The Northern Approach (65 page)

Feanne sipped at the flask and offered it to Dalania, who quickly refused. Feanne then handed it across the tiny fire to Yoska.

“Is too cold and far from civilized lands to find anything worth drinking,” Yoska replied, sipping from the flask. Shaking his head, he added, “Is awful, yes? Will have to do, unless Turessi has better drinks.”

“They do, but I doubt any of us will be invited to sup with them. This is, of course, assuming anyone is still alive in those lands,” noted On’esquin, adding some kindling to the fire, building it out slowly.

After several minutes of quiet in the tent, broken only by the crackling of the growing fire, Raeln turned to Yoska and offered, “Yoska, I am sorry I had to kill Gunari.”

“Is no matter,” Yoska said dismissively, taking another drink from the flask. “I did not like him so much. I like him far less when I find out he sells us out to enemy, yes? Had he simply sold information, I could not fault him, as I would do same in his place. Actually trying to have us killed is another matter. That, I say, justifies how his life ended. No ancestors will speak for him, nor will I.”

A distant whiney of a horse cut through the winds, though no one seemed to notice it other than Estin. Pulling down his hood, he listened carefully, picking out the rustling of their horses…in the exact opposite direction from where the whiney had come from. “Someone else is out there,” Estin whispered, hopping onto his feet. Raeln got up at the same time, watching Estin for a direction to go. “We’ll check it out and return. Be ready.”

Hurrying from the tent with Raeln close behind him, Estin thought to put up his hood as the winds hit him, but realized that would make him easier to see. With his fur patterning a near match for the snow-and-stone terrain—similar in color to Raeln’s—leaving the hood down would allow him to stick his head out over the stones without high odds of being spotted in the heavy storm.

Raeln put a finger to his mouth, indicating for Estin to be silent. He pointed to a narrow path out of the rocky area and then pointed two fingers at his eyes. They would go that way to take a look, that much Estin understood. If Raeln was going to communicate anything more complex, Estin knew he would have to ask.

Following Raeln up the path to the top of one of the rocky areas, Estin dropped to all fours as they neared where they could potentially be seen. They both scurried across the uneven stones as low to the ground as they could get, sliding up to the very edge of the stones, where they could look down across the mostly flat region. The snow was far deeper even than when they had arrived, already coming up past Estin’s lower ankles and above his wrists.

At first Estin saw nothing but the whirling snow. Anything more than about twenty feet out was a blur of white and black, giving him little sense of distance or movement. He remained as still as he could, watching for anything that stood out, with Raeln apparently doing the same. They both turned their heads and ears slowly, trying to pick anything out of the storm that did not belong without giving away their position.

It was Raeln who first saw something and tapped Estin’s arm. He pointed somewhat west of where they lay, along the path they had been taking before diverting to set up camp. There Estin saw several shapes moving through the snow. He could not make out any detail, but he was fairly certain he saw five separate shapes. In reply to Raeln, he held up five fingers and shrugged. Raeln shook his head and held up eight.

The figures were definitely on horses, from what Estin could see. Who they might be or exact numbers was impossible to say at such a distance with the whirling snow. There could have been twice as many out past the limit of their vision.

Apparently having the same difficulties seeing, Raeln pointed at both of them and then toward the riders. He did not wait for Estin to react, pulling himself up and over the lip of the stones before sliding down onto the snowy ground below. Dropping flat again, Raeln hesitated to be sure the riders had not seen him and then motioned for Estin to join him. The idiot seemed to think they should get closer, which was about the last possible thing Estin wanted to do, but he knew there was no other way to see how much danger they were in.

Once Estin had climbed down, the two wildlings moved as fast as they could without standing fully upright, hurrying along on a path that would intersect the route the horses were taking, getting them close enough that they should be able to see more detail. They ran through the snow for several minutes, getting steadily closer, when Raeln practically threw himself facefirst and flattened out. Estin mirrored him, not knowing why but unwilling to risk exposing them both.

Within seconds after burying himself in the freezing snow, Estin saw nine riders followed by fifty or more men and women, who wore no heavy clothing. Those people walked in straight lines, and as Estin watched, one fell as the wind blew especially hard and the others marched right over it. Seconds later, the fallen person got up and rejoined the formation as though nothing had happened.

Undead.

Raeln seemed to also have seen enough and he patted Estin’s arm and pointed back toward their camp. Even covered with snow, his face told Estin he was horrified at finding that many enemies so close.

Together they cleared the rocks and ran, getting back to the large tent within minutes.

“We have nine riders and a large group of undead heading northwest,” Estin blurted out the moment they were under the tent.

“Nine Turessians,” corrected Raeln. “They are continuing along the path we were taking.”

All eyes went to On’esquin, who sighed and let his head hang. After a moment’s thought, he replied, “I cannot protect us against so many, even if they are all ignorant of my abilities, which by now they cannot possibly be. Likewise, I cannot let them find Turess’s tomb. I put up protections against anyone trying to draw his spirit back as an undead, but there are limits. Sooner or later they will break through and bring him back as an ally or symbol of their authority. I cannot allow them to defile his memory.

“All of you, continue on and do what you can to end the war,” he told the group, watching the fire the whole time. “I will go and try to delay or stop those riders before they can find us or Turess. If I can I will catch up again. They will not find that tomb, if I have any say in the matter.”

