Trials (41 page)

But what they found beneath the funerary chamber left Kendas struck dumb with amazement. They had come down into a small hall whose walls shone with a golden gleam which lit up the whole room, as if they were made of gold mineral. Hartz’s jaw dropped at the sight of something so unusual and at the same time spectacularly beautiful.

On the furthest wall a huge magical artifact, like a giant ring of gold carved on to the rock wall, shone intensely.

It was bigger than Hartz himself. That fabulous ring had been carved into the rock and was covered with hundreds of strange Ilenian symbols. But what really left Kendas speechless was the inside of the ring. At first he thought it was an enormous mirror, since it was bright silver. But when he looked at it more closely he realized that there was no image reflected on its surface. And the most baffling thing of all was a wave moving on the surface of the inner ring, as if it were a silver lake.

“I’ll be damned if I know what all this is about…” said Hartz.

The rest of the group came to join them, and they all looked in wonder at the strange Ilenian artifact. The waves rose in the middle and expanded as far as the rim of the golden ring.

“Can’t be, lake on wall,” Asti said, putting into words what they were all thinking.

“What do you think it is?” Komir asked.

“It has to be a way out of some sort,” Aliana said. “That’s what we’ve been asking the medallions to show us.”

“It’s certainly not a mirror, although it looks like one,” said Kayti. She was looking at the silver surface from a prudent distance, as if afraid the thing might swallow her.

“There’s only one way to find out,” said Hartz. Without wasting any more time thinking about it, and to everybody’s astonishment, he put his hand into the undulating silver surface.

“Hartz! What are you doing!” shouted Kayti, desperately worried.

“Finding out what this is,” said the giant calmly. He drew back his hand and looked at it to check it was still attached to his arm.

“Don’t be stupid!” Kayti scolded him furiously.

“What do you mean, stupid?” Hartz said, and a moment later put his head through the silver surface.

His head vanished, as if he had submerged it in the slimy water of a silver pool, while the rest of his body stayed there in the same place, to everybody’s amazement.

“Hartz!” Kayti cried, losing all restraint, and pulled him back. Her face was white with fear. The big man stepped back and his head reappeared intact, joined to his body. Kayti passed her hands over his face as though making sure everything was still there where it should be.

Hartz smiled.

At the Norriel’s smile Kendas breathed out in relief. He was unscathed.

A furious red spread across Kayti’s cheeks. She raised her hand to slap the giant, but held back at the last minute.

Hartz smiled again and threw her a kiss. He turned to the group and explained cheerfully:

“I saw another chamber… like this one, or very similar… with another artifact like this, on the other side. It’s there… but it’s not there… it’s weird, I don’t know how to explain it. I think this artifact is really a way out, a tunnel, to another chamber, somewhere long away but connected to this… That’s the impression I got.”

“What do you think?” Komir asked the group. “Do we risk crossing to the other side I don’t want to lead you into some new danger and risk your lives. Tell me what you think, freely.”

Aliana went to stand beside Komir. Looking into his eyes, she said:

“I’m coming with you. My destiny is linked to yours. Wherever you go, I’ll come with you and see our destinies through.”

When she heard herself say it out loud, Aliana realized that there was something more, that she did not wish to be separated from the Norriel, and that made her think about Gerart. She felt ashamed and guilty in her heart at this small betrayal of the one she had longed for. She thought of the handsome Prince: what might have happened to him? She recalled his chivalrousness and honesty: where might he be now?

And while these thoughts occupied her mind, her Ilenian medallion flashed suddenly with a strong brown light.

The golden ring of the artifact began to turn; the runes it bore turned with it, and three of them moved up to the top.

They all stared at the arcane artifact in puzzlement.

Komir looked at Aliana, but she could only shrug her shoulders since she had no idea what had happened.

“You seem to have activated it, Aliana,” said Kendas.

“It seems that way. I think we should go in. If there’s danger, we’ll face it together, just as we have till now. We must go on, and this Ilenian portal is the only way out of this chamber. We can’t go back. That’s why… I’m sure of it, we have to cross it.”

