Unicorns' Opal (6 page)

Fredrik nodded, but Niki just stared off to the west as if expecting someone to come from that direction. All three of the magicians were disguised as old hags and their purpose was to distract anybody watching the approach to the pass so the other two groups could climb the mountains unseen.

The trail along the river was clearly marked and the flow of the clear, cold water emitted a peaceful babble as the group rode eastward. The red sky gave way to a fiery ball as the sun rose above the approaching mountains. The magicians rode on for several hours in silence until Fredrik called to Jenneva.

“Three riders approaching,” Fredrik announced. “They are heading towards us and they sport dark clothing, maybe black.”

Jenneva moved up alongside Fredrik and peered into the distance. “Let me do the talking when we meet them,” ordered Jenneva. “Your voice does not fit well with your disguise.”

Jenneva took the lead as the group continued on towards their meeting with the strangers. As they got closer, a chill ran up Jenneva’s spine. The strangers were easily identifiable and she didn’t like what she saw, two Black Devils and a Dark Rider. Jenneva waved her two companions off the trail as Sarac’s minions approached. Xerog waved his hand to halt the two Black Devils as he stopped facing the three old hags.

“Where are you heading, old woman?” demanded Xerog.

“We...are...crossing the mountains,” Jenneva answered in halting speech. “We seek no trouble...and we have...left the trail to allow you to have passage.”

“How long have you been travelling today?” sneered Xerog. “Who else have you seen?”

“We...we’ve been travelling since dawn,” Jenneva replied with quivering fright. “Black Riders are on the move, they are. Saw two groups a few hours back, one heading north and the other south.”

Xerog stared at the three old hags, but Zorn and Calastano appeared indifferent to the unwashed travelers. “How large were the groups of Dark Riders?” pressed Xerog.

“Just two each,” frowned Jenneva. “They appears to be looking for something. There aren’t no troubles ahead, are there?”

“Not for the likes of you,” scoffed Xerog. “You may camp at the foot of the pass, but you will not be allowed through until I authorize it. And don’t go near my men. I’ll not have you spreading your diseases among them.”

Jenneva hid her smile as she coughed harshly in Xerog’s direction. “How’d you know about our illnesses?” queried Jenneva.

Zorn and Calastano backed away from the old hags and Xerog placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. Shaking his head with disgust, Xerog spat in the direction of the old hags and motioned for the Black Devils to follow him along the trail. Jenneva watched as the three servants of the Dark One moved westward away from the old hags. After a few moments, she led the group eastward and continued their journey.

“What if they run across the dead bodies back there?” asked Niki. “They will come after us and kill us for Alex’s doing last night.”

“Our doing,” corrected Fredrik. “We are all in this together, Niki. Besides, the Black Devils don’t need an excuse to kill us. They kill anyone they want to.”

“You make all the Black Devils out to be terrible killers,” retorted Niki. “I’m sure there are some who are quite nice.”

Jenneva halted and turned to glare at Niki with an expression that could freeze the ocean waves. “The only good Black Devil is a dead one,” Jenneva growled. “Do not ever think otherwise or you will surely end up dead before your time.”

Niki tried to argue, but Jenneva’s glare halted the words in her throat. Jenneva turned back to the trail and the group continued in silence. Niki wondered if the group they had just passed would find the note she had left this morning.

***

Arik followed Tanya up the side of the mountain, placing his hands and feet where she had placed hers. The experience was both exhilarating and terrifying as he sometimes forgot her instructions and gazed down at the rocks below them. Tanya appeared to move with the confidence of experience and Arik wondered about the girl's strange upbringing. She never talked much about her youth, just about her Uncle Boris and his tales of others. At times Tanya was just like one of the boys, but at other times she displayed her difference with amazing clarity. She didn’t look at things the same way as boys did and she was always mysterious. Tanya turned and extended a hand to Arik, pulling him up the last step to a flat area on top of the cliff.

“It should be pretty easy from here,” Tanya panted.

Arik nodded breathlessly as he turned and gazed out over the lowlands below him. The height was dizzying for a boy from a fishing village, but the air was fresh and clear and without the heavy feeling of being salt laden. Arik stood for a few moments to catch his breath before he turned to follow Tanya along a path leading toward the pass.

