The Crimson Vault (The Traveler's Gate Trilogy) (22 page)

The man's two guards, in the red-and-gold of the King's army, stood and saluted when they saw Indirial.

"No change, sir," one of the guards said. "He's stayed put the whole time."

Indirial thanked the soldier and went down on one knee, looking the shaking man in the eye. "What happened?" Indirial asked softly.

At first, Simon didn't think the man would answer. He kept shivering and looking off in the distance. But after a few more seconds of that he turned and met Indirial's gaze.

"There was a swordsman," he whispered. "A swordsman with black eyes. He showed up at the edge of town, and just started walking, but his sword was so big...it was that big." The man noticed Azura, and his eyes widened. He pointed. "
That
big. The sword looked like that. Where did you get that sword?"

By the last word, he was practically panicking.

"Kai," Indirial said, his voice a razor, "would you please banish Azura?"

Kai said nothing, but he held Azura's hilt out to Simon. Simon took the sword in both hands, but without calling steel he could barely hold it upright. It only took a brief effort of will to banish the blade back to Valinhall.

Indirial noticed. He stared at the space where Azura had once been and looked at Kai, raising his eyebrows in question.

Kai shrugged.

The shivering man's eyes widened even further. "Travelers," he whispered. "You're Travelers." He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Maker be praised," he said. "Now he'll get what he deserves. Travelers will settle for him. He'll finally get what he deserves."

"Please, tell me what happened," Indirial said again. He didn't sound angry; in fact, he sounded quite patient. Simon would have expected an Overlord to make demands, not to ask politely. He had only spoken with Malachi for a minute or two, but the man had spoken like a king until he saw his family in danger. Indirial seemed somehow more…human.

"He was just walking," the man went on. "But his sword was so big, and so sharp, it started cutting people. First, it sliced right through one of the ox-lines. Not like he meant to do it, just like he didn't care where his sword went or what it cut. The ox ran off, and it was old Benai's. Benai got mad, so he...he yelled at the guy.

"The swordsman, he looked at Benai, and that was when we could see that he had black eyes. He told Benai that, if he wanted him to stop, he should get a weapon. He kept walking. Benai, well, he had seen the guy's eyes. He screamed and started to run, but then the swordsman stabbed him in the back."

The man squeezed his eyes shut. "He called the man a coward. He said that, if any of us deserved to live, we should prove it. And then he brought the sword down, like he was cutting the air itself. And a thousand shadows came out."

Simon stared at the man, horrified and sick. At least now he knew where the Nye had gone.

"They were everywhere, these shadows. They choked...they just...they had these chains..." the man started crying. Simon looked away uncomfortably. He could imagine what kind of horror this man had endured, but it still felt wrong to him to watch a grown man cry.

"We know," Indirial said gently. "Trust me, we know. How did you survive?"

"My brother had this sword, and I knew about it," the man said. "When we were kids, we would take turns practicing with it. Pretending, you know? So I got it. When one of the shadows came for me, I managed to stab it through the chest. It just sort of...slithered away, like a snake."

The look in the man's eyes became pure horror. "Then
he
came."

"Were you in his way?" Denner asked. He sounded more curious than anything else, which surprised Simon until he thought about it. Surely, Denner must have heard even worse stories than this one.

The man shook his head. "It seemed like, when I killed this shadow, like he started looking for me. There was a wagon in his way when he walked toward me, and he just...he just cut it in half and kept walking. When he came into my house, instead of using the door, he cut his way through the wall. I just stood there. Frozen, you know? But I was on my feet, and I had my sword."

He clutched his sword tighter. "The man with black eyes, he said, 'Come out of your house. If you deserve to live, prove it.'"

***

The Overlord interviewed two more witnesses that night. Their stories were the same: anything the black-eyed swordsman ran into, he cut it apart. Any
one
he ran into, he fought them. If they ran, he cut them down, like they weren't worth his time anymore. And the Nye, at his bidding, killed even more. The village of Harinfel had lost almost eight out of ten of its residents. Most of the survivors were children or the very old, those that—to hear Kai tell it—the Incarnation had considered unworthy of his attention. Only three men had faced it with swords in hand and survived.