Aliana looked at Kendas, who nodded. Then her eyes turned to the others, one by one, and they all nodded.

“Then that’s decided. We’ll go into the artifact. May Our Founding Mother Helaun protect us from what might be waiting for us in the shadows on the other side.”

Lasgol woke with a start and tried to get to his feet. A terrible dizziness came over him, and as he was getting up he fell back to the ground. He had no idea where he was, and looked around him in puzzlement. The young librarian was lying beside him, and next to her the Priest of the Light. They were unconscious but alive. He scanned his surroundings uncertainly, in some confusion. They were on the eastern shore of the Great Lake… At the sight of the great mass of blue water, memories came flooding back into his mind.

The great whirlwind! The underwater cavern! The funerary chamber of the Lord of Air! But where were the Assassin and Iruki? Damn, they had escaped! There was no trace of their presence.

“What’s going on?” Lindaro asked from the ground, looking sick.

Lasgol tried to explain in the midst of his own confusion. “Somehow… we’ve appeared on the shore of the lake…”

“It’s a true miracle of the Light” said the man of faith, looking at the sky.

“I’d say Ilenian magic,” said Sonea, who was coming to at the same moment.

“Well, yes, that too,” Lindaro said, smiling as he stood up and shaking the dust and mud off his tunic.

“I have to go on with the chase,” said Lasgol, picking up his bow and slinging it over his shoulder. “Duty awaits me, so you’re free to go on your way.”

Lindaro looked at Sonea, and she looked back at him uncertainly.

“If it’s not asking too much… we’d like to go with you, Tracker. You see… neither Sonea nor I are any good at exploring… and without supplies, and surrounded by soldiers and other natural dangers… I don’t think we’d survive very long, to be honest.”

Lasgol frowned.

“You can’t come with me, you’d get in my way, and what’s even worse, you’d put the three of us in danger. I must hunt the Assassin, and he’s an extremely dangerous man. I can’t have you tagging along. I’m sorry.”

“But you can’t just leave us here!” Sonea protested. “You’re condemning us to certain death. We won’t make it without your help, we’re scholars, not warriors or explorers.”

“That’s none of my concern. I have more than enough with my own problems.”

“Help us, please, just till we come out of the Thousand Lakes,” Lindaro implored. “This is a maze of forests and lakes. We’ll get lost. Besides, we won’t be able to avoid the patrols that are bound to be searching for us.”

“What kind of a human being abandons two helpless people to their fate?” Sonea said with a look of bitter reproach.

The last thing Lasgol wanted was those two traveling with him. They would only hinder him in his pursuit, and they would put his life in danger. But once again his wretched conscience was playing tricks on him. It would not allow him to leave them to their fate. A fate which Lasgol knew would certainly be the death of them,
I’m the silliest of men. I can’t understand why I’ve been cursed with this conscience that won’t let me do what any rational person would in this situation: leave them here and go. But no, I’d never forgive myself, their deaths would haunt me for the rest of my days. The gods of the Snow have decided to make my life into something they can mock and ridicule. I must be the most laughable dope in all Norghana, and the gods must be laughing themselves sick.

“Follow me in silence, and when I say silence, I mean it!” he said in some irritation.

Lindaro and Sonea smiled and almost clapped their hands, as if salvation had descended from the heavens to seek them out.

Lasgol shook his head and grumbled to himself. It took him some time to calm down, and when at last he did, he began to inspect the area in search of marks he could interpret. He turned south and then west without leaving the shore, followed silently by the two scholars at a safe distance. An orange sun was beginning to go down on the lake, as if it sought to bathe in the fresh water and quench its eternal fire. At last Lasgol found the trace he was looking for. He could clearly make out Iruki’s footprints, and beside hers the faint, almost ethereal mark of Yakumo’s feet.

And a third set of prints.

Morksen’s discreet footprints.

The heartless rat!

“He’s betrayed me!” cried Lasgol. Reading the tracks, he deduced he had taken the two prisoners east, crossing the steep fir-woods.

