Hammerhold Tales: Thrallborn (17 page)

He hit the ground on his back and skid for about twenty feet as the upturned ice tilted over, threatening to crush him. He tucked himself into a ball and slid to safety as the once safe haven smashed into the ground where he was moments before. Icy water crashed over him as the shock wave broke on the dry land. He coughed and sputtered in an attempt to clear the frigid liquid from his lungs as he clambered to his feet.

Marta was lying unconscious not far from him. He ran to her and scooped her off of the wet ground. She was as soaked as he was. He stood there shivering as he scanned the shoreline for any survivors. He did not see any. He stumbled across the broken icy debris in search for his friends.

“JATHARR! WHERE ARE YOU?!”

He looked toward the source of this chaos and saw a massive, silvery serpent with two massive fin-like wings spread wide rising about sixty feet above the lake's surface. It had a very snake-like head decorated with rows of blue spikes along its brow. Its roar was unlike anything Sawain had ever heard before. It was spewing a jet of the same blue water as the contents of the lake at the approaching army. As soon as it hit the oncoming forces, it froze solid, trapping those it hit inside a frost-bound tomb.

Sawain turned away from the catastrophic violence in order to continue his search, deeming the lake monster too dangerous to deal with. He kept stumbling along the shoreline until he saw a small body draped across one of the pieces of frozen lake. He ran to check on the victim. It was Jatharr.

Sawain flipped him on his back with one hand and then shook him roughly. Panic and fear choked his words as he spoke to his friend.

“Come on, you lazy old bum. Get up. We are almost home free. Wake up. Wake up! WAKE UP!”

Sawain shook him harder and harder until his eyes fluttered open and he reflexively vomited water all over the ground. He coughed and shivered for a few seconds, looking dazed. Sawain was relieved he was alive, but did not see Timneas.

“Jatharr where's Timneas?”

Jatharr blinked at him. His countenance was the most wretched and pitiful one Sawain had ever seen. When he spoke, it was in a devastated whisper.

“I lost him.”

Sawain's legs gave out beneath him and he fell to his knees, facing Jatharr. Big tears welled up in Jatharr's eyes, spilling out onto his pale cheeks. Sawain felt his own hot tear roll down his face as his heart broke more painfully than it ever had before. The pain was more than he could bear. His arms grew numb as he placed his head on Jatharr's knee and wept bitterly. Jatharr joined him in his weeping. They cried for what felt to Sawain like an eternity for each of their comrades that were lost to the frigid tide, but especially for Timneas and Dendie.

It's not fair. They were only children. It's not fair.

He cried and screamed his primal scream of fury as the tears splashed on the ice below, making a crackling sound. He hugged Marta's unconscious, cold body tight as his scream kindled like an inferno, returning the blood to his limbs. His vision filled with red, but all he could do was scream. His legs would not work. He screamed until his voice was hoarse and cried until his tears would not come anymore. He felt Jatharr's hand on his shoulder and looked up at his tear-stained face.

“We have to let them go. I know it's hard, but you can still save one of them. Don't let your legacy die here. We must get Marta to Alfhaven. Come now, my friend. We are almost home.”

Jatharr's words soothed the rage in Sawain's chest. The pain was still heavy on his heart, but he wiped the tears from his face, took a deep breath and willed his legs to work again. He pulled himself to his feet and glanced again at the monster that was still ravaging the Grey King's forces. He heard Jatharr's voice behind him speak in a low, grim tone.

“Odd, That wyrm you see over there is Hoskreln, the Sea Tyrant. He must have been hibernating in the lake since the summer. Strange place to find that one, still. He prefers the warmer waters of the Southern Sea usually. Hmm, either way, we should be on our way before he runs out of things to kill.”

Sawain nodded and silently turned to the last obstacle between him and Alfhaven. The small mountain was an almost sheer rocky cliff made even more hazardous by the ice layer settled on it at the bottom from the Sea Tyrant's destruction. Sawain strode toward it, looking for footholds and safe places to stand. This would not be a problem, except he could only really use one hand to scale this cliff, he was exhausted, and it was dark. Though he could see fine in the dark, he could not see the ice as well in the dark.

He put all fears aside and began to climb. He worked his way up slowly, methodically, trying not to think of the titanic sea dragon not nearly far enough away that was happily thrashing the undead abominations and making all sorts of commotion. He grabbed a rock above his head and pulled himself up. The rock he was holding broke away from the cliff. He fell only for a split second when he felt Jatharr's hand brace his back from the fall.

“Watch where yer throwing rocks, lad! I've had quite enough of falling boulders for one lifetime!”

Sawain sighed and found another rock to grab. Marta was growing colder and her breathing was weaker than ever. Sawain grit his teeth and kept grabbing ledge after ledge, rock after rock, working his way up the mountain until every muscle in his body burned in agonizing pain. He tried to ignore it, but he was slowing down. He was cold and hungry. He walked all day with no food at all and was loosing consciousness. His parched tongue clung to the roof of his mouth and felt like sand in his throat. He was ready to give up.

He lifted himself up onto a large flat rock. The cliff flattened out at this point. Jatharr pulled himself up behind Sawain. They made it to the top. The ridge line on the other side sloped gently down until it met the edge of what Sawain could only think of as a great sea of trees. The leafy canopy stretched as far as his eyes could see in every direction. Sawain's jaw dropped at the sight of the great expanse. It was more beautiful than anything he ever laid eyes on. His tongue loosened and he found he voice again.

“We made it. We've reached Alfhaven!”

END OF BOOK ONE