Terry Brooks - Witch Wraith

Of course, there was more to it. She wanted to free Redden Ohmsford—even though they had only just met and she had no real attachment to him—because she was fond of him and did honestly want to help.

But what she wanted most was revenge on Tael Riverine.

For her mother.

For the other members of the ill-fated company.

For the inhabitants of the Forbidding.

This creature—this so-called Straken Lord—had ruled the Jarka Ruus, the denizens of his world, for decades and perhaps centuries and had done nothing to help them. Tael Riverine’s sole achievement was to gain domination, and his sole objective was to procreate so that his line could continue to rule. She found it repugnant in both demonkind and humankind. There was no suggestion of advancement or enlightenment or useful purpose. There was only the promise of raw power exercised by one ruler so that it could be bequeathed to others.

A good part of her outrage was derived from her connection with the creatures imprisoned here. She was more of an outsider in her own world than she was in this one, and her sense of kinship with the Jarka Ruus was strong. Like her, they were different, and their differences set them apart. But in this world she was just one of many, and all of them very much in the same situation. In her world, she belonged to a tiny group of mutant creatures who were mistrusted and disliked and set apart from the much larger populations of Men, Elves, Dwarves, Trolls, and Gnomes. There, she lived a life in the shadows, disguising the truth about herself.

It didn’t escape her that the creatures of the Forbidding lived the same sort of life here—the same sort of persecuted existence—that she lived in the outside world.

She might not be able to do anything about an entire world in which her fate was subject to the prejudices of the general population, but perhaps she could make a difference in a world in which a single individual’s removal could change everything.

She was toying with these thoughts as Tesla Dart reappeared from out of the increasing gloom, chattering away.

“Furies, dozens of them. Roaming the boulders and brush like vermin. Hate those Furies, I do. Mindless killers.” She gave a look over her shoulder as if to make sure the Furies weren’t following her. “Want to make sure. They could see us, come for us.”

“They won’t bother,” Oriantha told her. “They serve the Straken Lord for now.”

The Ulk Bog made a rude noise. “Serve themselves is what they do. All teeth and claws and no brains.” She gave a noticeable shiver. “Keep them far way, shape-shifter. You listen.”

Oriantha was listening, but she was not particularly worried. She could manage Furies if they found her. Shape-shifters were clever and resourceful. When you could become anything—even the air you breathed if it was dark and hazy enough—there wasn’t much that could harm you unless it got very close or caught you unawares.

Suddenly Tesla Dart squealed and leapt up excitedly. “Lada returns! Come, Lada! Come, Chzyk! Tell me all! Here to me, Lada!”

The lizard raced across the open ground and leapt into the Ulk Bog’s arms where the latter proceeded to pet and rub the little creature in fond welcome. Lada turned around and around, raising and lowering his scaly head and tail, and generally doing everything he could to make himself available for the other’s welcome attentions.

Then he began to chirp, and Tesla Dart chirped right back, the two engaging in a conversation that had all the elements of a comedic parody. But apparently each understood the other, for when they had finished Tesla put the Chzyk down again and turned to Oriantha.

“This is no good, shape-shifter girl,” she said solemnly, shaking her head for emphasis. “Tael Riverine has put boy in cage at camp’s center, next to tent where he sleeps. Boy is watched closely. Guards right by him. You go in, even at night, they catch you quick.”

“How many guards around the cage?” Oriantha asked. “Exactly.”

The Ulk Bog chattered at the Chzyk once more, and the little creature responded in kind. “Four, one on each side. Goblins. But demon-wolves loose in camp near cage, too.”

Oriantha nodded, considering. “No worse than what I thought.”

“You don’t do this,” the other pleaded. “Let this be. You wait. A better chance comes later. Do this now is foolish!”

“This whole business is foolish if you stop to look at it too closely.” Oriantha sat back and regarded the Ulk Bog solemnly. “Let’s wait until it gets dark and take another look at it then.”

In fact, she stayed where she was until after midnight, sleeping several hours in between, eating a little something and staring out across the wilderness to the fires of the Straken Lord. She watched the shadows in the firelight, tracking their movements, immersing herself in the flow of the camp. She breathed in the night air and centered herself for what lay ahead. She had already decided she was going after Redden, in spite of Tesla Dart’s warnings. Her chances were far better in a crowded open place than if she were forced to enter a confined space with only one way in and out.

She looked at the sky and waited for moonrise. When the orb appeared in an overcast sky, slipping out from behind clouds and mist, it was only a small crescent and the light it shed was pale and weak.

She stood up and looked down at Tesla Dart, who was staring up at her with wide eyes and a look of disbelief.

“I’ll need Lada to show me the way. Will you allow him to do that? Just to take me as far as the cage?”

Tesla nodded mutely, her face stricken.

“Wait for me until you see the army begin to move out again. If I am not back by then, go your own way. Leave all this behind and have no regrets. This is my choice. Any consequences that attach are mine to bear.”

“This is a mistake!”

“It is my mistake to make,” Oriantha said.

The Ulk Bog gave her a desperate look. “Wait, then. I have something.” She fumbled in her pocket and finally produced a small key. “Take this. If you find boy, you will need it. Tael Riverine fits him with conjure collar to keep him from using magic. Key will open lock and release collar.”

“How do you happen to have this key?” Oriantha asked, suddenly suspicious.

“Weka gave it to me. He kept it after he was dismissed as Catcher. If he was imprisoned, he knew he would be fitted with collar, too. He would not allow such. Use it to free boy.”

Oriantha took it and tucked it into her tunic. “You are a constant source of amazement, Ulk Bog.”

“You are a fool!” the other snapped. “Please, don’t go! You will end up like the others. You will not come back!”

Oriantha bent over and kissed the little creature on the cheek. Then she was gone into the night.

Redden Ohmsford lay huddled in his cage, rolled into a ball in an effort to escape the creatures that took every opportunity to shake the iron bars of his prison or reach inside to torment him. They came in all shapes and sizes, all types and forms—things he had not only never seen but also never imagined. They screamed at him—howls and shrieks that caused his skin to prickle and his stomach to clench. He was made physically ill from the harassment, his insides roiling, bile rising to his throat, but there was little he could do about any of it. By staying in the center of the cage with his body tightly balled up, he could just avoid their grasping fingers and claws. By closing his eyes, he could almost pretend they weren’t there. But nothing really helped.

There were guards on each side to keep his tormentors at bay, but they showed little interest in doing so. The Straken Lord had come by to look at him only once since the day ended. He had not spoken a word. He had watched his minions torment the boy, then moved on.