“What is it?” Lindaro asked uneasily.

Lasgol was furious. “That treacherous snake has played me for a fool!”

“What a surprise…” Sonea said with a smirk.

“I knew he’d try something, but I didn’t believe he’d betray me like this. The stinking rat.”

“He won’t harm them… will he?” Lindaro asked, looking worried.

“I very much fear he won’t hesitate for a single moment if the wind isn’t blowing in his favor. I hope Iruki doesn’t let her wild nature get the better of her, or else she’ll be in serious trouble. Morksen is an amoral man and a crook, he won’t hesitate to get rid of whatever gets in the way of his own goals. If you want to help them, pray to your Light, because they’ll need it.”

“Let’s hunt him,” suggested Sonea, as if at that same moment she had turned into an experienced hunter of men.

Lasgol looked at her incredulously. Sonea blushed.

“I’ll hunt them down. You two follow my trail at a distance. Morksen is extremely dangerous and won’t hesitate to use you against me if he gets the chance. I’ll leave a trail you won’t miss. Don’t stray from it or you’ll risk getting lost, or even worse, running into Zangrian patrols or some wild beast in these forests.”

Lindaro nodded. “We won’t stray an inch,” he said.

“All right, then. I must get going. They’re too far ahead as it is.”

Lasgol started to run towards the forest, and Sonea shouted:

“Thank you, Lasgol! We owe you our lives!”

The Norghanian Forest Ranger turned, looked at the little librarian for a moment and nodded in recognition. The next moment he had vanished into the forest.

Iruki felt the sharp edge of the knife on her neck and froze. Behind her Morksen was holding her fast, one hand on her waist and the other threatening to cut her throat.

“If you try anything else, she dies,” he said to Yakumo. The Assassin’s hands were tied behind his back and he was looking at the old Tracker with a lethal gleam in his black eyes. Morksen pressed the knife harder, and a drop of blood ran down Iruki’s neck.

The tension between both men was extreme.

Iruki knew that if she tried anything now it would mean her death. This heartless swine was extremely dangerous and slippery as an eel.

Yakumo took half a step back, as far as the cord which tied him to Iruki permitted. Both prisoners were joined at the waist with expert knots.

“Attaboy, that’s the way I like it. Don’t you forget who’s the boss here.”

Yakumo nodded slowly, as if making a bow.

Morksen spat to one side.

“I’m going to remind you, Assassin, that I don’t need her. I can get rid of her annoying presence at any time, whenever it pleases me. She won’t even realize: one quick sure stroke and she’ll die in the blink of an eye. So don’t you forget, Assassin, she’ll go on living as long as she’s useful to me, so you’d better not try anything stupid. With or without the Gift, Assassin or not, you’re not quick enough to stop me killing her. So make sure you remember that. I can assure you, death is my business, I’ve been dealing in it for many years. I’m a master.”

“The way is long… and we’ll be on our guard…” Iruki threatened him.

“Shut up, you Masig bitch! Or I’ll cut your throat like that of a rabbit right now.”

Yakumo glanced at Iruki. His eyes were bright with worry, and she understood that this was not the time to bring the dangerous situation to a head. She decided to keep quiet and wait for the right moment. A moment which she would wait for eagerly and patiently.

“Turn round!” Morksen ordered Yakumo.

The Assassin did as he was told and turned slowly, keeping contact with Iruki’s eyes until he had completed the turn. When she saw the deep concern in her beloved’s eyes she felt a pang in her chest. How she loved him… how she wished to be with him, to be free to ride on the steppes beside him, free to love him all night under the full moon! She would do anything to make that love come true.

Morksen looked back over his shoulder.

“We’re going to move at a good pace. Lasgol will come looking for us soon, and I’ve no intention of letting him catch me like a novice just because of you two. No, that’s not what’s going to happen. The reward for your capture will be mine, Assassin. Mine alone. General Rangulfsen has offered a good sum of gold for handing you over, and I plan on collecting it all for myself. I wasn’t going to share that sort of prize with a stupid, idealistic, honorable idiot like Lasgol. No way! The moron can have his reward in righteousness if he so wishes, but the gold’s mine. Now let’s go on. Night’s not far off, and we have a long way ahead of us.”

