Knight and Champion Page 24

  The gloomy rangers made solid progress southwest and cleared Yijjar Bluff by early afternoon. With the bone shrine far behind them and the dappled sunshine strong on their backs, the trek assumed a familiar rhythm that rangers loved so well. Adalita shared her bojek - dried, spiced venison - at regular intervals. The meat buoyed Tanis’s flagging energy levels and moderated his extreme emotions. Jader called for a brief stop at around four so the rangers could prepare for a hard, four-hour run into the Border Village. Tanis found himself moving among his brethren as they munched on trail bread, bojek and cheese. His words of encouragement and support hinted at burgeoning leadership qualities he never knew existed. Jader watched him through slitted eyes, clearly struggling with his apparent transformation.

  “You alright?” Adalita asked, laying a cool hand on Tanis’s cheek. “You look pale.”

  “I’m fine,” Tanis said, holding Adalita’s hand where it was, relishing the contact. Several others cast furtive glances at the pair, puzzled and perhaps embarrassed by the brazen display of affection. Tanis felt like his mind was spinning at reckless speed, but he didn’t know how to slow it down. He was at least able to pour his energy into the trek when it resumed. There was little in the way of banter as the shadows lengthened through the forest. There had been no opportunity to give Luther a proper burial. Jader had been right to avoid Shattered Ridge, but the loss of a brother sat heavily with the company. Long-simmering enmity for the Tall Lady meant they were certainly up for a fight, but Tanis could feel the general morale deteriorating as the afternoon wore on. Darkness had long fallen by the time the village’s northern palisades were illuminated by Jader’s guttering torch.

  “I suggest you all find a dry corner and get some sleep,” Jader muttered. “Tomorrow we push hard for Fenril Swamp.”

  There was little opposition to the proposal, but Tanis knew that a one-night stop broke with tradition. In normal circumstances there were tales to share and mead to consume with the village locals. The rangers trudged wearily into the low hall that served as a kind of way-house. Bone tired himself, Tanis took Adalita’s hand and found a dark corner to snuggle in. Siblisy had the central coal pit roaring within minutes and Tanis lost himself in the flickering tongues of flame. Whatever business Jader had in the outpost, it would have to wait till the morrow.

  At length conversation petered out and the silence was only punctured by the occasional spitting coal. Tanis felt a hand between his legs, gripping him hungrily.

  “There’s something different about you,” she whispered. “I don’t know if I should run a million miles or … stay.”

  “I feel it too,” he said, rolling over to face her. Their shared fur enveloped them so completely that their privacy was assured.

  “All I can say is that it’s always been there. The boy you met, the refugee from Guill, is gone. Killed by the forest.”

  Adalita nodded.

  “I don’t give a fuck about him,” she said with unexpected intensity. “You’re here. Flesh and blood. Drawing me in.”

  Tanis untied the string fastening Adalita’s linen shift and cupped her breasts. Her nipples stood to attention immediately, hungry for more. He felt like devouring her, but something held him back. He needed to clear the air.

  “What Jader first saw in me, what I bring, isn’t good,” he began. “Not for you, not for anyone.”

  A light rain began to thrum against the roof, further lulling the surrounding rangers into sweet sleep.

  “The Rangers are my life,” she said. “I’ve seen the end coming for a long time. Ardennia has forgotten about us. What we represent. Jader knows too, so he’s taking us south to die. A final message to the King - a message written in blood.”

  Tanis wanted to comfort Adalita, but found he couldn’t. As usual, her instincts were spot on. Obsessed by the witch, Jader was dragging everyone down with him.

  “I don’t want to die,” Adalita said, her voice cracking. It was so out of character that Tanis had to look away. “You might be touched by something none of us understand, but I don’t care.” Her ice-blue eyes shined in the near-darkness. “A good ranger prides herself on knowing the track. I can’t see the path, Tanis.”

  Tanis propped himself up so he could look clearly into Adalita’s face.

  “If Jader falls, he falls,” he said. “I can’t stop that. So you stay close. I know you can protect me. Hopefully I can protect you too.”

