The Lord of the Clans

  Of course, there was only one way for them. Defy the Shrouded Mountains to find out what dwelled on the other side.

  Except that they already knew. The devouring darkness was spreading across the Four Kingdoms and would soon plunge the world into endless night, chaos, and death. Tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth, she grabbed the mug of tea and pushed her plate away from her.

  “I can’t eat.”

  “I’m not surprised.”

  He didn’t look especially hungry either. His plate also untouched, he went for tea instead and took a few sips before putting his mug down on the table. He wiped his mouth and stared at her with a grave expression.

  “I know you’re scared and the odds are against us, but there’s still good news. As it turns out, we won’t have to ride all the way to the top of the mountains and back down on the other side.”

  “Really?”

  “I paid for the room before I went to check on the horses. The innkeeper gave me directions to a series of tunnels leading north. Apparently, they were built through the mountains by tribesmen a long time ago. I believe this short cut will save us at least two days ride.”

  “Won’t we get lost in the tunnels?”

  His soft chuckle warmed her for a brief instant, and she felt like hanging on to the reassuring sentiment. Although he sat across from her, she was looking at her former face and the urge to see him knotted her belly.

  She wanted to gaze upon the hard features of the Lord of the Clans so badly that her lungs ached. She needed to witness the strength of his huge body and the intensity of his cold, gray eyes.

  “I guess you would, Ariana, but I’m sure we’ll be all right. I’m used to that kind of place and, for all we know, these tunnels might prove pretty straightforward. It’s not like we’ll be entering a maze.”

  “If you say so.”

  A shadow of a grin played on his lips as he stroked her fingers. His light touch gave her a sense of security. Yet they had more important things to do than stare at each other, and time wasn’t on their side.

  “Shall we go?”

  “I think we’d better.”

  She followed him to the stables. As soon as they got on their horses, he headed out of town and toward the peaks. She had to squint several times while they paced down the main street. The black blanket of clouds above head blocked the sun, and this gloomy day was the coldest so far.

  The memory of the hot, carefree moment they had enjoyed at the lagoon seemed to belong to another lifetime.

  The only sensations ruling her mind now were of obscurity, dread, and cold. She’d have liked to get rid of them in order to focus on the ordeal ahead, but they stuck to her brain like slimy snails.

  Galloping appeared out of the question as they couldn’t see well enough. By the time they got to the foot of the Shrouded Mountains, a murky mist had begun to curtain their surroundings and freeze their limbs.

  Wrapping her thick coat around her, she glanced past him as he shouted and gestured toward what looked like a hole at the base of the towering peak. They reached it in no time and dismounted just as the heavy mist clinging to her skin turned to rain. He strode to the entrance, took a look inside, then came back to rummage in his saddlebags.

  “The tunnels are small. We have to leave the horses here or they’ll hinder our progress.”

  “What if we need them on the other side? And what about our things? We can’t just leave them out in the open.”

  “We’ll make do. Besides, I don’t think anybody will come this way to steal a horse. This place is forsaken.”

  His gloomy tone added a shade of sombreness to their already bleak surroundings. Reluctant to let go of her horse as though the animal represented safety, she stroked its neck while whispering her goodbyes. She might never set eyes on him again, or on the world for that matter.

  She got hold of her water skin before joining Cameron near the entrance. A dozen torches were piled up on the floor. Wondering who had left them there as well as who would want to visit such a dreary place on a regular basis, she rolled nervous fingers around the torch he handed her.

  He lit two before entering a darkness that seemed to be alive. Man-sized and obviously cut through the mountain rock, the tunnels didn’t allow for much freedom of movement apart from advancing.

  They had walked for only a short while when three black-as-ravens passages branched off from the main tunnel. He halted, observed the three options, and sighed deeply.

  “Looks like we’re in a maze after all.”

  “Of course. What else?”

  No real surprise there. Any other person in search of a menace to defeat would have found a direct tunnel, but this kind of luck apparently never was available to her. Because she had no sense of direction, or because the Ancients had decided to abandon her? Whatever the reason, they’d have to go through a pitch-black, oppressive, silent maze.

  “Don’t worry. I promise we’ll get out of here.”

  She nodded, hoping he wouldn’t read fear in her eyes. They carried on and on, the sound of their feet echoing along the walls, the flames of the torches dwindling from an increasing lack of air. She had the impression of breathing dust. They soon came across other branches, each one dividing into several tunnels, some of them leading to dead ends.

  The longer they walked, turned, or retraced their steps, the more certain she became that he had no idea where they were going. She also figured he wouldn’t tell her. Not to avoid looking at a loss, because no human had the capacity to find his way through such an intricate labyrinth, but to prevent scaring her.

  Her feet began to hurt, yet the long, obscure passages never seemed to end. Although tired and thirsty, she didn’t have the heart to ask for a break. Then coming out of nowhere, a violent blast of air blew out the torches. Utter darkness enfolded them as a spine-chilling silence settled over the tunnels.

  They were trapped in the dark, and completely lost.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  “Damn!”