Iruki felt Morksen withdraw the knife from her neck, and breathed again. She had been very close to dying at the hands of that Norghanian hyena. They had to escape; she could not let him deliver Yakumo to the Norghanians. There must be something she could do. There would be an opportunity to escape at some point or another; it was just a question of waiting for the right moment. The stench of Morksen’s putrid breath assailed her and made her gag.

“Come on, you bitch of the steppes, and don’t forget I’m not taking my eyes off your back for a single moment.”

A chill, a mixture of loathing and fear, ran down her spine.

Perhaps the moment would not come.

Lasgol found the trail without too much trouble, and this surprised him. Morksen was an expert tracker, regarded as an infallible hunter of men, and for some reason Lasgol could not understand he was not hiding his trail with the care the situation demanded.
There’s no doubt Morksen knows I’ll come after him. Why isn’t he hiding his trail better? It almost looks as though he’s not even trying. It doesn’t make sense…
He stared at the footprints and immediately recognized those of Morksen, guiding Iruki before him. Ahead of the two he could make out the Assassin’s, those tracks which were practically undetectable if Yakumo chose to make them so.
Too obvious, too easy. Something’s amiss.

He looked up and scanned the dense poplar forest. He went in carefully and activated his ability to camouflage. He remained still and silent. His body began to blend in with his surroundings as if he were a chameleon, adopting and assimilating the colors of the vegetation around him. After a moment he was practically invisible to the human eye, assuming he made no sudden movements.

He went on deeper into the woods, following the trail of the three fugitives as far as an open gully with a crystalline brook flowing down it. Beside the brook he saw Morksen crouching to fill a water-skin. A little further away Iruki was struggling with her bonds, trying to break loose from the tree he had tied her to. But there was no trace of Yakumo, and this worried Lasgol deeply. He prepared his approach and very carefully began to move, looking to surprise the treacherous veteran tracker from behind. He moved very slowly, crouching, in absolute silence, stalking like a great predator. He came within two steps of Morksen’s back without being discovered. He was preparing to take him by surprise when he heard a voice.

“He’s only two steps away from your back, Morksen.”

Lasgol’s blood froze. It was Yakumo’s voice.

Morksen turned at once and unsheathed his hunting knife.

“I can’t see you, Lasgol, but if the Assassin says you’re there, you must be.”

Lasgol could not understand what was going on. Was Yakumo really cooperating with Morksen? Why? Why would he help a snake like that? It was impossible!

And then Morksen surprised him again. Instead of fighting, he ran to hide behind Iruki.

What on earth was going on here? Lasgol was totally confused. Yakumo emerged from the shadow of two big poplars, making himself visible. Lasgol did not move, even though he was aware that the Assassin had detected him by using his dark power, the one he had used to make himself disappear among the shadows of the trees so that Lasgol could not see him.

Morksen and Iruki were looking in his direction, trying to locate him, but Lasgol knew they would not be able to.

With extreme care he nocked an arrow and aimed at the Tracker hiding behind the young Masig.

“He’s aiming at you,” Yakumo warned again. This confused Lasgol even more. Why was the Assassin warning his enemy?

Morksen hid himself completely behind Iruki, not allowing Lasgol a clean shot. Even so, he might risk it using his skill to make an arrow find its target, although the risk was high and if he missed he would kill Iruki.

“Finish him off,” Morksen barked at the Assassin. “What are you waiting for?

Lasgol looked at Yakumo and saw the red gleam of his shadowy magic as he activated it.
Is he really going to take me out instead of killing that treacherous scum? It’s crazy! What’s he doing?

With a lightning-quick movement the Assassin threw two silver blades at him at a dizzying speed. Lasgol saw them heading straight for his chest, and using his enhanced reflexes he placed his bow in the way. Both blades stuck in the wood, and with the abrupt movement Lasgol was revealed.