  “You will,” she said, drawing him into her.

  The pair made intense, silent love in the furnace-like heat of their wolf skin.

  When Tanis woke, Adalita was clutching him from behind. He didn’t want to move a muscle lest he disturb the nourishing warmth of her body. And yet the day’s ugly business was rolling inevitably onward. Shards of daylight played on the hard stone floor and the smell of fresh bread hung deliciously in the air. Jader was nowhere to be seen. Careful not to wake Adalita, Tanis forced himself to his feet and headed outside. The morning light required several moments of adjustment, but he spotted the veteran ranger emerging from a scarred mudbrick building. Jader carried a sack over his left shoulder and wore a rare smile.

  “What is it?” Tanis asked, feeling threatened all of a sudden.

  “Shopkeeper is a filthy scrim,” Jader laughed triumphantly. “Their Baredain arts are a natural suppressant to dire magic. This is filled to the brim with treated saleesa weed. If we rub this shit on our skin, we might even get close enough to take the witch down.”

  Tanis instinctively hung back, happy to take Jader’s word for it.

  “Yes,” he purred with an almost vicious satisfaction. “You won’t be feeding from this chaff bag anytime soon, boy.”

  The ranger’s laugh was harsh and overlong. Tanis knew right then that Jader, neglected by the King and surrounded by the graves of so many of his friends, had been pushed too far. Still, he’d found a small scrap of hope, even if such emotion was destined to be short-lived. Tanis knew he couldn’t save the Dawn Rangers, but a boost in morale was welcome nonetheless.

  “Anything we can get to protect ourselves,” Tanis said, emphasizing the “we”. Jader gave him a curt nod before continuing on to the way-house. Tanis had little choice but to follow - he didn’t like the idea of leaving the older man alone with the other rangers.

  “Friends!” Jader bellowed, shoving the hall doors open and flooding light into the rangers’ sleeping area. “Things are looking up! We march as soon as you can stand.”

  Tanis glanced across at Adalita and gave her a brief nod. The company was kitted and ready in five minutes. Tanis and Adalita hung at the back of the group as Jader swaggered through the western palisades with his prize purchase.

  “Hold there, rangers.”

  Everyone turned in unison. A disheveled dispatch rider leaned against the outer perimeter. The poor woman had clearly exhausted both herself and her horse in reaching Border Village. Her royal chequy could barely be seen under a thick coating of mud. Tanis felt a flutter in his chest - according to Jader, a royal dispatch rider hadn’t been seen in these parts for decades. Forgetting his medicinal sack for the moment, the veteran ranger seemed genuinely stunned.

  “You have our ears, soldier.”

  The rider caught her breath and pulled a thin tube from the folds of her field jacket. She held aloft the contents - a roll of parchment bearing the King’s seal.

  “By the King’s decree, the Dawn Rangers, soldiers in the service of Ardennia for one hundred and twenty-six years, will form a signal line across the east-west axis of the Dawn Forest. Should elvish activity be detected, numbers and disposition will be relayed down the line to a royal dispatch rider waiting on the western perimeter. The Rangers will hold their positions until otherwise notified.”

  Jader stood stock still for a moment, clearly unable to absorb the information.

  “The Dawn Rangers serve at the King’s leisure,” he eventually said in a hollow voice. “But milord has been quiet for some time.”

  Th
e rider pursed her lips.

  “The Crown would be alerted to fresh threats within days of sighting,” she said crisply, doing her best to avoid Jader’s dead stare. “He sends down-payment for three months and would remind you that Ardennia is now at war.”

  “I would remind the King that my people have been at war for decades!” Jader bellowed, spittle flying into the mud.

  The rider flinched and was forced to placate her horse, who sensed the hostility in the air.

  “Dispatch after dispatch I have sent,” Jader continued. “Not once did I receive reinforcements.”

  “I do not have any knowledge of this, Captain.”

