The Sworn (41 page)

If I’ve filled you, no one else can. Together, we can hold them off.

Terrified, Aidane did as Thaine urged, and felt Thaine’s warmth flow through her, felt the odd shift of another soul fill her body. Immediately, the ghosts drew back. They were angry, robbed of their prize. Aidane was surrounded by a host of spirits, some misty shapes of fog, and others glowing a faint green.

What do we do now? They’re waiting for me to tire. I don’t know how long I can let you possess me. It’s never been more than a few candlemarks. If we run back to the camp, they’ll follow.
Aidane felt her fear rise up in her throat. And in the back of her mind, she knew that Thaine was frightened, too.

“Aidane! Aidane, can you hear me?” It was Jolie’s voice, from far away.

“Help me!” Aidane shouted loudly enough to hear herself over the low murmur of the circle of waiting ghosts. She didn’t know whether the spirits would be visible to Jolie or any of the others, but she and Thaine were trapped inside their circle.

“By the Whore!” It was Ed, the peddler, and he continued to curse, fluently switching from Margolense to Dhassonian and then to the river patois.

Jolie started to run toward Aidane, but Ed caught her arm. “Can’t you see? She’s spiritbound. There’re haunts all around her. They want a ghost whore, but they’ll fall on the living if they think they can take you.”

The four minstrels crested the barrow just then, and stopped abruptly. Aidane didn’t know whether or not they could see the spirits, but Astir was with them, and Aidane was certain the
vayash moru
could see the ghosts.

“I don’t see any ghosts,” Jolie argued.

“He’s right,” Astir shouted. “Stay back.”

“We can’t leave her there.” Jolie did as Astir bid, but even from a distance, Aidane could see that she was angry.

“I’ve got an idea.” Cautiously, Ed worked his way closer. He reached beneath his shirt and pulled out two silver talismans. They glowed in the moonlight against his skin. Mumbling to himself, Ed began to make a wide circle, with one hand in his jacket pocket. The other hand dug something out of a pouch at his belt, and as he made his circle, he sprinkled a powder with his right hand and seemed to flick something small from his left hand into the grass at intervals. Above on the hill, the musicians began to play. The tune was different from the lively tavern songs they had played earlier that night. This song was a dirge, and it sent a shiver down Aidane’s back.

What are they doing?

Magic of some kind. I can feel it. If I weren’t bound to you with the necklace and the bones, it might work on me, too. The music is a charm, and whatever the peddler
is sprinkling around us is making some kind of safe area. It may not tear me from you, but it’s making me damned uncomfortable!

The ghosts gave a sudden, startled hiss. Before Ed could complete the circle, the host of revenants vanished as if pulled by an unseen hand. The musicians played a few more measures, and then lowered their instruments. Aidane fell to her knees as Jolie and Astir ran up to her. A few steps behind the minstrels, Aidane could see the rest of Jolie’s girls crowding forward. There was a rush of air, and Kolin and the other
vayash moru
suddenly appeared in the clearing.

“Dark Lady take my soul,” Kolin murmured, taking in the gibbet and the shattered skeleton. “Black Robes were here not long ago.”

“A fortnight,” Aidane said. For now, Thaine was staying in the background, and Aidane’s voice was her own.

“How do you know?” Astir’s voice was sharp.

“Because one of the ghosts is inside me.”

Ed started forward, holding out his amulets. In Aidane’s mind, Thaine squealed with sudden pain.
Make him put those things away!

“It’s all right, Ed. This ghost I invited. Please, you’re hurting her. Put the amulet away.”

Ed looked at Aidane skeptically, but did as he was told. Kolin traced Ed’s path around the circle and bent to touch something in the grass.

“You made a circle of salt and you’ve left a trail of iron coins. How is it that a peddler comes prepared to bespell the dead?” Kolin asked. Aidane heard a wary edge in his voice.

Ed looked chagrined. “I’m a bit of a hedge witch, on
the side. One of my many talents. I can’t call the dead or hear them, but I can banish them, at least for a while, if they’re not too strong. It’s just a little magic, but it earns me coin for dinner and drink when no one needs their tin mended.”

Jolie had reached Aidane, and he knelt beside her. “What are you doing out here alone at night? Are you mad?”

