Page 38 of Pawns of Fate

NICHOLAS

N icholas cleaned the lizardmen’s blood off his sword while he waited for Syzman to contact Lyla.

Perhaps if Lyla could help them deactivate the spell controlling these monsters, things at the swamp would sort themselves out quickly.

As frustrated as he was with the shadow mages, stumbling upon the source of the red spells was the best solution to the monster problem.

Really, it could only be better if they found the person manufacturing the spells.

The more Nicholas thought about it, the more that piece of the puzzle worried him.

He couldn’t shake the idea that everything was connected to the shadow mage Rose had seen in the garden, and Syzman had done nothing to discourage that line of thought.

The ferns rustled. Nicholas grasped the hilt of his sword, but much to his relief, York stepped forward instead of another lizardman.

York glanced over the defaced druid ruins. “What sort of mad experiment is this? Syzman, don’t tell me you did all this?”

“When would I have possessed the time?” Syzman mumbled, then resumed prodding one of the less-complete spell circles.

The mage’s quiet, subdued demeanor bugged Nicholas more than Syzman’s usual devil-may-care attitude. Syzman was trying to hide his concern.

“Contact Lyla, Syzman. Tell her that Rose and Ava must stay in the warded house, even if she’s with them.”

Syzman nodded. Nicholas watched one of the spell rings that encircled his bicep spring to life with an obsidian glisten.

“Lyla!”

Nicholas and York exchanged a concerned look. Syzman had never yelled during a simple communication spell before.

“What’s wrong?” Nicholas grabbed the mage’s shoulder.

Syzman’s eyes lost focus, and a tendril of shadow grasped Nicholas’s wrist.

“Syzman!” York grabbed both of Syzman’s shoulders and shook him. “What the hell is going on?”

“What’s wrong?” Nicholas demanded as Syzman’s eyes regained clarity. The tendril of shadow retreated.

“We need to get back to camp. Now.” Syzman started marching down the hill, shoving the vegetation out of his way with his hands and his shadows.

Nicholas and York followed.

“Why?” York shouted.

“We’re using the scrolls Lyla left me. She adjusted two of them to work with lightning mana, and I should be able to teleport both of you with all the star crystals lying about this cursed swamp.”

“What? Teleportation scrolls?” Nicholas’s heart dropped. “Why do we need to use the scrolls?”

“Because the madman that created the experiments back there—” Syzman waved a hand and shadow toward the defaced ruins “—is attacking Uddedin. Your wives are in danger, and Lyla may not be enough to protect them.”

ROSE

Rose had always considered herself physically fit, but hiking through the rocky hills of the northern Ojoh desert gave her doubts.

“Come on. We need to cover more ground,” Lyla called from the top of a hill. The shadow mage didn’t seem phased by the trek and had spent most of her time hurrying Rose and Ava along.

“She’s going to kill us before the damn monsters get to us,” Ava whispered conspiratorially.

Rose laughed. She wondered if this was what Nicholas felt like when he was fighting alongside York. He probably wasn’t quite as miserable since he practiced with his sword daily and had better stamina.

What wouldn’t she give to be back in Onanish, watching Nicholas train in the courtyard while sipping tea and eating fruit with cheese right now , she thought.

They reached the top of the hill, huffing and puffing the whole time. Lyla pointed to a distant smudge between two hills.

“Is that a town?” Hope filled Rose’s voice. It looked far, but perhaps the end of this nightmare was in sight.

“Yes,” Lyla said. A small smile crossed the shadow mage’s face. It gave Rose more hope than anything else had today.

“It’s still at least fifteen miles away, but we can make it.”

“Fifteen miles?” Ava whined. “I’m sweating in places I didn’t even know existed!”

Lyla started down the hill. “If it’s the village I’m thinking of, there’ll be a hot spring inn.”

The prospect of a bath at a cozy inn propelled Ava and Rose forward with a speed that Lyla’s constant chiding never could.

For several hours, they walked on without complaint and without seeing much of note.

The desert cacti began to give way to the thin, almost spiky pine trees of the high desert, which made Rose miss the thick, lush pine trees of Onanish.

The sun’s dry heat on her skin made her miss the luxury of shade.

Hot as it was, Rose was glad for her long-sleeved dress because it protected her from the harsh rays.

The sun was beginning to set when the sound of pebbles rolling around caught Lyla’s attention. The shadow mage dove into a scrubby bush and pulled out a goblin.

The creature squealed like an angry pig and covered its eyes as Lyla held it to the sunlight. The mage pulled a knife from her girdle and promptly killed the little monster.

