The Swans' War 3 - The Shadow Roads (33 page)

Tarn dropped down a crack between two boulders and found himself in a narrow passage.

"Are you all right?" Fynnol called down from above.

"Yes. Stay up there, Cousin. I might need your help to get out.""Easy for you to say. The ceiling will kill me first.""Yes, but it will kill me second. I will trade places with you if you wish?""No, Tarn. Go on as you are. We'll search together."Tarn wormed his way between the stones, getting down on his belly here and there to push himself through small openings. Every few moments he met a dead end and was forced to find another way, but Fynnol proved useful scouting the route from above.

"Fynnol? I thought I heard something—like a voice." They both stopped and tried to quiet their breathing. "A moan. Yes! This way, I think."Tarn tried to follow his cousin, who leapt from boulder to boul-der, quickly finding his way. A tight squeeze, then he tripped over something soft.

"I found someone!" Tarn pushed himself out of the cleft be-tween the stones and crouched, holding the torch so that he might see.

"Who is it?"

"A man—dead, I fear." Tarn turned the man's head a little, the eyes staring at him vacantly. "You know,Fynnol, I think this is Bel-dor Renne.""No. He was taken by the servants of Death in the Stillwater. Don't you remember?""Nevertheless, I think this can be no other.""Tarn?" came a faint whisper.

"Well, Tarn, if you thin—"

"Fynnol! Quiet!"

"Tarn?" came the voice again.

The Valeman held his torch aloft and swept it this way and that, throwing its light down the narrow crevices between the fallen ceiling.

He leapt up. "Elise? Elise?" He forced his way between two close stones, tearing away cloth and flesh.

And there he found her, lying in a void between the fallen boulders.

"Elise! Fynnol! Call Alaan!"

He dropped down, wedging the torch into a crack, and took her head in his hands.

"Can you move? Where are you hurt?""It is all right,Tarn. I'm unharmed … or at least healed from all my hurts. Give me a moment," she whispered, close to tears, "and I'll get up.""Oh, Elise," he said, unable to contain his feelings. "I thought never to see you again."Her hand slipped, small and warm, into his. "Something keeps throwing us together, Tarn," she said softly, "no matter the dis-tances between."Alaan appeared above. "Ah, there you are! How badly is she in-jured, Tarn?""I'm unharmed," Elise said, though she did not open her eyes.

"That is a miracle," Alaan responded, leaning over the opening, his face appearing in the flickering light of Tarn's torch.

"Perhaps. Someone healed my hurts, or so I dreamed. What of the others?"Alaan did not answer, and Elise suddenly rose to a sitting po-sition.

"Tell me," she demanded.

"We found Slighthand… crushed beneath a stone."Elise covered her face, tears running out between her fingers, like blood from a wound, but there was no sound.

"Who else?" she whispered.

"Some Renne men-at-arms. Knights wearing gray cloaks.""Toren? A'brgail?""We have not found them yet."Her silent tears continued. "He had survived for so long," she whispered, haltingly, "and given up the sword. If Kai had not found him, and sent him after you—""We might all have perished in the Stillwater," Alaan said, in-terrupting her gently.

"He saved me when Death's servant had me in its claws," Fyn-nol said sadly.

"Slighthand saved many from death," Alaan said, "but we have no time to mourn him now."A distorted shout from some distance silenced them all.

"Can you climb up?" Alaan asked, reaching down as far as he could. "I think they've found some others."Alaan and Fynnol pulled them both up. Elise swayed, support-ing herself on Tarn's shoulder.

They made their way across the rubble, jumping from boulder to boulder, until at last they reached a place where the ceiling had not fallen, though the floor was buckled and broken. Here, a small company huddled, some lying, others sitting propped against the wall. A channel ran with water, and a small distance off, a round pool steamed, glowing faintly white.

Some of the gathering were wet through, and others lay still, in-jured, or dead, or sleeping.

"Thank the river," Elise said with feeling, "not a few have survived."Baore rose as he saw them approaching over the rubble. His carriage was bent to one side as though he favored an injury there. Three gray-clad Knights also found their feet, raising weapons as though ready to defend themselves, though they looked like they could hardly stand. There were two in Renne blue, neither of whom could rise, little Theason, and Eber, his back against the wall, knees up, and a hand over his face.

"You need not fear us," Alaan called out. "It is Alaan. And we have found Elise unharmed amid the rubble."One of the gray-robed Knights came forward, and one of the two in Renne blue.