  A cramp assaulted her left calf as he cursed. She stretched her leg muscle, using the diversion to keep it together, willing herself to not scream. The pain abated, but the total blackness remained, seeming to worm its way inside her. Fingers trembling, she focused on the sound of his flint.

  “I can’t light the torches again. It’s like there’s no air.”

  “Cameron.”

  When she whispered his name, he fumbled in the dark until he found her shoulders to wrap his arms around. She couldn’t quell the shivers shaking her body, and she had trouble putting one word after another.

  “We’re going to die in here.”

  “No, we aren’t. Come, sit down.”

  Hands on her shoulders, he prompted her toward the ground. She pressed her back against the tunnel wall and slid down. She had to use one of her hands to maintain her balance as the sheath of her sword grated on the rock. He sat next to her while she brought the water skin to her lips.

  Although the fresh liquid didn’t give her much courage, it helped keep mental pictures of monsters lurking in the dark at bay. He drank after her when she passed him the goatskin.

  “Thank you.”

  She took the container back and fastened her fingers around the top. At least they wouldn’t die of thirst.

  Coldness penetrated her bones. Whether due to the low temperature in the labyrinth or to the despair clamping her heart, the bleak sensation accelerated her breathing. He clearly heard the short, rugged rasps coming out of her throat, and he took hold of her free hand.

  “Don’t be frightened. Didn’t I promise we’d get out of here?”

  “You did. It looks like you got ahead of yourself.”

  “Nah, I never do that.”

  He didn’t have a clue what to do next, but his light tone liberated the pressure inside her. Even trapped in the dark, he found ways to make her smile and ease the growing fear eating at her. His attempt to comfort her also goaded her to pluck up the courage to share her
feelings.

  “We won’t save the Four Kingdoms after all. The strange thing is I don’t care that much because we’ll be dead anyway.”

  “We aren’t dead yet, and I refuse to give up until the last breath leaves my body. Even if my day has come, I’ll die fighting.”

  “There’s nothing to fight down here.”

  “Of course there is.”

  What was he talking about? Did he think actual monsters roamed the tunnels in search of them? Would they have to draw their swords in this pitch-dark, forsaken place and battle enemies they couldn’t even see? She took a deep inspiration just as he squeezed her fingers.

  “Bravery doesn’t come from great deeds, Ariana, but from hope. As long as you have confidence in yourself and faith in a brighter future, you might still live to see that day. If you surrender to despair, then you dig your own grave. You must have hope. I need you to have hope.”

  Mind over matter. How many times had her shaman repeated it over her years as a training healer? Here, in this forlorn place, a mighty warrior denied death with the same conviction.

  Why couldn’t she see it? When and why had she closed her mind to faith? She might wear the body of the Lord of the Clans, but she didn’t deserve such an honour. She wasn’t worthy of this admirable man. Not today, not ever. With the touch of his hand warming her palm, she swallowed the lump in her throat.

  “I can’t have hope. All I see is that we’re definitely going to die in these tunnels because we can’t get out, and nobody will come to our rescue. I’m not brave like you. I’m just scared out of my wits. The Ancients chose me to be their great power, but I’ve never had lives entrusted to me before, and I didn’t realise until now how oppressive and frightening that responsibility is. It feels like a burden, a death trap I can’t free myself from.”

  “I know how it feels. I live with this responsibility every day. Tell me something. If someone had warned you that you’d become a man someday, would you have believed that person?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Yet you are a man. More than that, you’re the Lord of the Clans. Isn’t this proof that the impossible can happen?”

  She hadn’t thought of the situation in this light. The notion of turning into a man didn’t sound any less ridiculous or desperate than being rescued from a maze. Besides, his convinced tone fazed her.

  “I guess, but how do I go about having hope?”

  “Don’t you care about the Four Kingdoms and its people?”

  “Yes, I do. It’s just that if I am to die today, the fate of the realm won’t be my priority. Nor my last thought.”

  “What is?”

  She faltered. His straight to the point question triggered a bout of unexpected shyness within her. As she stared at nothing but the impenetrable darkness cutting them off from the rest of the world, she realised that she didn’t want to depart to the ethers without telling him.

  “You.”

  She felt his hand tighten around hers. In the absolute lifelessness of the deep underground, she heard his long intake of breath.

  “Me. Why?”

  “Because...”

  Self-consciousness silenced her again. Fighting off the loud pumping of her heart and the capricious jiggles of her pulse, she closed her eyes. Then she opened them before licking her lips.

  “Because I love you.”

  A hush fell over the tunnels. A moment of utter stillness where she felt blind and deaf, solely connected to the feminine body beside her, to the man she couldn’t live without. She flinched when he spoke, his soft voice feeling like the caress of a passionate lover.

  “Do you hope that I might love you?”

  “More than anything.”

  “Then I want you to hang on to that hope. I want you to feed on it until we’re out of this place. Can you do that for me?”

  “Yes, I can.”

  To her profound surprise, she did. Elation expanded her heart as she listened to his ardent tone, as she heard the intensity of his words. She might not be able to hope for herself, but she’d do it for him.

