3 When Darkness Falls.8 (42 page)

Or had been six days ago, at least.

Keirasti must have pushed her small band like Maiden Winter Herself to have gotten so far into the Mystrals in only six days; whatever message Kellen had entrusted her with must be of a terrible urgency.

And you will know what it is soon enough. By this evening's sunset, if fortune favors you.

* * * * *

KEIRASTI presented herself at Ninolion's pavilion shaking with cold and weariness. Redhelwar's adjutant shot to his feet, looking as if he beheld a spirit risen out of the earth itself.

"I come from Kellen Knight-Mage with urgent information for Redhelwar Army's General," Keirasti said, holding herself upright with great effort.

She'd thought she'd been cold, crossing the Mystrals, but the flight back to Ysterialpoerin on Ancaladar's back had introduced her to realms of cold she had never before imagined — and unnatural conditions of height and speed, as well. If that was what being an Elven Mage entailed, she was thankful that the Gods of Leaf and Star had seen fit to make her a simple Elven Knight.

Ninolion rose to his feet and bowed. "I will inform Redhelwar. And I will bring tea."

* * * * *

LESS than half an hour later she was seated in Redhelwar's scarlet pavilion, drinking yet another mug of tea. The potent liquid was rich with Allheal and honey, the brewing nicely judged to her weary state.

"I know already how you have come here, for all saw Ancaladar overfly the camp," Redhelwar said. "And you have said that Kellen sent you."

"He wished me to give this dispatch into your hand as fast as possible, and at all costs," Keirasti said, untying the scroll-case from where it lay against her armor and placing it into Redhelwar's hand. As she did, she felt a great burden ease. "In case it was lost, or had to be destroyed, he told me what it contains, but I am sworn never to speak of it, save to you."

Redhelwar broke the seal and began to read. As he read, a greater stillness descended over the tent, as if the air itself grew heavier.

At last Redhelwar finished reading.

"When you left Kellen, where was he?" Redhelwar asked bluntly. Keirasti had been expecting this. If there were ever a time for War Manners, it was now.

"He continues on to Halacira. I left him six days ago; it will be four days more at least, I judge, before he reaches there. This is good, as Jermayan tells me that the Shadowed Elves lair there, and he flies to bring Kellen warning as soon as he returns from the Crowned Horns."

"As I too have heard," Redhelwar said. He sighed, shaking his head. "I am grateful that our passage through the Mystrals will be peaceful, at least. You will wish to return to your command, and I believe Jermayan will wish to accommodate you. I will ask that you inform Rochinuviel to expect us."

Redhelwar would do as Kellen wished, and bring the army to Ondoladeshiron. Keirasti's emotions were in turmoil. She was certain that Kellen had been sent by the Wild Magic to aid them in this time of their greatest need, but part of her felt a strange disquiet that the orderly arrangement of things that had stood unchanged for uncounted centuries was being blown away as abruptly as blossoms in a sudden storm. If things could change so suddenly, who could say what the future might hold?

"It shall be as you say, Redhelwar," she said, bowing her head.

"Now go. Rest and eat. There is much to do to prepare the army to move, and for the sake of Kellen's warning, it must be done with speed. I will send someone to you when Jermayan returns."

Keirasti stood. "I thank you for that kindness."

Redhelwar smiled. "Some would say it is no kindness, to send you back out into the cold and the snow.
But I know it is what you would wish."

The Xaique Board Underground

THE FOREST LOOKED different in winter. Or it might only be he who'd changed, Kellen thought. The first time he'd ridden through these trees, searching for the Black Cairn, he'd had no idea of who he really was. Now, he was… whole.

The winter weather, comparatively mild south and west of the Mystrals, continued to favor them, though the Wildmages said another storm was coming. That was one of the reasons Kellen had pushed the army as hard as he had — that, and his desperate need, now, to reach Sentarshadeen and Andoreniel. Once he was in Sentarshadeen, he could send a message by unicorn to Redhelwar, and recall Keirasti. With luck, the riders could catch her before she reached the mountains themselves. He'd left her barely six days ago, but his troops had gotten a good rest at Ondoladeshiron and he'd pushed them hard through the lowlands. He didn't intend to tarry at Halacira, either — a quick check to make sure the caverns were safe, then he'd leave Artenel and a reserve force there to begin the work of readying them to become a fortress, and move on to Sentarshadeen. In summer, the caverns were a day and a half's ride from the Elven royal city — the journey might take twice that time in winter.

What he would do once he reached Sentarshadeen, he wasn't sure yet. He wished Idalia was here. He was no great Healer, and that was what Andoreniel needed most of all.

If the Elven King weren't already dead.

If he was, it would be a disaster for the Allies. Kellen could not imagine the Elven Council acting with quick decision, and Ashaniel wasn't here. He didn't know if Redhelwar would act at all without orders, nor could he imagine the Elven Lands divided by civil war.

The Wild Magic will not let that happen
, he thought to himself, and even he was not sure whether that thought was a certainty — or a prayer.

* * * * *

THE last time Kellen had come this way, he had not approached the caverns themselves. Umerchiel, who knew this area well, led the army off the War Road — through the high road leading between Sentarshadeen and Ondoladeshiron was not really as wide or as flat as some of the larger avenues in Armethalieh, it counted as a main thoroughfare in Elven terms — in the direction of the caverns.

Before they reached the caves, they came to the Angarussa.

Even at the height of the Great Drought, the fiver had still run strongly, and with the torrential rains it had once more become one of the greatest rivers of the Elven Lands. But the cold that had followed the rains had been long and bitter, and the river that Kellen now saw was completely concealed beneath a thick shield of ice.

He called for Artenel.

"It would be good to know if the ice will bear our weight," he said to the Elven Artificer.