They all agreed on one thing: the Incarnation was headed southeast.

"Toward Cana," Indirial said. He had taken the other Valinhall Travelers to his own tent, which was much larger than the others and set with tables and chairs. "If I know anything about Valin," the Overlord went on, "he'll make a beeline for the capital. And if I know anything about Valinhall, he'll cut through the King's guards and challenge Zakareth himself to a duel."

"Will that matter?" Denner asked. "We know how well-protected the King is. Even against an Incarnation, couldn't he hold his own?"

Kai spoke up softly, but he kept his gaze on the face of his doll. "Against the Incarnation of any other Territory, yes," Kai said. Denner sighed.

"That's not the whole story," Indirial said. "It gets worse." Then he turned to face Simon. "Doesn't it?"

Simon stared the Overlord in the face. How had he known? Did Damasca have their own spies in Enosh?

Indirial has his own sources of information,
Angeline told him.
Don't worry too much about it.

"The Grandmasters know the Incarnation is loose," Simon said reluctantly. "They're planning to attack."

Kai and Denner both turned to stare at Simon. Indirial just nodded, as though one of his suspicions had been confirmed.

"You have risen far, it seems, little mouse," Kai said.
 

Simon shrugged, trying not to let his discomfort show. "Alin insisted I go to the meeting," he said.

"And I, for one, am glad he did," Indirial responded. "Because we can use this information against the Grandmasters. Before they destroy everything we've worked to protect."

"Just a minute," Denner said. "We've established how Simon knew what the Grandmasters were planning. But how did
you
know he knew?"

Indirial smiled. "Trade secret," he said. "Now, if I may have your attention.”

The Overlord spread a map out on his table, pointing. “We’re here, just to the southeast of Harinfel. Well, what used to be Harinfel. If the Incarnation had continued in a straight line toward Cana, he would have reached the village of Belcor, which is only a few miles south of our position. But, as far as we can tell, Belcor still stands.”

Indirial nodded to Simon. “What does that mean, Simon?”

Simon hurriedly scanned the map. Presumably, the white tent-shaped piece on the center of the board represented their location. Harinfel was a small labeled dot to the northwest, Belcor another small dot to the south. If the Incarnation was headed straight to Cana, there was no way around.

Simon cleared his throat. “Either he’s still here, or he went the long way, around the village. Or, I guess, he could have moved through the village without killing anybody.”

Indirial nodded. “Well put. We find it unlikely that he stayed here. Even as a human, Valin didn’t like standing still, and I’m sure he’s even more restless now. So it’s unlikely he stayed here, and even more unlikely that he moved through the village without killing anyone, but we know he wants to get to Cana.”

Kai waved a dismissive hand. “He could have passed through another Territory. If Enosh found him, we won’t see him again until he’s tearing down the gates of Cana.”

Indirial hesitated. “Let’s just say I have reason to believe that’s not the case. Even if it is, though, Cana is well-defended. But I find it more likely that he will show up somewhere between here and Cana, where the land becomes so populated that he can’t sneak through. If we wait here, we’ll be close enough to Travel as a group and catch him as soon as he appears. We should be ready to move in a day or two.”

“Wait here,” Denner said. He sounded oddly hopeful. “Just…wait around?”

The Overlord chuckled. “Sorry, Denner. We need someone to deal with the Grandmasters.”

Denner sighed.

“Now,” Indirial continued, “We know what they want: they're trying to attack a Hanging Tree, wherever they can. Since each Overlord guards one of the Trees—"

"The Hanging Tree?" Simon interrupted. He had heard references to it before, but no one had ever explained what it meant.

"It's an artifact of Ragnarus," Denner explained. "It keeps the Incarnations in check. Each Tree seals one Incarnation, but they’re all connected: the more Trees destroyed, the closer
all
Incarnations get to escaping.”

Indirial returned his attention to the map. "We know that the Grandmasters will be attacking the Overlords they see as weakest. We've checked on each Overlord, and we feel confident that will mean Deborah, Eli, and Malachi. Malachi's wife isn't a Traveler, so they'll almost certainly hit that point. I was planning on giving you two," he indicated Kai and Denner, "a team, and have you each defend one of these points. But without Kathrin to cover the third..."