Tanya stooped and signaled to Arik as they approached the pass and Arik dropped to his knees and crawled forward to peer down into the pass. There were dozens of Dark Riders below and, for the most part, they were relaxing. Arik could not see any of the Black Devils who were supposed to be down there. Keeping back from the edge, Arik looked across the pass to the cliffs on the other side. Tedi was already in position and sitting with his back to a large slab of gray rock. Arik continued his gaze looking for Alex, but he could not find the Ranger leader.

As they had planned, Tanya left Arik and proceeded further along the ledge until she was able to see from a different angle. Arik looked at Midge who was riding in a pocket on his shoulder.

“Okay, Midge,” Arik proclaimed, “it’s time to check on the others. I saw Tedi, but I wasn’t able to find Alex. I hope you have better luck.”

“I will find him,” chirped Midge. “Even Alex can’t hide from a fairy.”

Midge climbed out of the pocket and leaped into the air. Arik tried to follow his progress across the pass, but he was soon lost to sight. It seemed to be a long time before the fairy returned.

“Everything is set,” announced Midge as he landed in front of Arik. “Your signal will be the first fire arrow shot by Alex. There are only two Black Devils down there and they are on this side of the pass, so you won’t be able to see them unless they move. You are to shoot at the western most sentries first. Alex doesn’t want any of the Dark Riders escaping to the west to trouble our magicians. Everyone else already has his orders, so I will go into the pass now and try to put the two Black Devils to sleep. I hope they aren’t shielded.”

Without waiting for a reply, Midge was gone. Arik pulled the containers of Fire Glue from his pack and set them in front of him. He noticed the tremendous difference in temperature between rock in the shade and rock exposed to the sun and moved the containers into the shade. He had never seen Fire Glue before and didn’t know if the heat of the sun could set it off, but he wasn’t taking any chances.

Shouts from below indicated that the Black Devils must have been shielded and Arik saw the first fire arrow fly into the pass before the shouting had the chance to arouse the men resting below. Arik quickly dipped an arrow into the container of Fire Glue and sent it streaming towards the first sentry.

***

Alex watched the Black Devils below for any sign of Midge’s sleep spell. The Black Devils were suddenly alert and started shouting. Alex knew that they had detected Prince Midge’s efforts and sent his arrow sailing into his chosen target. Before the arrow hit, Alex was sending the second on its way. The pass below looked like a hornet’s nest as the Dark Riders reacted to the flaming attack from four separate points. Alex was too busy sighting on new targets to pay much attention to those he had already hit or were someone else’s target. His next two arrows slammed into the Dark Riders who were easternmost and he started working back towards the center of the pass.

The shuddering blast of rock near him caused his reflexes to kick into action and he rolled along the edge of the cliff. Stealing a glance below, Alex was aghast to see two flaming scarecrows hurling Fire Balls at the Rangers. Even as their bodies burned, the two Black Devils continued to hurl magical projectiles at the cliffs. Only the Black Devils’ lack of expertise saved Alex from the Fire Balls and he immediately became concerned for the other Rangers. Pulling back from the edge, he peered across at Tanya. The young warrior was still firing rapidly, but Alex noted the burn marks on the cliff around her. Knowing Tedi was out of sight, Alex looked next for Arik but could not find him.

According to the plan, the Ranger magicians would already be moving towards the pass and Alex had to make sure they arrived safely. Peering over the edge, Alex saw more flaming arrows descending from the cliffs to his left, but not very many targets left below. Scores of arrows laden with Fire Glue had been fired into the pass and the Dark Riders were helpless to react. Both ends of the pass were burning fiercely and their arrows could not reach the Rangers. His main concern now was the two flaming Black Devils who were still throwing Fire Balls up at the cliffs. He had heard tales about Sarac’s Revenants and understood what was happening. Some of the Black Devils had cast a spell making themselves almost immortal. The cost of this spell was immediate and irrevocable loyalty to Sarac. The only way to kill a Revenant was to behead it and he could not accomplish that from up here.

Alex rolled away from the edge and laid his bow down as he tore open his pack and extracted several lengths of rope. Swiftly, he tied them together and secured one end to a solid outcropping. He crawled to the edge and gave one look down to confirm the position of the enemy below and tossed the coil of rope over the lip of the cliff. Grabbing the rope firmly, Alex slipped over the edge and started down into the inferno.