  “Aye … aye,” Jader said in a faint voice. “Orders are orders.” The head ranger laughed bitterly. “Funny. You don’t know how long I’ve waited for this moment. If only you’d come a week earlier.”

  Jader glanced meaningfully at Tanis.

  “Tell me, soldier, are you charged with the task of seeing us to our positions?”

  The rider shifted her stance nervously.

  “Yes, sir. This is not a negotiation.”

  Jader’s eyes clouded over and Tanis knew he was past the point of no return.

  “I see. This is what I would have you do. First, give this horse a good drink - that sweat doesn’t look good. Then I want you to sit with the villagers and deliver news from Lakeshore. Trust me - they’ll love you for it. Once your belly is full and your mind is clear, I want you to ride back to Lakeshore. Safe travels. I want you to tell Rosten that my rangers are securing the Dawn Forest. It isn’t a war we started. It probably isn’t a war we can finish. But it’s ours. Ours. I will relish the day I can freely swing a blade in the elves’ direction. You have my word on that. Go with the Eleven.”

  The dispatch rider looked utterly perplexed. Puzzlement dissolved into grim fortitude as she realized where her duty lay.

  “Form a signal line, Captain,” she said in a thin voice.

  “I will not do so,” Jader said airily, turning his back and walking away.

  “Form the line, Captain.” The royal soldier drew her sword and strode after the ranger. “Form the line.”

  Jader didn’t choose to keep walking. He didn’t stop to remonstrate further. Instead, he made a decision that sliced a deep incision between him and the throne. A gloved hand struck the rider in the temple, knocking her off her feet. The rider made to rise but Jader was too quick, following with a brutal knee to the lower jaw. A sickening crunch said it all. Tanis stepped forward as the soldier slumped to the ground.

  “Tanis,” Adalita interjected in a low voice. “The company is with Jader.”

  Tanis scanned the faces of his brethren. Incredibly, there was passive resignation there, as if the rangers understood their leader’s actions without overtly condoning them.

  “Half of you haven’t even seen the Tall Lady!” Tanis shouted derisively, checking on the dispatch rider. She was dead. A timely reminder of Jader’s lethality.

  “They’ve seen the graves, boy,” the freshly-minted murderer spat.

  Tanis eyed the man who had lost all semblance of stability. To kill a royal soldier was unspeakable. Indefensible.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you people?” he asked, but he couldn’t sustain his cold fury. The truth was he had no way of knowing what it was like to live in a wild forest year after year. At the mercy of unforgiving nature on one side and the insidious tendrils of a witch on the other. Nothing but the yawning, gargantuan dark to rail against at night. Forgotten by the world of men and burdened with the most impossible of tasks. These folk had nothing but the stories they told around nightly flames. Their myths and legends weren’t dusty, fanciful tales of eras gone by - they were the bloody sacrifices of their kin. Those slain by a very real monster.

  So whilst the death of a royal solider was regrettable, as of that day it was the price of standing in the rangers’ away. In their eyes, they were the real soldiers, marching into battle for the good of Ardennia. It was twisted and sad, but from a certain angle, in a particular light, Tanis could almost see it. He didn’t have to like it though.

  “South,” he said in a voice gravelly with anger. “If we survive, Jader faces trial for his crime.”

  Jader handed Tanis a lop-sided grin that spoke volumes. It said that justice would never be served. Siblisy and some others started walking, which dissolved much of the violence that hung in the air. Tanis waited for everyone to move before he took position at the back. He couldn’t even look at Adalita - her silence had been damning.

  Strangely enough, violence and bad blood made for a good day’s march. The company cleared the hardwood stand southwest of Border Village and made excellent use of an abandoned lumber track. As the day wore on, Tanis noticed a subtle change in the forest. The cool, moisture-laden gullies of the northeast were replaced by luscious glades. The air was heavier, thicker, soup for buzzards and mosquitoes. Sweat clung to him, a viscous trap for all manner of insects. It was mid-afternoon, when the rangers paused to replenish water stores, before Adalita confronted him.

