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The aftermath of the raid on the mines was calmer than Dusk expected. Peaceful almost, which was something the mine hadn’t seen in more than a century. Those who had been injured were taken care of and sent to rest. Thankfully their wounds were shallow and required little more than a bandage. Dusk sent the rest of the guild members into the mines to gather up the slaves and bring them out into the sunlight. With the help of Tara, Diana, and Lex, he pulled a few of the still-smoking corpses away from the tunnel entrance to clear their way. Ciaran picked up the unconscious Cyrilo and carried him off to the shade of a nearby tree with the assurance he would recover. Dusk knew it would probably be some time before he woke up. Magic had a way of draining every last drop it could from the body if pushed too far, and Cyrilo had used up all of the powder with his attack. Dusk made a mental note to ask Cyrilo what kind of spell he’d used, since it might come in handy later.
It took a while, but eventually all the slaves had been coaxed from the mine and past the dead bodies of their captors into the large space just beyond the sleeping huts. There was a wooden stage built there where Maxon used to whip and torture many during Dusk’s stay there. Giving Maxon’s gored and bloody body one last glance, he climbed to the top of the stairs and turned to address everyone there.
“Your masters are dead,” Dusk called out over the crowd, over a hundred faces looking in his direction. “I come with news from the Noble d’Ronja that you are all now citizens of Ditania and free to do as you wish. Your slavery is at an end. The camp and the mine are yours. Stay to get your bearings and leave whenever you please.” He looked out over the crowd, the faces unchanging at the life-altering news he’d just given them. They’d need time to realize the truth. “My fellows and I will leave in the early morning and your lives will be in your own hands. Do as you will and try to put the horror of this place behind you. If you require healing, please let us know so we can help before we go.” He went to leave, but stopped, turning back to address the crowd. “Take anything you want, but I make one request. Leave what’s left of the dragon remains in peace.”
The crowd remained silent. Dusk nodded and stepped down from the stage, the group parting to let him through. He didn’t know if he expected applause, raucous shouts, or anger, but what he didn’t expect was the oppressive silence. A hundred voices trapped behind lips glued shut by years of abuse. It was unnerving. He’d been one of them and in a way he still was. But he resolved to leave them to themselves without orders. There would be those among them that came to their senses first and took leadership positions in the group. They were on their own now and whether it was harsh or not, Dusk couldn’t give them anything else. If they followed to Alamond they would surely die and if he stayed to try to save them all, Nedarya would succeed in her plans. No, it was better that they struggled for the first few days and learned to be self-sufficient. At least, in that way, they’d begin to take back control over their lives. If they succeeded against Nedarya, he’d send someone back to help, to make sure they had a fighting chance of finding their place in the world.
Lex came up on Dusk’s side as they walked back towards their own group. “Do you think they’ll be okay?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, glancing back over his shoulder. “But we have more important things to do right now. They’ll have to do this themselves.”
“You did a great thing here today, you know? You had every reason in the world to tear Maxon limb from limb and torture him as he did to you all those years. But you didn’t. You gave him a chance.” Lex reached down and grabbed his hand. “I’m proud of you.”
“I feel like a killer,” Dusk sighed, looking at all the bodies around the outskirts of the camp.
“We’re all killers. But out of necessity. What happened here today was a way to make things a little better in the world. And you didn’t give in to vengeance, you just did what you had to.” Lex stopped, pulling Dusk to a halt with him. “The world isn’t black and white like people pretend.”
“You sound like Lyra.”
“That’s because she’s right.” Lex grabbed Dusk’s chin, tipping it up so they were eye to eye. “We’ve just freed over a hundred people from a lifetime of slavery. The gains outweigh the losses and some modicum of justice was done here, you can be confident of that. And tomorrow we’re going to march to Alamond and make sure they all have a chance to live that new life, understood?”
“Yes,” Dusk replied, nodding his head. “You’re right.”
“I’m always right.”
Dusk smiled and pulled Lex back towards their group that had taken shelter under a small bunch of trees. They deserved the rest after clearing the mine and some of their number needed the time to recover. There was still a long march ahead of them and everyone needed to be in good condition when they arrived in Alamond in a few days.
***
The next morning, with a low fog lying over the land and the gray morning twilight before dawn filling the sky, Dusk and his band gathered their things and set off. Most of the slaves had returned to their normal sleeping quarters for the night and remained there still. Without waking them, they slipped out of the camp and away from the mine, trudging west toward the main road. Dusk knew they’d wake, still confused about their new position in the world, but they’d come around. He had faith the ex-slaves would figure it out, just like he had.
As the sun rose the fog slowly burned away, leaving them clinging to the edges of the road to stay under the shade of the trees. It didn’t look very familiar to Dusk just yet, but he knew he wasn’t quite to Juniper’s village. When he’d escaped he kept to the woods, too afraid of the main roads and the people that used them. To his surprise, he felt the same anxiety well up in his chest again as they marched along. He knew it was silly to be worried about being caught on the road. With a dozen assassins and a handful of allies at his back, no one stood a chance of taking him anywhere. Besides, he could defend himself now. By magic, bow, or sword, he could drive away anyone who tried to claim him. Letting the confidence seep into his chest, he took a deep breath to steady his nerves. The road was the least of his worries.
