Call to War (10 page)

Tanner held his sword to Varlot's neck and grimaced into the flashes of pain that spotted his vision. He gasped misty breaths of rain, the cold water still pounding in steady sheets, but nothing could dampen the rage that still enflamed him.

General Gor laughed. “Well done, boy. But you cannot kill Varlot.”

Behind Tanner, he heard the clicking slither of Falkor approaching.

“Let's find out,” Tanner said. Blood trickled down Varlot's chest, but in another moment, the Beast would heal.
I have to do this now
, Tanner thought.

“Lord Derthsin has your Beast,” General Gor said, nodding to Firepos. “Derthsin can smash her like an insect. His hold over her, through old scars, is great. Your Beast never should have carried him to the volcano.”

Tanner clenched his fists. Anger welled in his chest. The pain only made it worse, and when Firepos struggled again, Tanner pressed the blade deeper into Varlot's neck. “I'll cut his throat!” Varlot's nostrils flared, but he knew better than to fight while he still dripped blood and Tanner held his blade close to his throat.

Gor smiled. “You don't understand. Now drop your sword, boy.”

There must be a way
, Tanner thought, and he looked around frantically. In the raging storm, Castor and Nera had beaten back the soldiers, but Tanner couldn't see what was happening in the mass of soldiers around Gwen and Gulkien.
There must be …

Rufus stepped beside Tanner, raising his glowing hand to Firepos. Firepos saw him, too, and when she buckled, Tanner reached out to stop Rufus. “No!” Too late: A beam of blue light jetted out of Rufus's fingers, scalding the rain, jolting Rufus backward. The light flashed past Firepos's face in an explosion of white sparks that knocked General Gor back and sent Firepos screeching into the air. She screamed a surprised, thrilling war cry. She was free!

In the blast, the soldiers scattered, and Varlot, whose armor had melted back to a horse's glossy coat, kicked free of Tanner and charged for a gap in the wall.
I have to let him go
, Tanner thought, sprinting across the courtyard puddles to the steps. He bounded up onto the outer wall. The mask was all that mattered.

As Tanner reached the top, General Gor said, “You poor little fool. You have no idea….”

Tanner pivoted, feet steady on the slippery stone, and when Gor's harpoon came down, Tanner grabbed it and yanked. Gor stumbled forward, and Tanner drove his sword into Gor's face: The blade caught the edge of his cheek, splitting the two mask pieces in a bloody gash. Gor screamed, reached up, but Tanner's hand was already there. He caught the dangling mask. Gor punched Tanner's shoulder, but Tanner didn't let go, and both pieces of the mask ripped away. Tanner staggered back, his shoulder throbbing.

Three pieces
, Tanner thought.
I've got them. There's only one more left!
General Gor touched the cheek wound and glanced at his bloody fingertips. When he looked back at Tanner, Gor's eyes had changed. He smiled, as if he was impressed. As if Tanner was suddenly more interesting. Without lowering his sword, Tanner slipped the blood-smeared mask pieces into his tunic, alongside the one he already had. Gor didn't speak, just smiled and slowly backed away, toward the edge of the wall. His arms and legs throbbing with exhaustion, Tanner followed. Firepos was safe, soaring high above him.

The general climbed onto the rampart, his back to the mountain slope on the other side. “Retreat!” he yelled at his soldiers. “Fall back!”

Castor was shouting, but Tanner couldn't make out the words through the rain. He saw Gwen circling the masked attacker in the mud below.
She needs help
, Tanner thought.
One of us has to get down there.

Icy water dripped down Tanner's neck. His joints ached, stiff and raw. He glanced at Castor again. He was standing over a body, his dagger clutched in one hand.

“Go to Gwen!” Tanner called over. “You're closer than I am.” Castor spotted her standoff with the man in the mask, then sent Tanner a swift nod and began leaping over rocks toward her.

And now to finish with you
, Tanner thought, focusing back on Gor.

The general chuckled. “Someday,” he said, “someday I will kill you.” Before Tanner had a chance to do anything, the general stepped off into the empty air. Tanner rushed to the wall: On the mountainside below, General Gor had landed on his varkule's back. He was already riding away, surrounded by soldiers. And there was Varlot beside him. “You don't know what's coming, boy!” Gor called. “You can't win!”

