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At first Dusk thought they had been caught, but as the boots continued to pound the hallways, getting further and further away, he realized the cause for alarm was not them. Breathing a sigh of relief another thought struck his mind. The grandmaster had said something about soldiers.
“Tara,” Dusk gasped, “get us out of here as fast as you can.”
“What’s going on?” she asked, keeping her eyes trained on the ceiling.
“Inahandrian soldiers. They’re going to cut us off if we don’t get out of here fast.”
“Already? War hasn’t even been declared yet,” Lex muttered. “How do they know?”
Tara jogged forward, the other two trailing behind. “There is more than one spy in the halls of the king. On both sides. They know who took the throne and what will happen. This is the smartest move they can make against Ditania. To strike first.”
“Do you think we can still get through the pass?” Dusk called to her as he tried to keep up.
“It depends on how many soldiers they brought. If they are just trying to take the gate, we might be able to sneak through, but if they plan on invading...”
“This was not on my list of things I wanted to do today,” Lex puffed as he jogged along.
“Save your breath for the fight,” Tara called back. “You’ll need it.”
Somehow Tara managed to lead them back through the labyrinth of hallways without having to turn around more than twice. However, more than once they had to slip into a doorway to let soldiers pass who were rushing to the stairway leading to the base of the tower. Dusk suspected Tara was using their direction as a guide, but he didn’t care as long as they got out. By the time they reached the landing just below the stables, the sound of pounding boots had given way to silence within the halls. From the top of the stairwell they could hear shouted orders that sounded like they were coming from outside. Huddled together, they ascended the steps until they found themselves alone in the stable. Just outside the door were two guards standing watch, their eyes turned towards the gate that Dusk could see was now closed.
The three of them ducked behind crates stacked against the wall. The body of the soldier Tara had killed earlier that morning was still there, frozen solid and undisturbed. It seemed to Dusk that none of the soldiers paid much attention to one another or worse, that none of them really cared. If a slave had gone missing at the mine, the whole camp would have been on lockdown within an hour and a search underway. It seemed almost inhuman that a free man could go missing right under the nose of his comrades, and not be found. Dusk didn’t even know if anyone had noticed yet.
Dusk tore his eyes away from the corpse as another horn sounded in the distance. This one was a higher pitch and he could hear its echo off the stony cliff sides. Then there was another sound, a deep rumble, like a hundred boots marching all at once. He looked up over the crates to see the guards run towards the gate and scramble up ladders to the second level. The tower was left unguarded for the moment.
“I’ll get Maribel, meet me at the door.”
“Will you just leave that damn horse!” Tara hissed, trying to stay quiet. “She’ll only slow us down and make us a bigger target!”
“I won’t leave without her a second time!”
“I said leave that fu—”
Lex shushed Tara, waving his hand in front of her face. “Go get her. If we make it out alive, she’ll be useful.”
Tara looked as if she wanted to punch Lex in the face, but instead she threw her arms up and headed for the arched doorway. Lex gave a quick glance to Dusk before following after. Making his way to the other side of the stables, Dusk found more than one horse kept there, but all of them seemed agitated and frightened. In the very last stall was Maribel, happily munching away on a trough full of oats and ignoring the world around her. As Dusk pulled the gate open and stepped inside, she turned to snuffle him, immediately going for his pack to see if he had any more apples.
“Once we get out of here,” Dusk murmured, patting her on the side of the face, “I’ll make sure you get all the treats you can stomach.”
Maribel didn’t look as if she believed him, but she followed him just the same as he grabbed hold of her halter. As quietly as he could, he led her to the doorway where Lex and Tara were standing. The thunderous sound of boots had drawn nearer, mixed in with battle cries that echoed off the mountainsides. It sounded as if Inahan had sent more than just a battalion. They had sent a whole army to take Windshear Pass.