***

Tanya watched as Alex threw his rope over the edge of the cliff and started down into the pass. The Black Devils who had been pounding her position with Fire Balls noticed it, too, and turned their attention towards Alex. Desperately trying to divert their attention from Alex, Tanya began sending arrow after arrow into the flaming duo. She did not bother with more Fire Glue on the arrows, but fired to distract them. When Alex was halfway down she thought she was succeeding, but the Black Devils suddenly ignored her and started throwing Fire Balls at Alex while he was still on the rope. One of the Fire Balls hit the rope above Alex and the rope started burning.

Time seemed to evolve into slow motion as Tanya watched the rope burning and Alex climbing down. The Black Devils continued to hurl Fire Balls at Alex, but they had not succeeded in hitting the moving target yet. Suddenly, the fire ate through and the rope broke. Tanya saw a Dark Rider running towards Alex as he was falling and she nocked a Fire Glue laden arrow and sent it into the Dark Rider. When she turned back towards Alex, he was just getting up off the ground where he had fallen and he pulled his sinuous sword from its sheath. No longer was he a swiftly dropping target and the Black Devils’ missiles soared directly towards him.

She watched in fascination as Alex diverted the Fire Balls with his sword and continued to approach the Black Devils. She watched with admiration as Alex stepped up to the first Black Devil and cleanly sliced through the flaming neck to decapitate the Revenant. Alex deflected another Fire Ball before stepping forward to dispatch the last Black Devil. Immediately, the pass grew tranquil. Only the roar of the flames and the frightened whinnies of the Dark Riders’ mounts broke the peaceful silence. Tanya quickly picked up her belongings and joined up with Arik for the descent into the pass.

When they reached the bottom, Alex was surveying the dead to make sure that none of Sarac’s men were left alive. The stench in the pass was unbearable and Tanya wrapped her hair across her nose and mouth in an unsuccessful attempt to filter the smell. Tedi lowered himself and was trying to free the rope from the rock he had secured it to. Arik began corralling the horses so they would have a way out of the pass. He also gathered up any coils of rope to replace those that had been used and couldn’t be recovered. Tanya marched over to Alex and threw her arms around him.

“I thought they were going to get you,” sighed Tanya. “I felt so helpless against those Revenants.”

Alex was shocked at Tanya’s reaction. She was always the first to needle him and he never expected her to care if he died or not. This display of emotion confused him. “Revenants aren’t too bad,” shrugged Alex. “You only have to take their heads off. I am fortunate that they were not very good shots with those Fire Balls. Thanks for distracting them for me.”

Tanya didn’t answer. She remained standing and hugging Alex without a word. “It looks like they focused mostly on you,” Alex continued. “You should have moved from the edge. Even a lousy shot can get lucky.”

Tanya broke the embrace and gazed up at the spot she had held during the attack. The whole edge of the cliff was covered with scorch marks where she had been firing from.

“They didn’t get lucky today,” she remarked coolly as she strode off to help Arik with the horses.

Alex shook his head in confusion as he watched her leave. Returning to his task, Alex began to drag the burning bodies away from the center of the pass so that Jenneva, Fredrik, and Niki could get through when they arrived.

***

The smoke was visible from the plains below as Jenneva gave the order to mount up. If anyone came from the west now, they would have to gallop faster than her to catch up before the Rangers were through the pass. Fredrik and Niki shouted in wonder when Yorra and Kaz showed up with the rest of the horses, but Jenneva just smiled. That was the reason she wanted to switch mounts with Tanya. She knew that Yorra and Kaz could be counted on to herd the other horses back to her.

Leading the way into the pass, Jenneva slowed cautiously as they approached the fires. Alex waved to her and her fears subsided. Kaz and Yorra moved to the outside of the pack and herded the frightened horses towards the center of the pass. It took only a few moments for each party to relate their tales so that everyone knew the whole story.

“They must have been the two missing Black Devils and the leader of the Dark Riders,” commented Alex. “They are probably anxious about the party we eliminated last night. I’m glad they weren’t here. Two more Black Devils might have been too much for us. They were Revenants. The two left here were probably new and inexperienced or all of us would not have survived the encounter. We should move on quickly. Tedi, take the lead. Jenneva and I will take the rear.”