Indirial paused thoughtfully. "Simon," he began, but Kai cut him off.

"No," Kai said firmly.

"Do you have access to ghost armor?" Indirial asked Simon, ignoring Kai.

Simon glanced between Kai and the Overlord, trying to determine what had passed between them. But he was missing far too much information to make any sense out of the situation. "What? Ghost armor?"

Indirial nodded, digesting the information. "How about the frozen horn?"

Simon shook his head. Were these Valinhall powers?

"The black gauntlet?"

"Sorry, no."

The side of Indirial's mouth quirked up. "What
do
you have, then?"

Simon did not consider himself a dramatic person. Big, flashy gestures were for people like Alin. But every once in a while, he felt the situation called for more than just a simple answer.

He reached out his mind in a mental call, and Azura answered.

At the same time, he summoned steel and essence both. In a fraction of a second he held Azura in his hand, and he spun the sword forward, so that the razor's edge of the blade rested against Indirial's neck.

A flap of fabric from the tent fluttered to the ground, where Azura's blade had neatly sliced through it.

Indirial's lopsided smile didn't vanish. His eyes turned to Kai. "Nye essence?"

Kai shrugged. "Not my doing," he said.

"Clearly. Well, Simon, I've got news for you."

First, Indirial was standing over his map, sword at the edge of his neck. Then, suddenly, he just wasn't.

There came a blur of black motion, and then a pain in Simon's hand, and he was no longer holding Azura.

"You're not the only one," Indirial said, from behind him. Simon turned around to see Indirial offering Azura's hilt back.

Simon's face flushed, and he took Azura and banished it without a word.

That's what you get for showing off,
Angeline said.

You're not helping,
Simon sent. His embarrassment lent an edge to his mental voice.

No need to snap.

"That's good, Simon," Indirial said. "But I can't send you out on your own if you're not prepared to stand against a real Traveler. Kai, you protect the Naraka Incarnation in Malachi's realm. Denner, I'll send you to protect the Asphodel Incarnation with Eli. You have some experience in Asphodel anyway, don't you?"

Denner repressed what might have been a twitch in one eye, and Hariman chuckled. But, eventually, the Traveler nodded.

"Excellent. So you'll support Eli, Kai can help Adrienne, and I'll come up with a team for Deborah. She probably needs the least help. Simon, you'll stay here with me. If the two of you don’t make it back in time, then Simon and I will be the ones to intercept Valin."

No one liked that.

"Oh, I see, he'll stay with you," Kai said. "Under your protection, I'm sure? Pardon me if I don't trust in that."

"He's just a boy, Indirial," Denner said. "He's not ready for this."

Simon didn't say anything, but he didn't relish the idea of spending his time in battle alongside a Damascan Overlord.

Indirial held up a hand to their objections. "Honestly, he'll be safest here. I'll be able to keep an eye on them, and I spoke to the King only moments before I met you. I'll be getting some backup. They will arrive in two hours, at most."

"If you'll have so much help," Kai said, "then you don't need the boy."

Simon was beginning to get a little sick of being called 'the boy.'

"He should learn how the world works, Kai," Indirial said. "Since you're not going to teach him,
somebody
has to."

Denner raised a hand, like a child waiting for an adult to call on him. "Uh, excuse me, but I think we brushed past something fairly important. What kind of backup are you expecting, Indirial?"

This time it was Indirial's turn to sigh, and Simon was surprised at how much it made him sound like Denner. "That's the other thing," he said. "I'm getting a pair of Ragnarus Travelers. Maybe some Travelers from other Territories, if they can be spared. But two Ragnarus at least.”

Fascinating,
Angeline murmured.
It's been so long...

What?
Simon asked.
What is going on?

Kai cocked his head like a bird, though this time he looked more angry than curious. "Very well, Indirial. You've obviously thought this through."

"I try," Indirial said dryly.

"It wouldn't be wise for either of us to fight alongside a royal," Denner agreed. "Too much bad blood. But how about Simon, though? He's killed his share of Damascan soldiers."