  A beam of light pierced the pocket of his cloak. The bright ray drilled the darkness and scattered shadows around them.

  “Cameron, look. What is it?”

  He let go of her fingers to shove his hand into his pocket. When he took it out, the disc, the square, and the triangle glowed in his palm.

  “It’s hope.”

  The three objects appeared alive. As though unable to do anything else, she stared at them until he got to his feet.

  “Come on, this is our way out.”

  She stood up, joy making her grin at the thought that the Ancients hadn’t deserted her after all. They simply needed her to believe in them, in their magic, or possibly in herself. She grabbed his fingers when he reached out to her, then took the first steps toward freedom.

  They changed course or avoided passageways every time the light from the objects dimmed. But when the disc, the square, and the triangle glowed fiercely, they went straight on. Hand in hand, they followed the white beam for quite a long time. They hurried their steps at some point, spurred on by blind faith, driven by the ever urgent need to get out.

  A hole appeared in the gloom. She barely made out its outlines, yet the three white beams guided them ever onwards. Within a short distance of the vague opening, she wondered why she wasn’t able to see better, but he didn’t give her time to dwell on the matter as he pulled her forward.

  “Come on, Ariana, we’re almost there.”

  Where? She walked faster to keep up with him. When they reached the man-sized hole, the light from the three magical shapes winked out. Just like that, without warning, and blackness fell on them again. She gasped, all of sudden feeling trapped in dark surroundings.

  “What’s wrong? Why have they stopped working?”

  “We’re outside. I guess they have served their purpose.”

  “Really? After all the trouble we went through to retrieve them from the temples, you’d think they’d be a little more helpful.”

  “They’ve just saved our lives. What else do you expect?”

  She wasn’t sure, actually. Somehow she had started to believe that the magical shapes would aid them to fight the Darkening, possibly vanquish it for them. That she was the one chosen by the Ancients.

  Whatever assistance she got on the way, she’d still have to battle the evil alone. She knew this for a fact, even though her magic didn’t belong to her anymore, but to Cameron. She felt it in her bones.

  He released her hand as they took their first step outside. She breathed fresh air first, intense relief filling her lungs. Alive. They were both alive, and she should thank the Mighty Gods instead of losing hope. Whether the Creators watched over them or not, they had come this far.

  Her eyes were still adjusting to the dark after such a long time in the tunnels, but she blinked in an attempt to discover her surroundings. It had to be early afternoon at the very least, yet night seemed to rule over the countryside. Darkness met her eyes everywhere she looked.

  “Where are we?”

  “On the other side of the mountain.”

  He pointed above them. She craned her neck to discern the giant bulk of the shrouded peak. Observing around while smelling a damp odour, she saw only emptiness and shadows.

  “It’s the middle of the day, yet it looks like night.”

  “These territories belong to the Darkening now. I don’t think they’ll ever see the light again unless we do something about it.”

  She followed him as he took a few steps forward. The ground underneath felt a little spongy and didn’t crunch underfoot. Squinting, as if the simple act would shed light, she realised they were walking on a flat, gray stretch of land with big rocks here and there that appeared as old as time. Then she saw a black line seeming to turn the gray soil into ebony grounds.

  “Is it a field?”

  “No. I’d say it’s similar to a large expanse of water, but I can’t see where i
t ends. Come, let’s take a closer look.”

  A large pond? A lake? They advanced with caution, but as they neared the black line she spied a tall, compact block about thirty feet ahead. Between the indistinct mass and the shore in front of them, a long bridge spanned the water. Swarms of tiny shivers struck her calves and ran down her spine.

  “Cameron, it’s some kind of castle.”

  He unsheathed one of his swords and pointed it forward before indicating the nearest boulder.

  “Hide behind this rock. I’m going to cross that bridge.”

  “No, you aren’t. Not without me.”

  “We don’t have time for an argument. I have the magic now, you don’t. So just lay low and wait for me.”

  A violent flash of black light ripped the air and struck him. As he collapsed to the ground, she heard the hateful voice in her head.

  Come to me.

  Chapter Forty

  “Get down!”

  His shout broke her paralysis. She dropped to her knees, grabbed the collar of his cloak, and pulled him behind the boulder. Panting, he sat against the rock, his face streaked with spasms of pain.

  “Damn. What was that?”

  The retaliation for his trespassing. The Darkening wanted her, no one else but her. Although no other word from the hissing voice rang in her head, she suddenly knew the name of the massive structure.

  The Black Fortress. Evil dwelt there, biding its time, waiting for her. But Cameron had been hit, and they needed to take care of his injury.

  “Show me your wound.”

  “It’s just my shoulder. I’ll be all right.”

  The disc, the square, and the triangle glowed in his hand. He’d managed to hold on to them in spite of the attack. As they gave off light, she recalled the account she had read in the old book from the Shrine of Doom. The keys are hidden from his sight. If prophecy should come to pass, they must be used.

  He held the keys in his hand. They existed so she could use them to enter the looming fortress. Then another thought occurred to her, and she blurted it out while he grimaced from pain.