A Dance of Cloaks

chapter 23

You mustn’t stop,” Zusa insisted as the two ran. “The paladin will follow. He will always follow.”

Alyssa nodded. Her breathing had become ragged, and her left side ached as if a dagger was lodged within. They’d run west, away from the camp and away from Veldaren’s walls. A few times they’d shifted directions, but only to avoid the hills that surrounded the area.

“Where,” Alyssa said, feeling light-headed and unable to voice the rest of her question.

“The river is near,” Zusa said. “We will use that as we must.”

Alyssa did her best to keep up, but they had run for almost an hour after fleeing the Kull’s camp. She’d never felt herself out of shape, but the exertion was beyond even her capabilities. She started stumbling, dragged on only by Zusa’s firm grip on her wrist.

“Not far,” Zusa insisted. “Hurry. Not far at all.”

The Kinel River ran south from the mountains, passing west of the King’s Forest and looping a quarter-mile from Veldaren before traveling south, marking the western edge of the Kingstrip. Despite her aching sides, weak legs, and ragged breath, Alyssa managed the final few minutes to its edge.

“We must get to the other side,” Zusa insisted. “The river is wide, but not deep. The paladin will cross, but slowly. The platemail will hinder him.”

“Please,” Alyssa said. “Let me rest a moment.”

“Rest on other side,” Zusa said. “He may be here at any moment. Life or death, girl. Choose.”

She staggered to her feet and grabbed Zusa’s shoulder.

“Life,” she said.

The water came up to their necks, and it was shockingly cold. Alyssa’s lips turned blue, and her teeth chattered. Zusa tugged her along, although Alyssa could no longer feel her hand clutching her wrist. She dreaded the coming feel of open air, but a dim part of her was certain it’d still be warmer than the water.

“Fire will bring him to us,” Zusa said, even her gravelly voice chattering a bit. “But we have no choice. I can fight the paladin. I cannot fight the frost.”

A minute later they emerged on the other side. Alyssa took a few steps before crumpling to her knees, doubling over with her arms crossed before her chest. She tried to speak, but her shivers were so severe she could not make the words.

Zusa knelt in front of Alyssa. Shadows curled off her body, moving sluggish as if they too were affected by the cold. Zusa’s hands touched the grass, her fingers digging into the earth.

“Nuruta,” Zusa hissed. Purple fire erupted between them. It burned bright, then faded to the size of a man’s head.

“Stay close to it,” Zusa said. “The warmth is weak, but it will keep you alive.”

Zusa looked back to the river. Alyssa followed her gaze. She saw nothing in the dim starlight, but evidently the faceless woman’s eyes saw far better in the darkness.

“The paladin approaches,” she said. “Half a mile away, perhaps farther. We have time for warmth.”

The two huddled before the fire, feeling its heat fight away the wetness of their clothes.

“Karak has abandoned me,” Zusa said as the fire popped. “My soul is already doomed to the Abyss. What does one more broken law matter?”

Alyssa watched as she peeled away the wet wrappings from her head. Underneath she was beautiful, perhaps more so than Eliora. Her eyes were a sparkling green, her lips pale and supple. Her cheeks were smooth and round, as if Zusa had been carved from stone in the image of a goddess. Short black hair stuck to the sides of her face, but she pulled it back into a ponytail and tied it with one of her wrappings.

“If Karak would hide such beauty from the world, then he is a foolish, jealous god,” Alyssa said. She looked to the river. “Can you kill his paladin?”

“We shall see,” Zusa said. She glanced down to her wrappings, which were still soaked from the river. With a shrug, she removed them and cast them beside the fire. Looking like a naked nymph of the forest, Zusa kissed her dagger and then approached the water’s edge. Alyssa thought to do the same, then decided she would wait. If Zusa died, then her fate was sealed as well. She would not die naked.

“You are determined, servant of Karak,” Zusa shouted across the river. With her back to the fire, Alyssa watched, her eyes adjusted enough to see the man standing on the other side. His armor was even darker than the night. He drew his sword, and black flame swelled about it.

“My name is Ethric, and my faith is fervent,” the paladin shouted back. “But you have cast aside your wrappings, disobeying the order of our god. Will you fight me like a naked whore, or do you hope to distract me while you cut my flesh with your dagger?”

“When you are dead, I will cast your body to the river,” Zusa shouted. “The fish will nibble on your eyes and worms will feed on your guts. Do you still desire to cross?”