Tanner ran for the steps. The army was retreating. The soldiers were scattering in every direction, escaping out of the gaps in the perimeter wall.

“They're getting away!” Castor shouted from where he stood beside Gwen. He had the tip of his sword trained on the masked soldier, who stood at a safe distance, his own weapon braced before his body. Gwen held an ax in each hand, her face unmoving as she stared at the man they'd cornered.

Tanner jumped down the steps three at a time. “I know,” Tanner said. “Finish him!” He pointed his sword at the masked soldier.

Suddenly, Gwen shouted. While Tanner had been talking, the masked soldier had lunged toward her, pinning her to the mud. Castor didn't dare throw his dagger, for fear of harming Gwen. Gulkien leaped forward to help, and Gwen shoved her attacker back, rolling across the courtyard. In the skirmish, she'd lost the axes she'd been holding. The others glinted at her waist — useless there. She had no chance to bring them out, and her cloak was twisted around her torso, making it impossible to retrieve her hidden rapier.

“He needs to die!” Tanner shouted angrily, and he ran with Castor to Gwen. Firepos and Nera were cawing and pacing nearby as Gulkien snapped at the masked attacker and pulled back, afraid of biting Gwen.

“I'll stop this,” Castor said. He jumped in and grabbed the masked attacker from behind. The soldier jammed his head back into Castor's nose, and Castor fell backward in the mud, his face covered in blood.

Rufus and Falkor came to Tanner. “What in all of Avantia is happening?” Rufus asked.

“What does it look like?” Tanner snapped as he helped Castor up.

Gwen and the attacker rolled close. Tanner aimed his sword, but they were moving too fast, even with his new abilities. He couldn't risk hitting Gwen. The masked soldier slammed Gwen onto her back again. She cried out. He grabbed her locket and as he started to pull, she kicked him off. His hand caught her throat. When they started to fall, Gwen pulled back, letting the locket break free — and when the attacker's grip loosened, she drove her ax into his chest. The masked soldier collapsed. One of his legs twisted the wrong way, as if the joint had been broken. Gwen pried her locket out of his hand — her ax still planted in his chest, like a tree stump.

Rufus stepped closer to Gwen. “Who was that?”

Gwen fit the locket back onto her necklace and slipped it under her tunic. Tanner noticed how badly her hands trembled.

“Just a soldier,” Castor said. “Come on. We've got what we needed — the mask. Let's get off this mountain.”

Tanner nodded and started to turn. Gwen cried out. It was a high, feral noise, as if she'd been stabbed.
He's not dead
, Tanner thought, and he ran back.

Gwen had peeled back the folds of the attacker's mask, and now she slumped over him, sobbing. Gulkien growled over her.

“What?” Castor said. “Is she hurt? Gwen?”

She shook and beat her fist on the soldier's chest.

Tanner took Gwen's shoulders and gently eased her away from the body. She was smeared with blood and bits of rotting skin. Tanner saw it: The soldier's face was bloody, missing sections of flesh, exposing his cheekbones and grinning teeth, but Tanner still recognized the blue eyes and round chin.

“I'm sorry,” Tanner said. Gwen was still crying, hysterical.

It was her brother, Geffen.

A
s Tanner led Gwen away, Castor grabbed her ax and pulled it from Geffen's chest. Tanner shuddered and turned away. Now that the battle was over, he'd lost his appetite for blood. Through gaps in the wall, he could see soldiers retreating at the bottom of the valley.
They might already be on their way to the next piece of the mask
, he thought. But he was too exhausted to chase after them. Nera came to Castor, but as he grabbed her fur to climb up, Geffen stirred.

“Stand back!” Tanner shouted.

Gwen shook Tanner away and ran to her brother. She crouched at Geffen's side. He coughed blood and started to sit up. The veins in his neck were green, pulsing with rot. Gulkien bared his fangs and pushed between Geffen and Gwen. Nera growled beside Firepos, and Falkor hissed low, his eyes locked on Geffen.

“He is full of evil magic,” Rufus said. “It has brought him back from the dead. He is no longer one of us.”