A single horn bellow sounded beyond the gate, bringing the march to a sudden halt. The air hung silent for a moment, with not a breath of wind as a few snowflakes drifted downwards lazily. Then two quick horn blasts in succession sounded. The men at the top of the gate began to shout incoherently. More than one jumped off the walkway and began to run as a volley of arrows soared into view, streaking through the air towards them. Those that didn’t find shelter behind the wall were struck multiple times and fell to the ground, pierced through by arrows. The few that had jumped before the volley made it no more than twenty feet before they were riddled and fell to the ground. More than one had been running for the tower, but none of them made it. The few that had survived could be seen ducking behind the sharpened logs at the top of the wall, cowering and shaking with fear as arrows stuck in the wood all around them.
Another horn call sounded and the marching resumed.
“We’ll never make it through,” Tara said, wheeling around to face the two of them. “There are other ways to get into Inahan. Come on, back down the mountain!” Tara took off at a sprint, heading away from the gate back towards the east.
“We’re never going to outrun them once they open that gate,” Lex muttered, still standing next to Dusk and Maribel with a hopeless look in his eyes. It was obvious that the last few weeks had taken their toll on him as he stood there clutching his bruised stomach. “We’ll be dead within minutes. There’s no way to fight our way out of this one.”
Dusk grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him forward, Maribel’s halter in his other hand. “We’ll worry about that when it happens. Don’t give up yet!”
Together they followed Tara, running down the slope, trying to keep their feet under them in the slippery snow. They’d made it no more than a hundred feet when there was a sudden ground shaking blast behind them. All three skidded to a halt and looked back. The gate was a tangled mass of splintered logs and fire. Dusk had never seen the powder blasts used on anything but stone before. He was surprised by how much damage they could do to something softer than granite. Nothing barred the way as the soldiers began to pour through, their bright blue tunics making them stand out against the gray snow. A handful of men came rushing through the gate and one of them called out, pointing down to the group of runaways. Dusk didn’t stop to see what the response would be, instead he grabbed Lex and forced him to run. They hadn’t made it far when a handful of arrows came down around them, but none struck their target.
Without a backwards glance they continued to follow Tara’s lead, running as fast as they could to keep up. The cold air burned at Dusk’s lungs, each breath making the stitch in his side grow more and more painful. Snowflakes continued to fall lazily as he looked up to the eastern sky. It was growing dark fast. In no time they’d be running down the mountainside, which was dangerous enough by itself, in the darkness of a clouded night. He knew they needed to find a place to hide out, a place to lose the soldiers that were no doubt pursuing them. Thinking of the ruins, he called out to Tara.
“Tara!” he wheezed. “Get us into the ruins! We’ll never outrun them!”
“I’d already thought of that, but good idea!” she called back over her shoulder. “Don’t stop running! They have armor on, they won’t be able to pursue us like this for long!”
Dusk was about to put on an extra burst of speed when he saw Lex trip and land face first in the snow off to his right. He slipped and fell as he tried to change direction, letting go of Maribel. Pushing himself to his feet he dashed to Lex’s side.
“Are you okay?” Dusk asked, reaching out a hand to help him up.
“I can’t do this,” he puffed, clutching his stomach. “They got me too badly. I can’t breathe.” He wheezed a few times, unable to draw a full breath. “Y–you need to leave me.”
“You have to get up.”
“Just... just go on without me, okay? I’ll only slow you down.”
Dusk stood for a moment, glaring at Lex in disbelief before he reached out and hauled the man to his feet, his blond hair caked with snow. “You are the most dramatic idiot I’ve ever met. Come on!” Dusk drug him over to Maribel and kneeled, lacing his fingers together. “Up you get!”
Reluctantly Lex stepped up and gave him a boost up onto Maribel’s back. Once he made sure he was holding on he grabbed the halter and began to run once more, leading Maribel along. Another volley of arrows, smaller this time, came down around them. They landed behind them as they continued to follow Tara off the path. Dusk snuck a backward glance to see Lex laying against Maribel’s neck, his fingers entwined through her mane and his eyes screwed shut as if he were in pain. It was possible he was more badly hurt than Dusk realized, but they didn’t have time to look at it now. They’d have to deal with that once they survived the night. If they survived.