Artenel nodded, and rode out onto the middle of the river. There he dismounted, and peered down into the ice. Next he took a slender metal rod from his horse's pack and knelt upon the ice, tapping at it gently and listening intently. After a few moments he rode back.

"The ice is quite thick," he reported. "The army may cross safely. But not all at once, and not all in one place. It is my recommendation that you choose several crossing-places."

Kellen nodded.

He prepared to give the order for the first units to cross, and stopped.

This was where he'd seen the Tainted starflowers, the first time he'd been here.

"Get the maps of the caverns."

PART of him seethed with impatience at wasting precious time — he was almost entirely sure that there was nothing at Halacira besides the jewel-mines Jermayan had once described to him. But another part had learned hard lessons in too many battles. Those starflowers
had
to have been a warning.

And for once, going into a cave, they had complete and accurate maps. The Elves had been working the caves at Halacira for centuries.

"Churashil, Thenalakti, Arvaruth, Farathirian, Merioniach — I want you to cross first. Take your troops and ride ahead to these secondary entrances that I see marked on this map. Guard them closely. I wish nothing to escape from these caverns. If you see any sign of movement, sound your horn, but no one is to leave his position. I will leave a reserve force outside the main entrance that will come to your aid."

Although how quickly such a force could reach the trouble spot, when the entrances his sub-commanders must guard were scattered over several miles, was a troubling question.

"If it is possible, and seems good to you, block the entrances that you find."

"Yes,
komentai'i
," Churashil said. The others nodded.

The Knights began to move off. By the time the rest of the army was across and in position near the Main Entrance, the five groups guarding the entrances should be in position.

He turned to his Wildmages.

"Wirance, Kerleu, you must go to the others and tell them I need enough Coldfire to crown at least two hundred Knights. I would also like some of you to follow us into the caverns and cast Coldfire on the walls as we go."

Wirance regarded him, eyebrows raised. "Expecting trouble, are you?"

Kellen smiled without humor. "No. I'm just planning for it."

He wished — and not for the first time since he'd left Ysterialpoerin — that Vestakia were here. Not simply because he missed her company, but because right now she would have been incredibly useful to have around.

He didn't
know
that he was facing trouble across the river. In fact, it was likelier than not that he wasn't, and he was wasting precious time here when he could have been doing a quick reconnoiter of the caverns and heading quickly on to Sentarshadeen.

But he couldn't — he wouldn't — let his impatience cost lives. His information from Rochinuviel was already more than a sennight old. Whatever would happen in Sentarshadeen might have already happened. It was beyond his control. This wasn't.

He owed all those who had already died, and those who trusted him now, his very best efforts.

And part of him — a very tiny part, all things considered — felt a spark of pride. Even a moonturn ago he would not have had the experience — and, yes, the
wisdom
— to organize something like this. To think three and four steps ahead of the enemy — even an enemy he wasn't quite sure was there.

Why, he might even be able to beat Idalia at
xaique
now.

* * * * *

IT was a couple of hours past noon by the time the sledges crossed, the last elements of the army. By then the surface of the ice was starting to show signs of strain, though Artenel assured Kellen it would hold.

He waited on the far bank, watching as the slow heavy sledges made their way, one by one, across the surface of the frozen river.

"Fun, isn't it?" Shalkan asked.

"In a weird way," Kellen answered honestly. "It would be a lot more fun if there were no possibility that anyone could get hurt."

"I suppose that's why the Elves have Flower Wars," the unicorn said thoughtfully.

"I don't suppose you could go on to Sentarshadeen and see what's going on there?" Kellen said hopefully.

Shalkan snorted rudely. "And leave you here to fend for yourself? You'd probably get lost in the caverns and never come out. Though I understand they're worth an extended look."

"Yeah, well, it's not like I have time for sightseeing," Kellen grumbled. "I just wish I could be everywhere at once."

"That, unfortunately, is beyond even the power of a Knight-Mage," Shalkan said repressively. "Though you might manage something close to it if you Bonded to a dragon."

"No thanks," Kellen said briefly. Leaving aside the fact that there weren't any dragons either available or willing, the idea of shortening the lifespan of an immortal creature to a few brief decades would make him feel horribly guilty. It seemed utterly unfair. At least with Jermayan, Ancaladar would have centuries.

"It's time to go," Shalkan said.

"Wish me luck," Kellen said.

"Good hunting," the unicorn replied.

* * * * *

FIRARETH quickly passed the ox-drawn sledges as Kellen rode up to the head of the line. Pale nimbuses of Coldfire shimmered around the heads of many that he passed, testament to the Wildmages' tireless labors. Around him, units reorganized into marching order as the remains of the column reformed, several groups dropping back to guard the vulnerable supply-carts. Just because they hadn't been attacked yet didn't mean they weren't going to be. Both unicorns and scouts from Sentarshadeen should be patrolling the woods this far east, but by now Kellen took nothing for granted.

Another hour's march brought them in sight of the cavern's mouth.

Even if he had not known what this place was, there would have been no mistaking it for anything but an ancient and well-loved place of the Elves.

The opening of the cave had been shaped. Not made perfectly symmetrical — that wasn't the Elven way — but improved, so that it was somehow more vivid than something that had been left untouched. In contrast, the rock face that flanked the entrance had obviously been painstakingly engineered, for in this season, the cavernmouth was surrounded by a lacy webwork of ice, as delicate as spun sugar, created when streams of water arching into the air had frozen. They sparkled in the sunlight, giving back all the colors of the rainbow.

I wonder how they managed that
? Kellen thought.
And why
? Surely no one came to the Caverns of Halacira at this time of year to see this. He wondered what the cavern face looked like in summer.