Chris Evans - A Darkness Forged in Fire

He was still looking at his fingers when he bumped into someone and looked up in surprise. Yimt and N'bhat scowled at him and went back to whispering to each other, pointing to a dark, blurry shape to their front. The sun was just below the horizon and beginning to light the land around them. Three Section closed up and took a defensive posture, facing out in all directions of the compass. A quick head count confirmed there were still and only nine.

"We go back to river now. Flood go down, it safe again," N'bhat said, a slight quaver in his voice.

"And crawl through the mud?" Kritton asked. "I can see the path into the forest from here. We'll be through and into Luuguth Jor before nightfall if we go now. Listen to this river rat and it'll take us three days or more."

N'bhat said something in elfkynan and Kritton responded in Hynta. Yimt told them both to shut up.

"Time is not on our side. We need to get to the garrison as quick as we can, and that's through the forest."

Alwyn didn't need to look to imagine Kritton's satisfied smirk.

"Maybe you get there, or maybe you don't," N'bhat said. "Now that we here, I feel trees not safe no more. Go by river and be safe. Almost as fast."

"You aren't going to listen to this little elfkynan, are you, Arkhorn?" Kritton asked.

Alwyn tried to look over his shoulder, but the cage on his back hit Scolly when he tried to turn so he gave up and looked back out across the shrubs they had just walked through.

"That's Corporal, Private," Yimt said, his tone quiet and calm. "And I would strongly suggest you watch your mouth. One of these days, that temper of yours is going to land you in a heap of trouble."

There was a long silence. Alwyn traded looks with Scolly, but he couldn't tell if the soldier was even aware of the argument going on behind them.

"Right, we're going into the forest as planned," Yimt said at once. "Stay sharp-don't get caught looking too long in any one direction and keep your mouths shut."

Scolly looked confused. "Where are we going then?"

Three Section turned and Alwyn saw the forest for the first time. It really wasn't like the forests back home. Everything here was greener and leafier. The path that Kritton could see was barely visible to Alwyn, but it looked wide enough for a cart, though he couldn't imagine who would live out here that had one.

He pointed toward the trees. "See, the forest, there's a path through it."

Scolly squinted. "What, that grove of trees?"

Yimt banged the side of his shatterbow with the flat of his fist. "Just follow us."

"But where are we going? In them trees? I don't like trees." There was genuine fear in his voice.

"What do you mean you don't like trees?" Yimt asked, taking a step toward the soldier. "They're just trees. Kritton," he said, whipping around to look at the elf, "have you been putting thoughts in his head?"

Kritton sneered. "As if they would stay. Besides, it was the elfkynan that said the trees weren't safe, not me." After a moment, he hissed between his teeth and raised his hands above his head. He stood like that for several seconds, then closed his eyes and began to chant in elvish.

"What's this about then?" Yimt asked, turning to N'bhat, who shook his head.

Kritton did this for several seconds, then suddenly stopped, lowering his hands and opening his eyes. "The trees are friendly."

"How do you know?" Scolly asked.

Kritton smiled, and it gave Alwyn no joy at all to see it. "I asked them. The trees will not hurt you."

Scolly scratched his head. "You sure?"

Kritton put a hand over his heart. "Completely. You have nothing to fear from the trees."

This appeared to satisfy Scolly, who began walking toward the forest. Yimt snorted and motioned for the rest of them to get moving. He kept looking at Kritton, but the elf did nothing to provoke him, and after a minute Yimt moved back to the front of the patrol.

Within a hundred paces of the forest the rain began to slacken. By the time they reached the edge of the trees, the rain had stopped and the sun was stretching out the first rays of light across the land. Curses sounded from several of the soldiers, but Yimt quickly quieted them again and just like that they stepped out of the light and back into darkness.

With each step deeper into the forest, the light of the sun grew dimmer, as if night was already descending again. Alwyn knew it was due to the thick canopy of leaves high overhead, but it still sent a tiny shiver down his back. Quppy didn't seem to like this choice of route either, growling and fussing in his cage and beating his wings against the wooden bars. Alwyn had to finally reach around and rap a hand against the cage to get the sreex to quiet down, but even then Quppy still growled.

Following Yimt's advice, Alwyn kept his head on a swivel, looking to both sides of the path and even glancing over his shoulder occasionally to check that their number remained constant.

The sreex started beating his wings against the cage again. Yimt turned and pointed at Alwyn to quiet the bird.

"Darn it all, Quppy, you're going to get us both in trouble," he whispered, stopping and shrugging the straps that held the cage to his back off his shoulders. Yimt motioned for a halt. Everyone stopped where they were while Alwyn tried to calm the sreex down.

"I'd be angry, too, if I was caged up all the time. You want a drink?" he asked, grabbing his canteen and pouring a bit of water into his hand and holding it to the bars. "No? Here, how about a chunk of brick," Alwyn said, pulling out of his small pack a gray block of baked flour that the Imperial Army insisted was a biscuit.

Quppy ignored it, going completely still. His body looked like something carved out of wood. Not a blink, not even the twitch of a whisker.

Water mixed with the brick in Alwyn's hand and a gray sludge slowly seeped through his fingers. It suddenly felt cold, as if he'd dipped his hand in a fast-running stream. He shivered and realized the temperature had actually dropped.

A leaf fluttered down and landed in his palm. It was shriveled, the edges blackened by frost.

M ewling cries burst forth all around the soldiers as rakkes charged out of the forest.

It was so sudden Alwyn didn't have time to be scared. He pulled the cork from the end of his musket and ripped the oilcloth from the lock, cocked the hammer back, and fired in one continuous motion. To his amazement the musket worked, the butt slamming reassuringly against his shoulder. A thick cloud of smoke and sparks blossomed in front of him as the musket ball flew forty yards and straight into the stomach of a rakke. He had no time to see if the creature got back up as he scrambled to reload. Other muskets fired and shouts rose from up ahead. The distinct sound of a double roar and detonations signaled Yimt had fired his shatterbow.

"Close up! Close up!"

Inkermon ran past him toward the front, his shako gone, his eyes wild. "The end is here! The end is here! "

Alwyn bit into a cartridge and poured the powder down the muzzle, almost stabbing himself on the bayonet attached at the end of the barrel. Teeter walked up calmly to stand beside him, his musket already reloaded.

"Wait until they're close; too many trees out there."

Alwyn looked up and saw what Teeter meant. Rakkes were screaming and calling to each other from behind the cover of trunks. The first volley had obviously surprised them. Alwyn finished ramming the new ball home and brought his musket up to his shoulder again.

"What are they doing?" he asked, swinging his musket back and forth trying to get a bead on one of the creatures. Like the rakke he and Yimt had killed back at camp, these wore the rudiments of clothes. Unlike the first rakke, however, they also appeared to be carrying clubs. Instead of rushing forward, they started roaring and banging their clubs against the sides of the trees, creating a terrible noise and shaking loose a shower of wet leaves that began falling all around them.