It was a shorter run than Dusk expected, but taking the main path back down was much easier than coming up the hard way. In less than a half hour they’d made it to the top of the ruins and darkness had fallen completely. Tara immediately turned to the right and brought them in between the crumbling walls of the ancient buildings once more. They spent the next hour weaving their way through them slowly, sometimes doubling back on themselves to confuse anyone that may be tracking them through the snow. At long last they chose a small building that was barely standing tall enough to hide Maribel and got inside quickly. Tara threw her pack down and doubled back to clear their tracks as best she could.
Dusk pulled Lex off of Maribel’s back gently and sat him against one wall. He seemed to be able to move enough to walk, but the look in his eyes was one Dusk knew all too well. Defeat. He knew they’d have to talk about it eventually, but for now all of them needed to remain on alert in case they were discovered by their pursuers.
Dusk threw his pack to the ground beside Lex, drawing the bow off his shoulders and knocking an arrow. Tara came back trailing her cloak across the snow, wiping away their prints as she walked backward into the ruin. She shook the snow out of her cloak and placed it back around her shoulders. Drawing her sword she looked to Lex and then back at Dusk. The white of the snow reflected just enough light to see a few feet in front of them in the dark.
“Stay silent,” she whispered. “Stand beside me and if you see or hear anything, tap me on the shoulder.”
Dusk nodded and stepped up beside her, just a few feet from the broken arch, which was all that was left of the door. They stood in the cold, their breaths forming mist in front of their faces. The world was dead silent, the soft snow absorbing any sound that might have echoed up the mountain to them. Dusk’s ears began to ring in the stifling silence. Now and then he shifted his weight just to hear a tiny crunch of snow, something that proved he was still awake or that he existed at all.
They stood for almost an hour, looking side to side slowly, keeping their eyes open for any sources of light or sound. Dusk was turned towards the mountains when he felt a soft hand come to rest on his shoulder, causing him to jump slightly. He turned and saw Tara not looking at him, but pointing off over the lowest wall. There was an orange glow. A torch. And it was coming closer.
“Get down,” Tara whispered so softly Dusk thought he’d made it up until she began to crouch.
As the torches drew closer Dusk heard Maribel shift nervously in the snow, her ears swiveling from side to side. She was standing near Lex, against the tallest wall. He wanted to comfort her, but he didn’t dare move for risk of giving them all away. Voices began to fill the silence as the soldiers came closer.
“Gods, I’m fucking freezing out here,” a male voice said through chattering teeth. “Can’t we just say they died or something? I can’t feel my toes.”
“You’re always such a baby Justin,” a woman replied, her voice firm and commanding. “Stop chattering so I can listen.”
“I can’t help it! It’s not like I’m doing it on purpose! I’m cold!”
“You do nothing but whine, you know that?”
“I heard they found some weird mutated creatures when they opened one of the doors at the Tower... Do you think there could be more out here?”
“The Major killed them all. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“We don’t know that! There could be more...”
Maribel shifted again.
“What was that?” the man yelped, his torch suddenly spinning.
“Shut the fuck up!”
The pair moved closer to the other side of the wall, their boots pushing through the snow to stay quiet. The moments seemed to stretch on forever as they drew near. Dusk looked to Maribel, willing her with all his might to be still. She looked back at him, keeping his gaze as if she understood. The soldiers were less than ten feet from the three of them with nothing but a crumbling stone wall between. All they needed to do was peer over the edge and they’d all be found.
One of them rounded the corner, the other following quickly behind. Dusk could hear them taking slow, calculated steps. Tara shifted beside him, raising her sword to the ready position. Taking her cue he lifted his bow, pulling the arrow back halfway, the tension causing his arm to shake slightly as he held it. He could see the torchlight glowing in the doorway and then spill into the ruin as they came closer. Slowly the torch itself came into view held by an armored arm. He drew the arrow back further, ready to let it loose as soon as the soldier came into view.
