Sam Bowring - Destiny's Rift

‘Hello there, flutterbug,’ Losara said. ‘Careful of my shoulder, it’s quite tender.’

‘Why, what have you done?’

‘Stabbed myself,’ he grimaced.

‘ What? ’

‘Never mind for now. Just let me look at you, little wanderer. I did not realise you’d follow my army here.’

‘Where you go, I go,’ she said, and her eyes dared him to say otherwise. ‘From now on.’

‘Is that so?’

‘It is.’

‘I would have come to you tonight in Skygrip, had you been there.’

‘And you would have returned here in the morning.’

‘Perhaps. I hear that you have done quite a thing, and turned Duskwood to embers.’

‘There were many undead there,’ she said. ‘I remembered my lord’s words about the Dark Gods wishing them returned to the Well.’

‘Where is my retiring flutterbug?’ Losara wondered aloud. ‘Who is this fierce creature wielding fire and destruction?’

‘Gone she be,’ moaned Grimra. ‘Replaced by some winged troublemaker who listens not to me!’

‘Is my lord upset with me?’ Lalenda asked demurely, though a quirk of a smile tweaked the corner of her mouth.

‘No, little hellion. I may have worried for you if I’d known what you attempted, but as it’s gone and done, there seems little point. All that’s left is to be proud of you.’

His words made her heart skip. ‘Grimra?’ she said. ‘Why don’t you swirl off and terrorise the kitchen servants? Maybe they’ll give you a chicken.’

‘Oho!’ hooted Grimra. ‘Maybe they will! And maybe while me be gone, you two sit and natter about the weather?’

‘By Assedrynn, I do not care a jot about the weather,’ she said, and Grimra chuckled as he slipped under the door.

Morning came, and Losara awoke to bittersweetness amidst tangled sheets. Thin trails of broken skin along his chest marked where she’d run her claws the night before. It was good to be with Lalenda, in this moment, and he appreciated it for what it was – for he did not look forward to the task ahead.

Perhaps his other would have, for it involved the spilling of much blood.

She rose with him and began to pack herself a small satchel.

‘Truth be told, my love,’ he said to her, ‘I would prefer if you did not accompany me on this venture.’

‘Life does not always deliver what we want,’ she said sagely, as if quoting from one of her books.

He let it go. As he had told her of his journey the night before, she had listened with avid interest, especially to how Jaya accompanied Bel. He had realised too late that he was only strengthening her own determination to do the same with him. And with her concern over his failure to capture the Stone and all that it potentially meant, he did not think he could easily dissuade her.

There would not be much risk to her, he supposed. She could be kept well back from any conflict, he’d make sure of that. And he would not be like Bel, forgetful of those within his protection. Besides, after what he’d learned about Duskwood, he did not like his chances of caging his increasingly bold little pixie.

Tyrellan met them for breakfast, after which they walked from the fort together in plain view of the army. Soldiers stirred to attention and bowed, and Losara smiled and waved, stopping to thank them for their support. Lalenda bounced along beside him with her wings spread, taking steps that lifted her from the ground, as if she could not wait to take to the air. He could sense word spreading that the blue-haired man had finally arrived, and today went to battle. Tension filled the air – maybe it was excitement, maybe it was hope.

They came to the place where the mages camped and Roma waited. A thousand stood ready, most of them Arabodedas and Vortharg – the gift was rarer amongst the other races, but when present it was strong.

Losara rose to hover in the air and address them. Before he did, he noticed that each mage’s black cloak had been stitched at the shoulder with a blue thread, depicting the outline of a four-fingered hand.

The insignia , he sent to Roma. Your doing?

It is well they remember whom they serve , sent back Roma.

You flatter me.

No , sent Roma. They are right to be proud. As are you, my lord.

Losara found that he was touched. He thought about mentioning that he actually did still have a hand with the proper number of fingers on it, but decided he didn’t want to ruin the moment. Instead he spoke, his voice amplified by magic.

‘Greetings, my brethren. Today we make for Holdwith. If we add speed to our heels, we should reach it by nightfall and be favoured by darkness in our attack. I know that the Magus Supreme has spoken to you of what we must achieve, so I will say only this: if we are successful, it will be a great step towards ending this war in our favour.’

A cheer went up, and bolts of blue energy crackled into the air.

‘Now,’ said Losara, ‘make haste!’

As one, the mages sped away over the Stone Fields like a great black mist. Although their legs seemed to move at a normal pace, they covered the ground faster than any regular stride. Losara followed, floating above them, dividing his power between Tyrellan and Lalenda to help speed them along. Tyrellan’s eyes gleamed as he raced over the rocks, and if Losara didn’t know better he might have thought the First Slave was enjoying himself. A short distance behind the goblin, the shadowmander followed, bouncing and leaping, keeping up on its own, or perhaps simply dragged along because it had to stay close to its anchor to the world. Flying at his side, Lalenda grinned at Losara as she spread her wings wide, her wild hair whipping about her head, then plunged to sweep over the speeding horde.

‘For ice, water and mud!’ she called. ‘Let sunset eternal fall on Kainordas!’

Eyes rose to her, impassioned shouts came in answer, and Losara thought his mages took heart from the fervent pixie who accompanied them.

Sometime after midday they could see the border in the distance, brightly foreboding on the other side. There was no shadow out there to refuel the mages’ reserves as they spent it on speed, and although Losara did not want to burn their power away, he decided there would be time at nightfall to stop and replenish.

The brightness grew, and a thousand pairs of eyes stung as they hurtled into it, a dark swell breaking on sunny shores. As they moved out across the barren lands, they came across a single Kainordan patrol and engulfed it quickly. A spark of fire was the only resistance from a lightfist with the group, and it was quickly snuffed out.

Slower , Losara sent out to all. We do not wish to reach Holdwith before night.

The group slowed, conserving their power, until evening began to fall. When Holdwith appeared on the horizon they stopped altogether, and Losara ordered an hour of rest. He did not think the light mages would sense them from this distance, but even if they did, there was no time for further aid to reach them. In the meantime he had a preliminary job of his own.

I will return shortly , he sent to Roma, then turned to Lalenda.

‘Wait with the others,’ he said. ‘I have something to do.’

She looked worried by that, but he fell to shadow and circled her feet, then slid up her body to embrace her under her clothes so that she reddened and giggled. Then he was away, towards Holdwith.

As he drew close it seemed he was sensed, for a sentry barked alarm. He remembered, from the last time he’d come here to set a particular whelkling free, that inlaid into the walls of the fort were a series of ward stones like the ones surrounding the Halls. They were not a foolproof defence against shadow magic, but they stood in the way of a swift, decisive victory, providing a certain resistance that his mages would need to overcome. He slipped halfway up a wall and found the first, softly glowing amongst regular bricks of brown stone.