadable.
His mood has changed,
Tanner thought.

“All right. We'll wait with the Beasts,” Gwen said. “Be careful.”

Firepos squawked and shuffled closer. Tanner forced a smile. “Don't worry. I'll be back before you know it.”