Castor glanced at Rufus. “Thanks, I think we can all see that.”

Geffen reached for Gwen, and Tanner drew his sword. “Gwen!”

She took Geffen's hand. “It's all right. Geffen, can you hear me?”

His head hung slack on his neck, his flesh wet and crumbling in the rain. “Sorry.” His voice stretched. “Gwen …”

She pulled him close, and he slumped onto her knee. “It'll be all right,” she said. “We'll fix this, we'll find a way. What did he do to you?”

Geffen drew her hand to his chest, and when he pressed her palm flat, blood oozed through his black tunic.

“I don't understand,” she said. “Why don't I feel your heartbeat? Geffen, tell me what to do.”

“He … took my life,” Geffen said. “He took my heart, and he … laughed.”

Gwen fought back tears. “It'll be fine. We're stronger than him. We can find a way….”

“I think,” Geffen said. “I think … I died. He woke me…. I was sleeping, dead…. He wanted your locket…. He wanted you to see me like this. All I feel is pain….”

“No,” Gwen said. “You're alive, you're talking!”

Slowly, Geffen pulled away from her and climbed to his feet. His joints cracked as he tried to steady himself. Gwen looked at Tanner, Castor, and Rufus. “What can we do?” she said. “Help me! Geffen, sit down!” She held his hand, as Geffen hobbled toward a gap in the wall. “Please listen to me….”

“I am sorry,” he said. “You are stronger. You have to stay alive, Gwen.”

“No, we can help you!”

At the edge of the courtyard, Geffen twisted away from her and staggered over the blocks, through the hole in the wall. They ran after him, and as Tanner came through the wall, he saw Gwen chasing her brother to the edge of the mountain. Geffen climbed onto a ledge: a cliff overlooking a straight drop to sharp rocks far below. Gwen screamed in the rain. Geffen looked back at her, said something, and stepped off. He disappeared over the side. Tanner caught Gwen as she raced after him.

“No!” she shouted. “He's alive!”

Tanner held Gwen at the ledge. Below, Geffen's body was a black smudge, broken on the rocks. Tanner pulled her back, and Castor came to them, Rufus behind him. Castor touched Gwen's shoulder, and she slumped to the rock.

Gulkien edged past Tanner, sat at Gwen's side, and reared back to howl. Gwen stroked Gulkien's fur, staring blankly over the ledge. She glanced back, saw Rufus leaning against the castle wall, Falkor at his side. The rain began to thin, and the clouds were giving way to night stars over the distant mountains.

“It's all right,” Tanner said. They were all bloody, bruised, and soaked through, caked in mud. “Rufus, we understand if you and your Beast have been through enough. If you want to go back, we can show you the way to Colton so you can find your sister.”

Falkor flicked his tongue and hissed low, as if he didn't like the taste of Tanner's words. Firepos sat on the outer wall, watching over them, and Nera paced behind Castor, her eyes on the valley below, as if she were impatient to move on.

Rufus smiled grimly. “No, I can't go. There's nothing for me.” He waved his hand, and in the rain, Tanner saw a vision of the low slope of a pasture, and there was the girl, Isadora, carrying her sack of food. The image danced and swam. Rufus's sister paused at the top of the hill and waved to people in the near distance, where Tanner could see the outline of Colton. Rufus lowered his hand: The picture was gone.

Castor said, “Why didn't you tell us you could do that?”

“You didn't ask,” Rufus said. “But as you saw, my sister is safe for now. If I go back, it would endanger her. She's better off without me.” He approached Tanner, and the rain stopped. “Give me the mask, Tanner.”

Castor stepped close to Rufus, bristling. “Who do you think you are? You can't just demand the pieces. We've fought hard for those and we follow Tanner, not you!”

This was the first time Tanner had ever heard Castor swear his loyalty to him. Despite their differences, Tanner found himself smiling with pleasure. His body was stiff, his muscles sore, and blood streaked his skin — but for a moment, the fleeting warmth of happiness moved over him.
I never thought I'd have Castor swearing allegiance
, he thought.

“I am a wizard,” Rufus said simply. “And I'm stronger than any of you — even if I don't always look it. The mask will be safest with me. The pieces are too dangerous for you to hold, Tanner.” He held out a hand, palm up, and waited. Rufus's eyes were locked on Tanner's and Tanner found it hard to look away.