Aidane leaned forward, holding herself up with her hands. She was exhausted, and fought the urge to collapse. “A ghost came to me. She said she had a message for you, and a warning for Lord Vahanian.”

Jolie looked up sharply. “A ghost, with a message for me?”

Thaine pushed her way to the forefront. Aidane felt the change in her posture and her expression before words in a voice very different from her own spoke from her mouth. “Hello, Jolie. It’s me, Thaine.”

Jolie’s eyes widened, and Astir turned, looking at Aidane with suspicion. “That’s not possible. You’re
vayash moru
.”

Thaine gave a bitter laugh. “Oh, even
vayash moru
can die. You were right, Jolie, about Reev. He tired of me after a while, when he’d brought me across and I wasn’t warm anymore. It didn’t go well after that.”

“How did you find me?”

“Sheer luck. I was kidnapped by the Black Robes, and they murdered me here. I didn’t know what to do, so my ghost stayed here. Then I heard you make camp. I couldn’t believe it was really you, but when I saw you, I was sure. And I knew I had to warn you, warn Jonmarc.”

Jolie shook her head. “Jonmarc’s moved on, Thaine.
He’s a lord now, happily married, with babies on the way. You’ve no claim on him. Not anymore.”

“You’re not listening. I don’t want Jonmarc. I’m dead, remember? I’d heard that he’d become a lord, and if he found someone to love, I wish him well. It was never going to be me. I know that. I’d also heard that he was Lord of the Undead. That’s why I need to warn him.”

“Warn him about what?”

“Before the Black Robes killed me, I heard them talking. There’s something big coming, bigger than just the Durim wanting to bring back Shanthadura. They’ve been told that there’s a war coming, a War of Unmaking. It’s supposed to destroy everything, so everything can start over.”

“What’s that got to do with Jonmarc?” Jolie looked skeptical. “Martris Drayke perhaps could fight such a thing. But Jonmarc?”

“It’s not just about magic,” Thaine said, pleading for them to understand. “There’s a real war, and the Black Robes were talking about ships, ships landing in Principality, maybe even in Eastmark. Ships with blood mages and a dark summoner.”

Astir laid a hand on Jolie’s shoulder. “Jonmarc is liegeman to King Staden, and Princess Berwyn’s champion. If there’s war coming, he’s sure to be in the thick of it.”

Jolie made the sign of the Goddess to ward away evil. “Is this the message you want me to take to Jonmarc?”

“No. There’s a plot, a conspiracy. It’s supposed to happen soon, at the Feast of the Departed, in Principality City. I don’t know exactly what they plan to do, but I got a good look at the Black Robes without their hoods. I can identify them. I’ve got to get Jonmarc to take me to Principality City.”

“Lady Carina may not care for that idea.” Jolie’s voice had a warning edge.

“Don’t you understand? This isn’t about me, and it’s not about trying to win back an old lover. But with Jonmarc’s position, he might be able to stop this. Please, you’ve got to believe me.”

Kolin was watching her, and the look on his face was uncertain. Aidane knew that Thaine’s expressions and gestures were completely unlike Elsbet’s, or her own. Thaine moved with a sure confidence that was stronger, more dominant, than either Elsbet or Aidane. He stared at her as if he were thinking about Thaine’s warning. Finally, he nodded. “I believe her. And I think it’s something Jonmarc needs to hear for himself. Let him decide.”

While Aidane had been talking, Ed and the musicians had begun gathering branches. Ed took a handful of rags from one of the bodies on the ground and wrapped it around a long, sturdy stick, and then soaked it with river rum. When he pushed it into the campfire, the torch burst into flame. Cal did the same. Bez, Nezra, and Thanal began dragging the bodies to a central pile. Aidane and Cefra went to help, and a few more of Jolie’s girls did the same when they realized they meant to make a pyre.

“I figured your friends would just as soon we handled the fire,” Cal said with a half smile, directing his comment to Kolin. “We’re not long past the Moon Feast; no one will notice another bonfire.”

Kolin nodded. His face was stony. “Yes. Burn them. Burn it all.”

