Part 18 (1/2)

Miranda came over and nodded to them, 'Kaspar, Jommy.' Kaspar introduced his Captain and Servan, and Miranda said, 'Where's Jim Dasher?'

Kaspar glanced around. 'He vanishes like a mist in the morning sun. I have no idea.'

Tomas said, 'He was very concerned over that enclave of creatures he saw up to the north. You don't think he headed back that way to investigate?'

'I don't know him that well-' Kaspar began.

'You know him better than anyone else here,' interrupted Miranda. 'Do you think he's out playing hero?'

Kaspar shook his head. 'He's a lot of things, but he'd never accept being called that. But he can be duty-bound, and that might be cause enough.'

Tomas looked around. 'We've got a few hours of light left. It shouldn't be too hard to pick up his trail if he's heading in the direction.'

Jommy said, 'I'm bored. I'll go.'

'If what Jim said is close to accurate, you'll need me along. Let me settle Lettie in here and then we'll be off,' Miranda announced.

Servan and Captain Stefan volunteered as well, but Kaspar declined. 'We're going to be noisy enough with this lot along.'

He looked to where Miranda was talking to the young female magician and said, 'I have no idea what her woodcraft is like.'

Jommy grinned. 'You don't know her like I do. If those creatures hear her coming and are at all smart, they'll clear out and head back to where they came from.'

Kaspar said, 'Tomas, it might be better for all of us if you mentioned to Castdanur that we're going to poke around up north. He and I have come to an... understanding, but trust is still a little thin.'

Tomas inclined his head in agreement and moved away.

'I thought you and the chief were thick as thieves,' said Jommy to Kaspar.

'Remember what Tomas said about elves' sense of time being ”leisurely”?'

'Yes.'

'For five hundred years they've only encountered brigands, pirates, smugglers, and every other stripe of outlaw up here. Their view of humanity is less than positive, you could say. It's going to take a while before they'll trust any of us, but,' he gestured at the animated conversations taking place among the various elves, 'this will go a long way towards convincing them we can be trusted.'

Jommy recalled what he had heard about Kaspar since he had come to serve the Conclave and found it ironic that he should be talking about trust. Yet he had proven himself as a reliable agent since his return from exile.

Tomas returned with Miranda. 'If we're to find where Jim Dasher went, we should leave now.'

Kaspar shouldered a bow he had been using since Castdanur had let them hunt and said, 'With you two,' -he indicated Miranda and Tomas- 'along I doubt I'll need this, but I find it rea.s.suring to have some sort of weapon.'

Jommy just patted the hilt of a large hunting knife at his belt as if to echo Kaspar's sentiment.

Tomas waved a farewell to Ryath who, with a snap of its ma.s.sive wings loud enough to sound like thunder, took to the sky. The elves watched silently as the ma.s.sive creature vanished into the heavens.

They trotted out of the gate and followed the main trail to the south-west, then turned north, following a game path where obvious footprints had been left in the east. A quarter of a mile up the trail, Tomas pointed to a broken branch, still green and dripping sap. 'He's making it easy.'

Kaspar said, 'Knowing Jim Dasher, he's doing it intentionally.'

As the afternoon lengthened, they moved purposefully up the trail and after travelling for two hours they found another broken branch indicating that Jim had turned northeast, climbing towards a gap in the ridgeline above. As they reached the lower lip of a plateau, they could see a figure kneeling behind sheltering rocks, observing something on the other side.

Crouching low, the four approached until Kaspar stood at Jim's shoulder. Quietly, Jim Dasher said, 'What took you so long?'

'Social niceties.' said Kaspar.

Tomas slowly drew his sword. 'Where are they?'

'Just over this rise,' said Jim. 'They appear to be resting. From what I've seen, they are most active at sundown, then are awake all night.' He glanced at the sun, low in the western sky. 'They'll start whatever they're going to do, hunt or feast, in about an hour.'

'Castdanur says these wolf-riders suck life from bodies.'

'Eat them, too, from what I saw,' whispered Jim.

Tomas inched past Jim. Then the other four saw him rise up without hesitation and charge. 'Stay here!' he shouted.

'Well,' said Jim, 'I guess that means the sneaky quiet part is over.'

Miranda hurried past the three men. Jim looked at Jommy and Kaspar and said, 'I guess that means the ”stay here” part of things is over, too.' He stood up, drew his two belt-knives and started after Miranda.

Kaspar reached out, grabbed Jim Dasher by the collar and pulled him backwards, almost yanking him off his feet.

'What?'

'I don't worry about her,' Kaspar said. 'But when a man who can command dragons tells me to wait, I'm inclined to wait.'

Jim looked at Jommy whose expression indicated that he couldn't believe Jim had even thought about going up there after Tomas had told him to wait.

Tomas strode into the clearing and saw the first creature. It was one of the large 'wolves' lying across the threshold of a hut and as soon as it saw Tomas it leapt to its feet, took a bounding jump and with a ghostly howl attacked him. Tomas's golden blade arced through the air and when it struck the creature there was an explosion of sparks, energy so bright that Jim, Kaspar and Jommy were forced to look away. A smoking gash where the blade struck erupted into tiny flames of silver and the creature staggered, then fell over on its side. With a gasp it went limp, then suddenly its entire form was engulfed in silver flames.

The commotion caused the human-like 'riders' and their creatures to erupt from the huts. Tomas lay about him with his sword, his speed and power astonis.h.i.+ng. Miranda stood with hands outstretched and lances of dazzling blue energy skewered any creature that attacked her. Where her spells struck, the creatures were thrown backwards, cras.h.i.+ng into the huts or sliding across the ground.

The howl of rage and pain was the strangest sound any of the three onlookers had ever heard, a distant empty hooting and grunting that echoed as if from the depths of some distant canyon. Miranda changed her attack and a booming sphere of white light exploded from around her. It pa.s.sed through Tomas with apparently no ill effect, but when it struck any of the dark and smoky forms, they fell writhing and their echoing cries grew louder.

Tomas moved with stunning speed, wheeling his sword to left and right, and each time he struck a creature fell. With no defence due to Miranda's spell, the remaining creatures fell to him as if he were a farmer scything down wheat.

He moved to the stone cage where the Void-darters were thras.h.i.+ng around, trying to batter their way to freedom. 'Miranda, can you destroy those things without opening the door?'

'What kills them?'

He held out his blade. 'This contains magic which was ancient before man came to this world. As long as I have held it, I do not know exactly what went into its fas.h.i.+oning. But those things are feeders on life and so is this blade.'

Miranda said, 'I think I know something I can try.' She waved her hands in a quick, intricate pattern, and a pulsing globe of purple light sprang into being before her. With a wave of her hand she sent it cras.h.i.+ng into the cage and as soon as it touched the creatures they began to thrash about even more violently. Still they did not die.

Miranda tried another approach and a wash of fire appeared from the palms of her outstretched hands. The flames burned bright orange and when they struck the creatures seemed to go rigid and fall to the ground. Tomas instantly threw up the latch, opened the door and was in the cage slas.h.i.+ng with his sword until every darter was nothing more than smoking black char.

Miranda said, 'Those things are very hard to kill.'

Jommy, Kaspar and Jim came to stand next to Tomas. Kaspar had been given a vision of the Dasati world by the G.o.d Kalkin and had been the one to carry the warning of the Dasati incursion into Midkemia to the Conclave, but even he had never seen their like before. He said as much. 'Are they some sort of Dasati I don't recognize?'