The Runes of the Earth: The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant - Book One (21 page)

But the
Haruchai
before her had not finished speaking. “Do not fear for him. He will come to no harm. We do not desire his distress. We will only deliver him to Revelstone so that he may work no ill.”

The Master apparently thought that this would reassure her.

It did not. She had been through too much, and could not bear to fail another commitment. “You aren't listening,” she told the
Haruchai.
“I said I promised to protect him. He's old and confused, he's no threat. And he's terrified of being trapped. He won't be able to avoid those
caesures.
”

“We name them ‘Falls,' ” said the
Haruchai.

Linden ignored that. “I don't know why he's so afraid of them. But I think they're what broke his mind in the first place. Being helpless is the worst thing that could happen to him. He's so scared—Any kind of restraint might destroy him. Even if you're gentle about it, you could ruin what's left of him.

“I made him a promise,” she finished. “You of all people should understand what that means.”

The
Haruchai
showed no reaction. He did not so much as blink.

A moment later, however, she heard an impact on the grass behind her: the sound of a body landing lightly. In alarm she wheeled toward Anele and saw another
Haruchai
already standing behind him.

This one bore no scars. He may have been younger than his companion.

“Where is your power now?” Anele cackled at her in Lord Foul's voice, “the wild magic that destroys peace?”

“He belongs to us,” the new arrival said flatly. “We will permit him no more freedom.”

Bitter with anger and fatigue, Linden turned back to the first
Haruchai.

He had moved one or two steps closer to her.

“I
told
you—!” she began.

He interrupted her. “I have said,” he repeated without expression, “that we will grant you opportunity to persuade us that we must honor you. Until that time you must accompany us. We will treat the old man gently.”

“No!” Linden shook her head, infuriated by his impenetrability. “You will not
touch
him!”

The
Haruchai
shrugged as if in dismissal.

Anele went on chortling. “They are
Haruchai.
Did you believe that they would heed you?”

Roger Covenant also had refused to hear her.

Before she could defend herself, the
Haruchai
swept forward. Swiftly his fist lashed
out; struck her in the center of her forehead. Her head snapped back. The hills reeled drunkenly around her.

As she lapsed into darkness, she heard Anele's cry of woe.

H
aunted by lamentation, Linden Avery rode a dark tide of pain and futility, as helpless as a dried leaf on a wave. She chose nothing, determined nothing: she merely reacted to events. The Despiser had laid a snare for the people of the Land, and they walked toward it blindly. She could not even warn them. They refused to listen.

Why should they heed her? She had no name for their peril. She had no idea what the Falls and Kevin's Dirt were
for.

Jeremiah's plight was only more immediate, not worse. Lord Foul threatened the life of the Land, and of all the Earth, and she had no means to save any of them, except by wild magic. Yet any use of white gold endangered the Arch of Time. For that very reason, Thomas Covenant had forsworn his power.

Now the man she loved lay forever beyond her reach. No matter how acutely she had yearned for him over the years, she would never see him again, or feel his touch, or hold him in her arms.

She had learned to yearn instead for her son. Whatever happened, she intended to save Jeremiah.

Borne along by the current of her unconsciousness, she endeavored to slough away all other considerations; to concentrate her whole heart on her vulnerable son. But the dark scend did not float her to Jeremiah. Instead it brought Covenant's voice to her ears.

He sounded as he had sounded in life: harsh and compassionate; driven to extremes, deeply wounded, and dear; full of comprehension and rue.

Linden, he said distinctly, you aren't listening.

Oh, Covenant! she cried out within herself. Where are you? Why can't I see you? Are you all right?

I'm trying to tell you. He seemed as strict as the
Haruchai.
You need the Staff of Law.

For a moment, he surprised her questions to silence. I don't know where it is. She might have wept. It doesn't seem to work anymore.

Violations of Law like Kevin's Dirt and
caesures
could not have flourished in the presence of the Staff.

You aren't listening, he repeated more gently. I said, I understand how you feel. It's too much to ask of anyone. Don't worry about that. Do something they don't expect.

Like what? she countered in tears. All I have is your ring. It isn't mine. It isn't me. It doesn't belong to me the way it did to you. I don't understand any of this.

Foul has my
son
!

Don't worry about that, he said again. Already his voice had begun to recede from her. Trust yourself. She could barely hear him. Do something they don't expect.

Then he was gone. She sobbed his name, but only breakers and seething answered.

Eventually a swell lifted her up to deposit her upon a plane of stone above the tide. When she returned to herself there, her cheeks were wet with weeping.