"Sir Gilbert," Elise said. "I am heartily glad to see you un-harmed.""None of us have gone unharmed," he said, as they drew near,then nodded to the old man leaning against the wall, "though none of us have received so great a hurt as Eber."Elise had climbed down onto the buckled floor, but there she stopped. "Llya…" she breathed as though the wind had been knocked from her lungs.

"Gone," Eber said, the word coming out as a sob. "Washed into the channel by a wave formed when the floor was broken. It rose up and swept him off. Gone before I could even gain my feet." He began to sob, his face hidden by his knees and a bent gray hand.

Elise went forward, crouching down on one knee before the old man. "Eber. I'm so sorry. … I said I would protect him—""And you did not!" the old man said, pulling his hand away from his face, fierce with grief. "What kind of father lets a child— hardly more than a baby—lead warriors in search of a monster?""Eber," Elise said, drawing back a little, "there was no one else to lead us. Hafydd had to be stopped.""But we did not stop him. I gave up my son's life for nothing! His precious life!" Again he was overcome by grief and sobbed as though there were no one there to see.

None of the others would look directly upon Eber, but all turned a little away, their faces filled with sorrow and pity and guilt. Elise came slowly to her feet, tears running down her cheeks. Tarn could see the accusation had cut her deeper than a blade ever could. She hesitated, as though seeking something to say, some-thing to do, and turned away.

Theason caught her eye with a gesture. "Theason saw it hap-pen. Hafydd's terrible creature leapt into the pool and broke through the ice, dragging the limp body into the river, his master close behind.""His master?" Elise said. "Hafydd," Theason said. "It grew very dark then—a cloud of dust thrown up by the falling ceiling—but Theason thought he saw a woman. At first Theason believed it was you, Lady Elise, covered in dust and dirt, but it was a dark-haired woman." He looked sud-denly a bit hesitant, even embarrassed. "She went into the river. It will sound mad, but she seemed to change as she went. Certainly it was only the poor light, the dust in Theason's eyes—""She appeared to turn into a swan," Alaan said.

Theason looked at him, surprised. "A black swan, yes."Alaan nodded and walked to the pool, where he crouched, star-ing into the water.

Toren Renne came forward and embraced his cousin. "We thought you dead," Toren said, pounding Dease on the back.

"I don't know how I survived. The fire tried to burn me, the smoke to choke me, and then I was found by Alaan, a coal spat out of the fire, stumbling along the bank." The two pulled apart.

"I cannot tell you how glad I am to see you. How your loss has preyed upon my mind when I should have concentrated upon other matters…" Toren ran out of words.

Dease met his eye, moved by this show of feeling. "I am here, Toren, and largely unharmed."Toren nodded, pulling himself up a little and trying to smile. "Yes, we have other matters to concern us.

Other losses."

Elise picked her way across the broken floor to Alaan's side.

"He's gone," Alaan said. "Theason is right.""We failed utterly—and murdered poor Llya in the bargain." She dropped down to her knees, staring into the steaming pool. "Would Elise Wills have used a child so, I wonder? Or is it only the part of me that is Sianon that would do such a shameful thing?""We have no time for remonstrance. Hafydd and his monster are escaping.""What can we do against that thing?" Baore asked. He, Tarn, and Cynddl all had come to stand a few paces off. "It tossed Slight-hand aside like a child." He winced at his choice of words.

Alaan stood. "The soul eater begins to weaken soon after it is born. If we could catch it before it passes through Death's gate… It is a vain hope, but I would not want to see Llya die for nothing."Elise looked up at Alaan. "Is there any chance at all?""A slim chance. Sainth can take shorter paths than the soul eater.""Then while we have breath we must try," Elise said firmly. She scrambled to her feet. "If nothing else, we might have revenge for Llya's death.""Spoken like a true Wills," Alaan responded.

"It will take us hours just to reach the surface again," Cynddl said.

Alaan pointed down the channel, which disappeared into a round tunnel. "We will go this way.""But not everyone can swim."Alaan turned to make a quick head count. "There are enough of us who can to get the others out. We have a boat hidden near the end of the island to bear us on."Cynddl glanced back at the others. Eber had lapsed into silent tears, his face hidden again. "Everyone is injured and exhausted beyond measure.""Only those who can still travel with speed need join us." Alaan looked down. At his feet, carved into the floor, were words in a tongue Tarn did not know.