Chittering and rustling erupted in the surrounding trees, rocks, and bushes. Ava grabbed onto Rose’s arm.

“Is that a baby troll? Is the mother going to come eat us?” Ava looked frightened to the point of tears.

“It’s a goblin, not a baby troll, but I can see why you’d think that,” Lyla replied. The creature had the same mossy green skin and rotten stench to it. Goblins never grew larger than a housecat, though.

Lyla continued to inspect the goblin’s corpse, tracing her fingers over a blood red rune that covered the creature’s heart.

“The troll had the same marking,” Rose said.

“The same spell,” Lyla replied. “I don’t mean to alarm you, but we need to move faster. Someone is tracking us.” She discarded the goblin and set off down the hill.

“Goblins can’t track, Lyla.” Rose panted as she tried to catch up with the mage. Someone was tracking them? Using goblins? This was concerning. She needed Lyla to stop and answer a few questions, not double their walking speed.

“No, goblins can’t track. Mages can. And the one who tried to kidnap you this morning is crazy enough to use monsters for tracking and attacking. ”

Rose’s mind reeled; blood rushed out of her head and into her limbs. Someone was using monsters to track and attack her?

“What would a shadow mage capable of controlling monsters want with me ?” Rose asked as she and Ava jogged to keep up with Lyla.

“I’m speculating, but it probably has to do with the legend surrounding your ancestor. The one that increased the mana flow of his comrades in the heat of battle.”

“I can’t do that, Lyla,” Rose said through labored breaths.

The mage only replied with knitted eyebrows. Rose felt her heart constrict. She wanted to hide under a bed, like a child. Things had gotten so wildly out of control, and her mind couldn’t stop searching for a hint of normalcy in the sea of confusion.

More chittering came from a nearby bush. Lyla threw a knife at it. The sound stopped.

“When we get to the village, I’ve got enough mana for a small ward. Enough for one room where we can wait for Syzman. But I can’t ward open spaces like this.” Lyla recovered her knife, wiped off the blood, and the trio continued their miserable flight.

Until a bone-chilling trio of howls split the air, like a choir of hell’s angels. The girls froze.

With a shaky voice, Rose asked, “Lyla, that isn’t… it simply isn’t possible… werewolves?”

Lyla moved so quickly that Rose wondered if she was using magic again. The assassin shoved small, silver knives into Rose and Ava’s hands, then turned toward the wretched howls.

“Change of plans. Run until you get to the village. I don’t care how tired you get or what noises you hear. You both must get to that village.”

“You can fight them off, though?” Ava asked tremulously.

Lyla smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Of course. I’m going to take care of the wolves. I’ll be right back, but you two should still run. You’ll be in my way otherwise.”

Rose knew that she was lying for Ava’s sake.

Lyla was just going to buy them time to run.

That was the best that they could hope for in this situation.

Werewolves were big, fast monsters that hunted in packs.

Maybe if Lyla had all her mana, she could have defeated them.

But alone? With no magic? Rose felt tears press at the back of her eyes, but Lyla shot her a glare.

If Rose lost her composure now, Ava would never agree to run.

Before Rose or Ava could protest, Lyla took off into the sparse forest. When Rose tried to catch one last glimpse of her bodyguard by looking over her shoulder, Lyla was already gone, barely a speck among the trees.

Ava held Rose’s hand as they ran and stumbled through the dwindling light. They progressed about a mile before they heard the first goblin shriek. Ava’s hand squeezed hers.

“Rose, I think we should find someplace to hide,” Ava wheezed. “I won’t be able to keep this up much longer.”

“Where do you want to hide?” Rose asked, trying not to sound frustrated.

The terrain had become more rocky and mountainous but slightly less desert-like.

There still weren’t many trees, especially not ones big enough to climb and hide from goblins or werewolves.

Not that they would make it out if a werewolf found them.

If one of those slipped past Lyla before they made it to the village, it was all over. They needed to keep running.

“How about that rock over there? It looks too steep for goblins to climb. We could jab at them with our knives if they did manage to climb some of it.” Ava pointed to a smooth boulder about six feet high.

She was right. It was just high enough that it would be difficult for the two women to climb and impossible for goblins.

Rose looked over at Ava, whose face was turning gray from fatigue. They didn’t have a choice. Ava was going to pass out soon, and Rose was fighting exhaustion, too. The shrieks and laughter of the goblins were drawing closer and closer.

“Let’s do it.”