“Do you think it was a monster?” Dusk heard Justin’s voice whisper.
There was a dull thud and the man cried out into the night, the torch whipping out of sight suddenly.
“I told you to shut the fuck up!” the woman spat. “Everything on this mountain knows we’re out here because of your complaining! If I outranked you I’d have you stationed out here all night to whimper by yourself like a cowardly dog!”
“Well you don’t!” he yelled at her like a petulant child. “I’m going back. You can deal with the monsters and the runners, Silvia! I’m not going to die to capture worthless nobodies.”
One of the torches began to move away. After a moment the other bounced quickly after it, the woman’s voice fading as the light faded into the darkness. For a few moments they watched intently and when they were sure the torches weren’t coming back, they both relaxed. Tara sheathed her sword and Dusk finally let the tension out of the bow, his arm muscles aching from holding it for so long. He caught Tara’s gaze and gave her a silent nod, making his way back over to Lex. He wrapped his cloak around his shoulders before he took a seat next to Lex, leaning back against the wall. A few moments later Tara joined them, cradling her sword between her arms as she sat down.
The night was cold, but windless. As Dusk shivered under his cloak he wasn’t sure what was worse, the storm two days before or the silence that surrounded him now. The metal collar around his neck was so cold that he thought it would give him frostbite. Even though he kept it covered by the cloak, it never seemed to warm up from his skin. His mind began to wander, filling the oppressive silence with his thoughts. They had narrowly escaped the tower and all of them were much worse for wear. Lex was defeated, in body and spirit, it seemed. Tara was nursing a broken rib, although she’d done most of the heavy lifting. Dusk was tired, bruised, and now collared, cutting him off from the crystal that was still embedded in his chest. He reached up under the cloak and ran his hand across it. To his dismay, it was still cold to the touch.
Falgorin had seen the crystal in action more than once and he took serious precautions. He’d sent the Circle members out to ambush them, not giving the gem time to react. While they were unconscious he had put an obviously enchanted piece of metal around his neck. There was no lock and there were no seams. Now that Falgorin was dead, there was nobody who could tell him how to take it off beyond maybe the grandmaster. The book he had taken would require another magician of some kind to read it, which made it almost useless. However, the grandmaster wouldn’t be an option. Even if they somehow found their way to him, Dusk doubted that he would take the collar off under friendly or unfriendly terms. It was clear that the Circle wanted the crystal, the eye, they had called it, through any means possible.
He had seen and heard so much in the past two days that it was hard to process everything that had happened. Almost three weeks ago he had been a slave about to be shipped off to Malkekna and sold to the highest bidder. Now, in such a short amount of time, he had become a hunted man with a powerful artifact, and his pursuers seemed to be willing to use any means necessary to find him and bring him back to Alamond. He wondered why they’d been so intent to occupy such an old ruin. It was beautiful, to be sure, but there was nothing there beyond the Lumorium and the strange mural he and Lex had stumbled across. Dusk wondered if they had found the glowing ore. Lex said it was extremely rare and very valuable. It could be possible they were setting up a mining operation there for the nobility. But he doubted the crystal and the dragons had anything to do with the old city. Their goal was to bring about the dawn of a new age and maybe Alamond was where they planned to execute their plans. A new capital for a new empire that would have the power to take over the world.
Dusk shook his head lightly. It was all conjecture and he knew better than anyone that he didn’t understand the world or the people in it. Memories of his years before the mines had been drifting back slowly, but mostly they were just feelings and flashes. His experience with people in a normal setting was minimal at best. Now he found himself in a decidedly abnormal situation with no idea where to turn or what to do.
Finally, as his eyes grew heavy and he settled against the wall, he decided on one thing that he knew he could trust: Juniper's instructions. He’d make his way to Greencoast Port. He didn’t want the crystal, the collar, or any of the problems that came along with them. Along the way he’d find a way to remove them all, sell them off, and wash his hands of the entire affair. Freedom and a new life was all he cared about.