"What does it say?" he asked on impulse.

" 'Here sleeps Wyrr, son of Tusival, until the ending of the world! ""Nothing turns out as planned," the Fael said, crouching down to run his hand over the letters, "not even for the great and powerful.""Especially for the great and powerful," Alaan responded. "Come, let us make haste."No one complained or even muttered when Alaan roused them. Elise went into the water first and returned a few moments later.

"It empties into the river not far off, and, though it's dark, there is air all the way but for the last twenty feet." Her skin had become as white as snow, and the color seemed almost washed from her eyes. Tarn found her appearance disturbing and looked away.

"Tarn?" Elise called out. "Would you bring me Slighthand's sword. No one else could bear it out. It's too heavy.""It's broken," Alaan said. "Perhaps it should stay here?""No, I will have the hilt at least, so never to forget him and all that he did."Tam brought the hilt of the heavy sword to her, and she took it, its weight not seeming to affect her at all as she floated in the channel.

She gestured with a hand. "It is a fitting burial chamber for Orlem Slighthand, though not as grand as it was."A cracking sound reached them, and a massive boulder tumbled from the ceiling, crashing down on the stones below, spraying dust and debris a hundred feet.

"We must be gone from this place," Alaan said.

He and Tam took Eber between them, and Toren and Dease Renne helped A'brgail, who had already learned much of swim-ming in the tunnels of the Stillwater. Mail was shed, and they climbed stiffly into the water. The current took hold of them, and Tam looked back once at the ruined chamber. What pride these sorcerers had to make themselves such places to lie in death. But then Wyrr had not seemed wholly dead. Some part of him had been half-awake… until Hafydd came.

They went from the dim light of the Wyrr's chamber into the darkness of the tunnel, though some of Elise's party had blades that glowed faintly green and offered a little light.

"Stay together," Alaan warned, his voice echoing hollowly in the tunnel. In a few moments they came to a place where the stream disappeared into rock. Alaan bore Eber through and Elise took A'brgail. The others managed on their own, the current speeding them along and spewing them out into the night river.

Tam surfaced to summer air—warm water around him. The crescent moon was high, and the stars sharp and bright. The storm had blown over. Was that last night or this? Tam didn't know. He had lost all sense of time in the caverns.

"It is like a warm bath after being out in the snow," Fynnol said nearby.

"Yes," Tam said. "You talked to Baore; how is he?"Tam could just make out his cousin's face in the moonlight, and THE SHADOW ROAD his look was not happy. "He has not been himself since the nagar began to haunt him, far up the river. His silence… has changed. It is brooding and dark now. I worry for him."Tarn felt himself nod as he treaded water. None of them had been the same since they were hunted down the river and trav-eled the Stillwater, but Baore had turned inward, his mood too despairing.

"Our boat is not far," Alaan said from a few yards away, "but it won't carry us all. Some will have to stay."A log floated by, and the swimmers all took hold of it. They drifted on the current, a human raft, faces haunted and ghostly in the moonlight. Spinning slowly, they ranged down the side of the island, the warmth of the river restoring them. Tarn thought he could put his head against the log and go to sleep, bobbing on the water beneath a blanket of stars.

He was roused from his reverie by Alaan, who led them to a spine of rocks curving up into the trees. It was not easy climbing in the dark, and Eber was passed from hand to hand, until they all found themselves on the grass above.

Alaan and Elise were conferring as the Valemen began lowering the boat that had been left hanging in the trees. Toren Renne and Gilbert A'brgail approached Alaan.

"We are ready to go with you, for you will need skilled fighters," Toren said.

"We will need skilled watermen first," Alaan said. "I'm sorry, Lord Toren, but there is not enough room in the boat, and though you try to hide it, I can see you are injured. We'll take the north-erners. They grew up on the water and traveled the great river all the way from its source.""But what will you do when you find Hafydd? These young men aren't trained men-at-arms.""They are more formidable than you know, and I'll never catch the soul eater without them. There is no time to argue. If we don't return, you will have to build a raft and go south. The river here is very strange… But Crowheart will lead you. Good luck to you,LordToren." He gave a nodding bow and turned away. "Tarn? Are all of you ready?""We're short of arrows, but otherwise, yes." Tam went to the edge of the embankment to begin the climb down, but as he went to swing over the edge he saw Elise crouched before Eber.