  “I keep forgetting you’re from the outside,” she mused, standing close. “What Jader did back there was wrong, but it was consistent with who we are.”

  “A deluded rabble too long in the wilderness?” Tanis retorted, immediately softening. “I’m sorry. You didn’t kill that poor woman.”

  Adalita peered at Tanis, clearly unable to meet him halfway.

  “I’ve got much to learn it seems,” she said eventually. “You make me feel like a savage.”

  Tanis had to grin. “You are.”

  “Bastard.”

  He accepted Adalita’s offer of honey bread. It was a ritual they’d developed over the many highs and lows of the past few weeks. A signal that all was well. That one could find safe harbor in the other.

  “I should be alone,” Tanis said. “This isn’t your fight anymore.”

  Adalita guffawed loudly. A few rangers looked over at the couple and smiled knowingly. If their little Adalita was making sport of the “new boy”, everything was indeed well. Tanis let the issue slide, knowing full well there was zero chance of confronting the Tall Lady on his own. He’d inadvertently chosen a trail filled with bad blood, a path littered with the dying and already dead. Or perhaps his path wasn’t errant at all. He’d stumbled headlong into the forest and was now marching willingly into the embrace of a known dire witch. There was more than reckless adventuring at play, that much was clear.

  The rangers moved at a prudently moderate pace for the rest of the day. Flocks of jet-black bats rose into the darkening sky as the company made their way through glorious stands of sassafras, fig and myrtle. The hulking, lascivious tree crowns were even able to provide temporary respite from the sun. The company finally made camp under the boughs of an elder mulberry tree, whose cloying perfume made Tanis feel slightly queasy.

  “No fires from this point on,” Jader warned. “If we can steal a grain of initiative, we will.”

  The absence of flame stifled any chance of a bump in morale. Tanis set his fur as far as possible from the mulberry tree without actually isolating himself in the scrub. Acutely aware of the general tension, Adalita held Tanis close but said little.

  “Fenril awaits,” was all she muttered.

  “Stay behind me,” Tanis said as he wrapped his arms around her. “Stay behind me and I promise you’ll be safe.

  The girl buried her head in Tanis’s neck. Her breathing slowed and she was asleep within minutes. Cradling her thin body in his arms, Tanis was overwhelmed with a sense of responsibility he’d never felt before. Exploring the mysterious taint within him was one thing, but committing body and soul to another during his volatile quest was decidedly risky. Beyond coming face to face with the Tall Lady, his path was indistinct. One way or another, he would know more about the forces taking over his body. Troubled, he eventually sunk into a fitful sleep that provided little rest.

  The day dawned fresh and clear - a good omen.
Jader buzzed with nervous energy, pacing back and forth under the mulberry tree while his rangers went about their ministrations. Tanis had never seen him so manic; the expenditure of so much energy went against every tenet of forest craft. Even the more seasoned rangers seemed a little spooked by it.

  “Come, come,” enthused their leader. “It’s time to settle a very long ledger, my friends.”

  Tanis tried to avoid eye contact, but Jader sought him out.

  “You, boy,” he said disdainfully. “I want you on point. Your taint will be our shield.”

  Tanis didn’t like the sound of that, but reluctantly agreed. Morale would be shattered completely if he quarreled with Jader at this point.

  The company struck camp and continued south. Tanis and Adalita walked together for the first few miles before he waved her back down the line. Thankfully, she was wise enough to acquiesce without argument.

  Slowly, inevitably, the enormous trees of the southern fringe began to thin out. Tanis picked his way through muddy tussocks and was forced to skirt the occasional pool. Before long he was trudging through ankle-deep water, but at least it was fresh and clear. Mulberry trees dotted the flat terrain, but the land could no longer be considered a forest.

  “Fenril beckons,” Jader purred alongside Tanis. “Sixteen years since I last passed this way. Too long.”

  The grizzled ranger chuckled amiably. Wary of the man’s mental state, Tanis opted to play things straight.

  “The sun’s up and the way is clear,” he said. “With any luck, the Tall Lady has grown old and weak.”