Madness. This is madness. Or a dream. A dream so horrible that any moment I will wake up and realize it is only a dream. I am not doing this. I am not shoving my way through this crowd. It’s someone who looks like me. There is Ballinaire. By the Druids, he looks old! But look at his Life magic—it is draining very slowly for someone his age. How strange. Why are they all looking at me that way? Look at their eyes. Am I really doing this? Will I awaken before or after they cut me down with their swords? Why am I doing this? A few steps more. There’s a wagon to stand on. Good. Why does that matter? They will shoot me down with their poisonous shafts as soon as I open my mouth. Or would I prefer they hang me? I can hold my breath a long time. I can…
“Where are you…” a soldier said with a snarl, grabbing Exeres’ shoulder with a strong hand.
Exeres clubbed his fist into the man’s groin then jerked his arm up and broke the soldier’s nose as he doubled over in pain. Gasps of shock and dismay erupted from the soldiers nearby. What did it matter? He was going to die anyway.
Grabbing the rim of the wagon, Exeres planted his boot on a wagon spoke and vaulted himself up into the box of it. He saw the warped wood of the base, the splinters and pop-outs from the knots. Why would those details be remarkable at such a moment?
He had attracted their attention. Standing amidst an army of thousands, a lone Zerite priest on a wagon they had used to dump armor among the crowds for all to see.
Ballinaire had turned in his saddle, regarding Exeres with a look of surprise and anger. The war horse was armored as well, flashing with silver tassels and bit, gleaming with mail and hand-crafted iron. Exeres looked into the man’s bloodshot eyes and smelled the overpowering aroma of filth and decay.
“Get down from there!” someone shouted at him.
“It’s a priest!”
“What’s he doing up there?”
Exeres stood dumbfounded. There were no words. He didn’t have any idea what to say. Panic, sheer and absolute, invaded his bones. The old man had let him be a decoy. Had sent him into the heart of the regiment with nothing more than…
—Oh be silent! I’m going to help you! Speak these words. Don’t think. Just do—
Taking a huge swallow of air, Exeres raised his fist into the air.
The words tumbled out of his mouth.
“You are betrayed!”
That seemed to get their attention even more. A hush fell in the night.
“All is in ruin, a ruin which you have brought upon yourselves! Hear me, soldiers of the Rebellion. I am Exeres Tallin, a lowly Zerite. But I speak words that you must hear. You are betrayed by the one who leads you.” He lowered his fist and pointed a finger at Ballinaire.
He’s going to kill me.
“He has gone against the ways of the Earth magic. He has twisted and tainted it to serve his lust for power. His lust for the rule of this land. The Druids defy those who willfully harm the land. Your lord and leader has earned their deepest and most fierce anger.”
Ballinaire’s eyes smoldered. “Finish your message quickly, priest. I’ll have your head afterwards.”
Exeres stuttered a moment, his mouth dry and his throat parched. He looked away from Ballinaire, unable to meet the look that foretold his demise. “These actions have not only brought the ire of the Druids, but they have earned you the condemnation of the Shae. They will not sit still behind their sullen woods while you defile their land with tainted magic and blood. Their army arrives by the sea, south of Landmoor.”
Gasps and murmurs kindled in the crowd of soldiers.
“Kill him,” Ballinaire said.
Exeres waved his hand. “I’m not finished! Your own leaders are disgusted by your treachery, Ballinaire! They revolt as you did against Dos-Aralon. The army of the Kingshadow has returned to the mountains. They will not fight with you. The army of the Shadin Mountains has retreated as well. They have abandoned you both. The dukes march against you. The Shae march against you…”
A crossbow bolt whizzed by Exeres’ ear.
He felt the orb in its pouch burn against his leg. Something tugged against his mind. He smelled Miestri’s flavors as she invaded his thoughts, wrapping him up in a shroud of her will. His jaw clamped shut, fused whole.
—Not yet, little one. He isn’t finished yet—
A surge of power opened his mouth again.
“There will be no supping in don Rion’s palace!” Exeres screamed. “No kegs burst in the street for you. Only dogs…dogs sent down to lick your bones!”
“I said kill him!” Ballinaire shouted.