He nodded, knees screaming, and started down the side of the hill. The dawn touched the contours of the valley lowlands with touches of green and brown. Outside the city, the sound rose up from the earth and reverberated in his ears like distant thunder. Hoofbeats, a thousand strong. From the west rode an army—the army of the knights of Owen Draw—banners flapping with the gait of the mounts. The jangle of armor and harness, steel and spur, rose like a chorus to his ears. The Wolfsmen saw it as well, watching as waves of silver caught the glint of the morning sun.
“Hurry!” Thealos yelled and grabbed Ticastasy’s hand once again, pulling her down the slope of the hill. They bounded over rocks and loose creases of earth, the angle so steep he feared they’d both tumble.
They reached a sheer embankment of stone and had to scrabble to the side to find a path down. No army could assault from this side. Yet he knew about fifty paces lower he would find the entrance to the tunnels.
A sharp scree split the air from a half-dozen alerion, circling in the sea of blue above them. A thrill went through Thealos’ heart seeing the majestic creatures. Four of them hung poised in the air and then swooped down to the western slopes of the hill. Thealos recognized Allavin on one of them. A hail of arrows volleyed from the Shae riders, striking soldiers and horsemen at the base of the hill.
After bounding down the last of the slope, Thealos found four alerion waiting for them amidst the fallen corpses of Bandit soldiers left to guard the tunnel entrance. Allavin straightened in the stirrups of the riding harness and waved his longbow over head.
“Allavin!” Thealos shouted, running up with Ticastasy to the base of the brightly plumed alerion. A Shae rider twitched a crop and adjusted his knees to soothe the beast.
“Lad, mount up! You’re in danger here! Hurry!”
“What? What’s happening?”
“Ballinaire’s coming this way with two hundred Kiran Thall. Yes, ban it, Ballinaire himself!”
“What about the knights?”
“Too far! Ballinaire will get here first. Half his army is up the hill already. The rest of the Kiran Thall are forming a rearguard. The Shae army is on the other side, blind to what’s going on over here. Mount up, lad! Do you have it?”
Thealos hunched forward, gulping for air. No time. No time again. He clenched his jaw with frustration. Leave Landmoor again without the Silverkin? Leave Ballinaire in control of the city?
He looked up at Allavin. “I don’t have it yet. Warn the knights to fall back. The Kiran Thall have Deathbane. I’ve seen what it does to them, Allavin. Tell Shearmur to fall back.”
Allavin’s face tensed. “Ban it, boy! What are you doing here then?”
Thealos nodded. “Fly, Allavin Devers. Get those knights out of here. I’m counting on you.”
“Quickfellow!” Xenon barked in warning.
He turned as the forefront ranks of horsemen charged around the bend in the hill. The sickening reek of Forbidden magic struck him in a wave. The alerion didn’t need to be warned. With a deafening scree, they unfolded their wings and took to the skies again, startling the Bandit horses.
“Into the tunnels!” Thealos yelled.
Dozens of Kiran Thall struck the flanks of their mounts and lunged towards them.
Ballinaire’s voice rose thick and powerful. “Cut them down! Cut them all down!”
A crossbow twanged, striking one of the Wolfsmen in the shoulder. A scream ripped from his lips as the tainted tip snatched his life away, turning his flesh into ash. Six Wolfsmen charged into the tunnels.
Thealos grabbed Stasy around the waist with one arm, her wrist with his other hand and ran towards the mouth of the cave opening as the whirlwind of bolts loosed on him from behind. The smell nearly overpowered him, but the Oath magic flicked them away, scattering them against the rock face of the hill slope.
The darkness of the interior smothered him for a moment. He blinked, his eyes stinging with sweat.
“Where’s the tunnel?” Xenon’s voice screeched with panic. “Where’s the tunnel?”
Thealos looked up. A wall of rock sealed off the passage.
*
His stomach dropped to his heels.
Barricaded? Shock and despair wrung through him. He’d led them all to their deaths. A moment earlier, Allavin had offered to save them. Oh Jaerod, why did you trust me to do this?
Xenon must have recognized it from the stunned look on his face. He offered no recrimination this time, but his eyes glazed over with fury. He gave the orders curtly and in Silvan. “Two on that side. Two on this side. One further back to reinforce. Kill as many as you can. Use cover from their bolts. Stack their bodies as barriers. We fight to the last and show these cursed humans what it means to kill a quaere!”
He looked at Thealos. “You protect the girl. Over there. That corner. Go!”
–Son of Quicksilver–
The Silverkin Crystal called to him hungrily from beyond the stone wall. It recognized him again, and its entire focus trained on him. Yes, he would rid the tunnels of the Forbidden magic. He would allow it to cleanse the land. Yet how? How was he going to reach it? How was he going to get past the rock? Of course Tsyrke would have barricaded it against Ballinaire. It was so obvious now.
He struck his fist against the stone.