Ed and Cal readied two pyres to burn the bodies, while Jolie and the others followed Kolin’s instructions to cleanse the area and dispel the spirits. It had taken more
than a candlemark, and Aidane was exhausted. Just as they were about to return to camp, a wolf’s howl sounded, followed by another.

Kolin frowned. “Those are the sentries. They’ve seen something they didn’t like. Everyone, stay close.”

There was a blur of movement and a rush of air, and one of the
vayash moru
who had been on night watch appeared next to Kolin. “Something’s coming on the road, but I’ve never seen the like,” the guard reported. “Men and broken wagons and lamed horses, like some caravan of the damned. Don’t know what they are, but the
vyrkin
thought at least some of them were
ashtenerath
, and I agree. Thought you should know.”

In the distance, a sound carried in the darkness. Faint, discordant music filled the night air. “Sweet Chenne. They’re coming.” Ed the peddler had gone completely ashen. “We’ve got to break camp and get out of here. Now!”

“They can’t hurt the
vayash moru
, but the rest of us have to get out of here.” Ed pointed, and the group turned to follow his gesture. A long row of shadows was visible on the next rise, just before the road turned toward their camp. From the horses and wagons, it looked to be a caravan, but as Aidane stood, her eyes widened. Even from a distance, she could tell that something was very wrong.

The clouds drew back and in the moonlight, they could see the travelers. Their wagons were broken and shabby. The tarpaulins that roofed the largest of the wagons were tattered and full of holes. Lamed horses so thin that their bones bulged from their skin struggled to pull the ruined wagons. Shuffling along with the wagons were men, or what used to be men. They walked with uneven gait,
lurching from step to step, and a stench more foul than the gibbet’s odor reached the watchers, even from a distance.

“
Ashtenerath
,” Astir murmured.

Kolin grabbed the peddler by his collar. “What more do you know of this?”

Ed’s eyes were wide with fear. “They used to be a caravan from Eastmark, one of the most popular in Dhasson. But plague fell on them, only it didn’t kill them. Not completely. What’s left isn’t quite living, but not really dead. They wander by night, and if you cross their path, the plague will take you, too. They wander like that until they die, or just fall apart, or maybe, they’ll wander like that forever. But if you’re not going to get out of here, let go of me! I’m not staying.” Ed struggled and kicked.

“What are
ashtenerath
?” Aidane hadn’t thought she had the energy left to be afraid, but watching the shadowed caravan move toward them, she felt fear stir anew.

“They’re men—or they were men—who’ve been changed by magic or plague,” Kolin replied, never taking his eyes from the lurching figures. “Their minds die but their bodies keep on moving. They’re violent and unstable.”

“The peddler’s right.” It was Cal, the portly dulcimer player, who spoke. “Whatever they were, they’re good as dead now. We need to leave. Now.”

“They’re coming!” Bez pointed toward the ghastly caravan.

Kolin turned to Jolie. “Gather up everything you can carry from the camp and run. Take the cross roads north, so you’re going a different road than the caravan. Wait for us outside the next town. We’ll find you after sunset.”

“What about you?” Jolie asked, looking from Kolin to Astir and to the other
vayash moru
.

Kolin drew his sword. “We can’t catch plague. If they come after you, we’ll hold them off. If they don’t, we’ll catch up. Now go!”

Jolie grabbed Aidane’s hand and pulled her along as the
vayash moru
made a line to block the progress of the oncoming caravan. Jolie’s girls were whimpering with fear and some were chanting charms against evil, but to their credit, they kept their heads and did not scream. Aidane fought down both her own fear and Thaine’s apprehension. More quickly than Aidane thought possible, they had gathered what little they had left at the camp and made their way down the road, in the opposite direction from the caravan.

Aidane cast a glance over her shoulder. The v
yrkin
had joined the
vayash moru
, some in human form and others in their wolf shapes. As they ran, Aidane could hear the low, warning growls of the wolves.

Jolie’s expression was resolute. “Come on. We’ve got to get you and Thaine somewhere safe. If you’re right, then you’ve just become the most dangerous woman in Dhasson. Astir and Kolin can take care of themselves. But the Winter Kingdoms might not survive if we don’t make sure you get to Dark Haven. Now, run!”