Ethric laughed.

“Desire? My desires mean nothing. Karak has commanded your death and the return of Alyssa Gemcroft. I will cross, and I will burn your head and leave your body for the wolves.”

He took a step into the water. Zusa crouched, her dagger held before her eyes. To Alyssa, she appeared some strange wildling, dangerous, calm and insane. She shifted closer to the fire, feeling for the first time in her life an urge to pray. Whatever fate lay before her, she knew she wanted the dark paladin to have no part of it. But who could she pray to in her desire for death other than Karak? Surely Karak would accept no prayers aimed at the destruction of his own champion.

“One more step,” said Zusa. “Just one more, and I will kill you. The water is your death, paladin.”

Ethric waded into the river. At first it flowed to his waist, then rose until it was above his chest. He kept his sword held high, its dark fire absorbing the light of the stars so that it seemed a deep chasm floated above his head. Zusa remained still, her body crouched. Whispers floated off her tongue. The shadows grew about her, hiding her nakedness.

Protect her, Alyssa prayed, though she knew not to whom. She may not deserve it, and neither do I, but protect her anyway.

Once Ethric was in the center of the river, Zusa leapt. It seemed the chains of the world had left her, for she vaulted high in the air. A cloak of shadow followed her even though she was naked. For a moment, she soared as if on wings, and then curled her body downward, diving like a bird of prey. Ethric tilted his sword, but his movements were hampered by the deep water.

The collision was brutal. Alyssa gasped as shadows collided against shadows. Water erupted as if the ground had thrown up its contents and shifted the river. A single harsh clang of steel rang in her ears. When the river calmed and her eyes could once again see, she saw neither of the combatants. Her heart trembled. She thought to run. Freezing to death seemed far better than whatever fate the dark paladin planned for her.

The water rippled, and then Zusa stepped onto the shore, water dripping from her slender body.

“I warned him,” she said, and then a smile broke out across her face. “He drowned. Make room by the fire.”

Zusa sat beside her wrappings, crossed her legs, and leaned toward the purple flame. Hardly believing it, Alyssa stripped off her own wet clothing and huddled closer. Both naked, wet, and freezing, Alyssa laughed at what a sight the two of them must be.

“I think many a man would love to stumble upon our camp this night,” she said.

“One did,” Zusa said, glancing to the river. “I pray he enjoyed what he saw.”

They cuddled together for warmth beside the fire that never faltered.

Alyssa shuddered, then looked up. Yoren approached their camp, walking over the river as if he were a ghost. When he neared, he grabbed one of her nipples and squeezed it so tight it hurt.

“I missed you,” he said, smiling. His teeth, no longer gold, were crumbling ash. She screamed. He kissed her, his tongue ramming down her throat as if it were a snake. Suddenly it was a snake, crawling down into her belly and coiling there. She thought she’d vomit, but when she did he shoved his hand over her mouth and forced her to swallow it back down.

When morning came, Alyssa groaned and reached for her clothing. The fire was gone, and her skin pale and covered with goosepimples. Zusa lay beside her, awake but still undressed.

“Your dreams were ill,” Zusa said.

“They were,” Alyssa said, pulling on her dress, which was blessedly dry but for a thin layer of dew. “I hope they’re not a portent of things to come.”

“I dreamed too,” Zusa said. “Karak sent me warning of my path. I walked upon a road of flame, and every step burned the soles of my feet. Eventually I had to crawl, and when I could not crawl, I collapsed. The fire wouldn’t kill me, though. It only caused me pain. What is it you dreamed?”

Alyssa explained her dream. Zusa’s eyes seemed so sad when she looked upon her.

“You are pregnant with Yoren’s seed,” she said. “The signs are obvious. He will take over your household through your child.”

“Will you return me to him?” Alyssa asked. “I do not wish to be their slave.”

“Even without you they will move,” Zusa said. “They mean to kill Lord Gemcroft as an end to their problems.”

“Then what am I to do?” she asked.

“There is a ferry a mile south,” Zusa said as she started covering her body with her wrappings. When she reached her neck she stopped, and a playful smile came over her. She tossed the rest, leaving her face and hair exposed.

“We will talk along the way,” Zusa said. “We tread a dangerous line, and you will find no help in either Kull or Gemcroft. You are trapped between vipers and a pit.”

Her eyes twinkled.

“Still, even vipers may serve their purpose.”