Off to his right Ciaran and Cyrilo walked side by side. Cyrilo had been extremely quiet since he’d awoken the night before. Dusk had taken a moment to speak with him, finding out that the spell he’d done was meant for blacksmithing. It was a simple trick that most of the Rhyka could do to small pieces of metal- like arrowheads- instead of using a forge. But with the power of the dust behind it, the spell had amplified further than expected, burning the guards to death from within their own armor. The shock and drain of the magic had left Cyrilo speechless and contemplative. Ciaran, however, kept a steady stream of conversation going while they walked even if it was mostly one-sided. The last thing Dusk needed was Cyrilo checking out on him before their big standoff against Nedarya, but they still had a couple days. He told himself if Cyrilo hadn’t come back around by their second night, he’d have a talk with him again.
But, by the time evening came and the sun began to set, Cyrilo was holding himself tall once more and talking with Ciaran in his normal tone. Lex kept near Dusk’s side while Tara and Diana were busy checking in on the guild members. Eventually Diana called for the group to stop and sent a few into the woods to gather firewood for the evening. No one tried to hide their presence, but merely kept to the shadows of the trees to be protected from any oncoming weather. Dusk and Lex found a spot of their own to set up for the night and to their surprise, Ciaran and Cyrilo came to join them. A small fire was built in their circle of bedrolls, started with a flick of magic that Dusk could no longer resist doing, and they sat around talking well into the night. It was lighthearted and full of laughter, just what the four of them needed after the previous days of seriousness. Eventually Tara and Diana came over and joined, joking along with them for some time.
Dusk couldn’t recall much of what they talked about the next morning, but he could still feel the connection they all shared. It was a sense of belonging that crept deep within his soul. For the first time in his life, he felt like he had a real family. It didn’t matter that they were heading into certain doom, just that they were all going together. He realized how lucky he was to have such people at his side. They’d all come to his aid when he needed it most and although he hadn’t known some of them as long as others, he knew any one of them would die for this journey he’d brought them on. And in return, he’d do whatever it took to make sure they all went home safely at the end of it.
By that afternoon they came across the charred remains of Juniper’s old village. The Inahandrian soldiers had done their worst the previous winter and it didn’t look like a single home survived their attack. However, some of the residents must have gotten away in time because there were a few in the beginning stages of clearing away the stone foundations and starting to build their new homes. Most of them fled at the sight of the small, heavily-armed band, which Dusk couldn’t blame them for. He stopped for only a moment at the threshold to Juniper’s home, now turned to charcoal and ash. Remembering everything she’d done for him, he leaned down to pick up a small glass bottle coated in soot. The cork had been burned away along with all its likely herbal contents. Wordlessly he slipped it into his bag as a memento, knowing he’d probably never come back to that place.
After a quick stop to eat beyond the edge of the village, they marched on into the west. The day was long and uneventful and the road was as clear as they expected. Dusk found his hand in his satchel, doing small bits of magic as his fingers brushed the crystal horn. They were tiny things, unnoticed by anyone, but it was becoming impossible to resist the temptation. Eventually he lost track of what he was doing and his hand was always resting on the crystal inside the bag.
That night was much like the last. The six of them made camp together, keeping their conversation light. It was the only reprieve from the seriousness of their journey. The night had grown late and their campsite was quiet. Dusk was laying on his back staring up at the bright swath of stars spilled out across the night sky. Everything was calm and quiet except for the insects singing in the trees. Lex was at his side, his eyes closed with an arm thrown over Dusk’s torso.
Just as Dusk closed his eyes he felt something deep in his chest, like a rumble of thunder but with no sound. His eyes shot open and he sat up, looking around for any sign of danger encroaching on their camp. He saw nothing, but felt the vibration grow for a few more seconds until it stopped. Lex sat up beside him, rubbing his eyes. He was about to ask something when there was a sudden boom that echoed across the land.
Everyone sprang to their feet in a flash, drawing weapons and turning in all directions for the source of the danger. But there was nothing coming for them. The sound was so loud that it rattled the trees and sent leaves cascading to the ground. All the insects and animals went dead silent. It wasn’t til after almost a minute of complete silence that the chirps of nature started to come back, filling the silence with their song.
“What the flying fuck was that?” Lex whispered at Dusk’s side, his blade at the ready.
“Is everyone alright?’ Diana called out to the group. “Did you see anything?”
Nobody answered as they looked among themselves.
“All are accounted for,” Tara replied, after doing a quick head count. She looked up at the clear star-filled sky. “That wasn’t thunder, was it?”
“That was way too fucking loud to be thunder,” Lex replied.
“It’s Nedarya,” Dusk said to no one in particular. Every person turned to face him, the low firelight dancing in their eyes. “We’ve overestimated how much time we had. She’s repaired the heart.”