F
or a time, she lay still, resting her bruised body on the cool smooth stone. Her former life had not prepared her for physical ordeals. All of her muscles throbbed with overexertion. In addition, her tongue felt thick with thirst, and her stomach ached for food.

Nevertheless those pangs hurt her less than the knowledge that she had failed to keep her promise to Anele. Covenant had told her to trust herself. He might as well have advised her to fly to the moon. Too many people had already died.

Groaning softly, she opened her eyes on darkness like the inside of her mind.

She lay facedown on stone worn or polished smooth. The air felt cool and clean in her sore lungs. When she tried to shift her limbs, they moved as easily as her injuries allowed. To that extent, at least, she was intact. She simply could not see.

But when she raised her head, pain lanced into her neck: whiplash from the blow she had received. At once, a sharp throbbing began in her forehead, and the stone under her seemed to tilt. Cursing to herself, she lowered her head again.

Damn them anyway. The
Haruchai
she had known—Brinn, Cail, and the others—had not made a practice of striking down strangers.

And where had she been taken? Underground? No. The air was too fresh, and the stone not cold enough, for a cave or cavern.

Night must have fallen while she was unconscious. Or the
Haruchai
had left her in a windowless cell somewhere. Mithil Stonedown? To the best of her knowledge, that was the nearest village.

The
Haruchai
did not need cells to control their prisoners.

For a while, she postponed the challenge of rising to her feet. Instead she reached under her chest to confirm that Covenant's ring still hung on its chain around her neck; to reassure herself on its hard circle. Then she turned her attention to the scents of this space.

At first, she detected only grime and old sweat, the sour odor of an untended body: probably hers. Stone dust still caked her hair, clogging her senses. When she reached
past those smells, however, she caught a faint whiff of water and the unmistakable aroma of cooked food.

Suddenly eager, she braced her arms on the stone, wedged her legs under her. Then, carefully, she pushed herself up onto her hands and knees.

The pain in her neck brought tears to her eyes; and for a moment the stone seemed to cant under her. Briefly she rested where she was. Then she began to grope forward, hoping for water.

Her right hand found an emaciated ankle.

It jerked away from her touch as she snatched back her hand. Hoarsely an old voice croaked, “Leave Anele alone. Cruel Masters. Let him perish.”

Anele. Her throat was too dry for sound: she could not say his name. Nevertheless she felt a rush of relief. At least the
Haruchai
had not separated them. Presumably they were prisoners together.

She might yet be given a chance to keep her promise.

Shifting her knees to the left, she continued searching.

After a moment, the edge of her left hand encountered a hard shape. Quickly she reached for it.

It was round and curved: a large bowl. Its surface felt like polished stone, cooler than the floor. When she dipped her fingers into it, she found water.

At once, she lowered her pounding head and drank.

Every swallow was bliss on her swollen tongue and parched throat. She could easily have emptied the bowl. As the level of the water dropped, however, she pulled back her head.

“Anele,” she panted softly into the dark, “it's me. Linden. I found water.”

The
Haruchai
had told her that they treated their prisoners gently.

A prompt scuffling answered her. “Where?” her companion asked. “Anele is thirsty. So thirsty.
They
are cruel.
They
give him nothing.”

One of his hands grasped at her side.

“Here.” She reached for his wrist and guided him to the bowl. As he clutched its sides, she added, “Take all you want. I'm sure they'll bring us more.”

Anele's only response was to lift the bowl so that he could drink more deeply.

While the old man satisfied himself, Linden resumed her search. She was confident that she had scented food.

Their captors would have left it near the water.

Less than an arm's length away, she discovered a second bowl. It had been fashioned of stone like the first, but its sides were warm. When she poised her face over it, she felt a waft of steam stroke her cheeks.

Stew, definitely: meat and broth; vegetables of some kind. And—Was it possible? Had she caught a hint of
aliantha
?

Dear God.

Saliva filled her mouth. Sweeping the floor with one hand, she found a pair of wooden spoons. Without hesitation, she dipped a spoon into the bowl and tested its contents.

They retained some warmth, but were no longer hot. Mutton and gravy thick with flour. Small round shapes that tasted like spring peas. And yes, beyond question:
aliantha.
As her first mouthful comforted her tongue, it left behind a distinctive savor of peach tinged with salt and lime.

For the first time since she had arrived on Kevin's Watch, Linden remembered hope. The
Haruchai
had told her the truth. If they stirred healing treasure-berries into their viands, they did not intend their prisoners to suffer.

To that extent, at least, Anele had misapprehended the Masters. They had not fallen entirely under Lord Foul's sway.

Linden ate several spoonfuls of the stew while her companion drained the bowl of water. Then she whispered to him, “Over here, Anele. It's food.”