“How would we go on without you?” Dalania asked, voicing Estin’s thoughts. “We have no idea where we’re going or what to do once we get there.”

“I have given Raeln what information he requires and Yoska can read the prophecies,” On’esquin said before unfastening the rolled parchments from his belt. With a look of doubt about his actions and a brief hesitation, the orc handed them to Yoska, who stared in confusion at the leather-bound papers.

Estin looked around at the somber expressions and realized they were actually considering letting On’esquin go alone. When no one else spoke up, he said firmly, “We came here because On’esquin made us come. We followed him without question until he passed the lead to Raeln, and they both have kept us alive…some even more than when we began. Why are we even thinking about making him do this by himself?”

“Raeln is your leader now. That choice was made a while ago in case this eventually came,” On’esquin reminded them.

“He’s right,” replied Raeln, giving Estin an apologetic glance. “It’s up to me to lead us the rest of the way. We each must make our own choices, and I will not hold him back if he feels he must go.”

Nodding, On’esquin pulled his spear onto his lap, running his fingers over the dry wood of its shaft. He stood slowly, bowing slightly to each of them in turn. “As my people said in times past, ‘May the storms never find you and let warmth be in your heart if not in your hearth,’” the orc said once he had bowed last to Raeln. “It has been my pleasure fighting beside each of you.”

Raeln growled softly and suddenly announced, “We’re leaving. Get your things. On’esquin may have to face this alone given the forces against us, but I will not let the Turessians have anything they want this badly. We’re going to keep them from that tomb. We ride in one hour. Rest if you can.”

On’esquin appeared deeply torn between wanting to object and wanting to thank Raeln, but Raeln ignored him, going to the edge of the tent to rest and meditate.

“I suppose I can wait,” On’esquin said to no one in particular, sitting back down. “If we ride hard, we can be there well ahead of them. Hours ahead, assuming they do not know exactly where the tomb is and given the speed undead walk at.”

Estin knew they would not have long to rest, so he took off his cloak and rolled it up to use as a pillow. He lay down and Feanne quickly slid over, putting herself in his arms, warming his heart as well as his body. They might not sleep in such a short period before they left, but being together made it more relaxing, something they both might need soon, given the force they would face.

Suddenly Feanne sat up, startling Estin in the process. She stared off into the swirling snow outside their makeshift shelter and slowly smiled, her eyes glowing faintly green before fading to their normal blue. “Everyone can rest as much as they need,” she announced, drawing confused stares from everyone. “The Miharon taught me how to hide myself in adverse weather. I can twist what he taught me and confuse the riders. They’ll be circling for hours.”

Raising her hand toward the entrance to the tent, Feanne closed her eyes and concentrated. For the first few seconds, Estin saw nothing change outside, but then suddenly the storm turned. The snow flew sideways for a moment before changing direction yet again. Every few seconds, the entire storm turned sharply in a random direction. It was startling each time it happened, making the tent shift dangerously.

“That will buy us plenty of time,” Feanne told the group as she let her hand fall. She looked tired and reclined into Estin’s arms. Shivering against the cold, she pulled his arm around her and clung tightly to him. “It’ll last until sunrise or so. Nothing they do will find this place or get them out of the area of the storm. That’s all I can do, but it should be enough for now.”

Dalania smiled warmly at Feanne, nodding her agreement. Sitting down beside Raeln, she added, “Feanne’s spell will keep them circling. Mine will alert the wolves to their presence. Between the two, we may be able to keep them occupied as long as we need. We should not move again until we are ready to try to outrun them. Tomorrow will be difficult.”

Squeezing Feanne close, Estin was pleasantly surprised as she nuzzled his cheek while the others smiled at them. The willingness to show her affection reminded Estin she was still not entirely how she had been before death, and his thoughts immediately went to their children. How he had managed to forget them baffled him.

“Feanne,” he began, but she nipped at his neck to shut him up. He refused to let her distract him and pushed on. “There are things we need to talk about. Five of them, to be exact.”

From the corner of his eye, he saw Raeln and Yoska tense. They knew exactly what he was trying to tell her. Dalania’s attention focused in on him as well, but she smiled slightly, clearly happy Feanne had recovered enough that he would even consider telling her.

“It can wait,” Feanne told him, gently stroking his whiskers with the back of her hand. “We have enough to think about. When and if we live, we will talk about anything you want.”

“This can’t wait, Feanne.”

Nodding grimly, Feanne lifted his chin so they were looking straight into each other’s eyes, nose-to-nose. “I know there are things that I don’t remember,” she told him, tightening her grip on his jaw when he started to interrupt. “Every hour, memories come back. My mother is still somewhat of a blur, but my father is clear at last. I remember you and I meeting and falling in love. I remember my sister dying to hunters when we were children. I even remember spending my life angry and afraid.”

“You were never afraid,” Estin objected, making Feanne laugh lightly.

“I was always afraid, Estin. I kept telling you to have no regrets because I couldn’t live up to that myself. Every day I regretted things as simple as letting you go after our first night together, though why I did it, I cannot remember. I regretted my own anger at the world for all the deaths I could not prevent, and I feared seeing more loved ones die. I shielded myself with anger and hid my feelings away to keep myself safe for when those loved ones did die.

“Now I don’t have all that baggage. I made my choices and found my feelings without all the pain that came with it the first time. The pain will return, but having that come later might make me a very different person. Will you be all right with that, my love?”