“You told me to wear it,” Tanner said. “It was your idea.” Some instinct told him that this boy knew more about the mask than he was letting on.

Rufus nodded. “In the time of greatest need, yes. But the pieces are too strong for a boy, for a mere mortal like you.”

As Castor burst into laughter, Tanner said, “A mere mortal?”

Gwen said, “Tanner …”

“No! What do you mean, Rufus? Do you think I'm weak?”

Rufus shrugged. “I'm sorry, Tanner.”

Castor raised his sword. “If you're
so
powerful, let's find out what happens when I stick this sword down your —”

“Stop it!” Gwen said. “Tanner, give him the mask.” She gave him a long, hard look. “We know what Firepos's blood has done to you. And don't think I didn't notice how you fought today. You couldn't wait to get into that battle,” she said quietly. “Wearing that mask helped us, but it's best that someone else looks after it, Tanner. You know that.”

“You're right,” he admitted. Tanner found the three pieces. He held them up: They were ragged, soggy from the rain, and blood-streaked. When he held them together like this, they covered all but the forehead and a strip down the center of the nose. The mask was almost complete. “We almost have it,” Tanner said. “The mask is …”

“I know,” Rufus said.

No you don't
, Tanner thought.
I could put the mask on now, return to that gray, terrible, world, and never take it off.

A sense of danger ran through him.
Give him the pieces.
That was Firepos. She'd never tried to tell Tanner what to do before, only guided him. But he gave the pieces to Rufus, who slipped them into his tunic; they vanished into the fabric.

Castor sighed and stepped back to the edge of the cliff. “The soldiers have gone,” he said.

The rain clouds were clearing, but the sun had gone down and the sky was opening into blackness and stars. The valley stream was overflowing, and Tanner looked back at the bodies piled in deep puddles of mud.

“There's only one more piece,” Tanner said. “We almost have the whole mask.” He tried to sound hopeful, but none of them looked back at him. They were all tired, staring at the valley and distant mountains. Tanner couldn't see Gwen's face, didn't want to.
We've given up so much
, Tanner thought.
What else can we possibly sacrifice?

“Where is this going to end?” Castor said. He frowned back at Tanner. “Down there, with Geffen? Is that where we're going?”

They all watched Tanner, waiting.

“Do you trust me?” Tanner said, and when no one spoke, he said, “Do you love your homes, your families?”

Gwen said, “Of course we trust you.”

“We have to fight together,” Tanner said. “We have three pieces of the mask, but there's one more. Derthsin knows we have them now. Do any of you think he's going to let us find the last piece? If we've pushed him back, he'll only fight harder. We had a saying in my village, ‘Beware the cornered dog.'”

“What are we going to do, Tanner?” Castor asked.

“We're going to win,” Tanner said more loudly. “We're going to end all of this. It's time.”

Castor glanced at Gwen and Rufus, and crossed his arms. “Time for what?” he said.

Tanner looked at Firepos, Nera, Gulkien, and Falkor, and he felt the slow tension again, as if their lives were strings waiting to be cut.

“What is it?” Gwen said.

Could he tell them what he'd seen when he'd worn the mask? The dark shadows, the screams for help, the heartbeat slowing? “I've glimpsed death. I think, I think … One of our Beasts,” Tanner said, and he wiped the rain from his hair. His hands smelled like blood. “One of them will die.”

He turned his back on them and gazed out over Avantia. No one said a word — what could be said? Out there were General Gor and Vendrake. Varlot was still alive. And Tanner remembered the man he'd glimpsed in fiery visions, talking to Gor: Derthsin.

Tanner shuddered. Death was waiting. The evil warlord had a hold over Firepos through her ancient scar. And now Firepos's blood ran in Tanner's veins. What did that mean for the two of them?

“But I have hope,” he murmured. “I can't stop believing.” Tanner and his friends had come so far. Only one more piece of mask to find, and then … Avantia would be free of evil.

Castor and Rufus stood beside Tanner. Gwen put her hand on his shoulder. “Stay strong,” she told him.

Tanner smiled. “Always.”