‘You know,’ he said, ‘something troubles me.’
‘Hmm?’
‘Well,’ said Gellan, ‘what are we actually going to do if we find this creature, and it is indeed Fazel?’
Bel frowned. ‘I’m not sure.’
‘Fahren would be a fool to send you on this mission without a potent mage to back you up, nor has he done so. Nevertheless, it isn’t lightly that I’d choose to face Fazel, even if he’s become nothing more than walking charcoal. Added to which, you don’t want him simply destroyed, but subdued.’
‘Yes, I must question him.’
‘Which,’ said Gellan, ‘is even more difficult. At any rate, if you have some kind of plan, I’d appreciate knowing what it is.’
Bel thought hard about that – did he have a plan? Beside his own brazen confidence?
‘A while back,’ he said, ‘I was in a scrap with many huggers. Something strange happened to me. I began to …well, see …the pattern of the fight. I could sense the path I needed to tread in order to win.’
‘How astounding,’ said Gellan, seeming genuinely impressed.
‘It has happened once again since, but unfortunately the way to win that fight …came at too high a cost.’
‘I see.’
‘I guess,’ said Bel, ‘I’m hoping something like that might happen. But I have not really been tested in a magical battle before.’
‘That’s comforting.’
‘If not, I am not without my native skill,’ said Bel, even though he was a little concerned. In Drel, lost in his meditative bloodlust, he had danced through countless hugger attacks, but spells would be harder to avoid; not all of them could simply be ducked. Also, Iassia had been there, steering huggers away from him and encouraging attacks on his comrades instead. How he hated that bird – he wanted badly to believe that he would have survived Drel without Iassia’s ‘help’, but there was no way to be sure.
‘In that hugger fight,’ he continued, ‘I became very …directed. I was not really aware of the soldiers who were with me, and as a result I paid no mind as they were slaughtered. So if you see that happening, I want you to protect the others first, and not worry about me.’
Gellan nodded slowly.
‘Look,’ Bel said, ‘who says Fazel will even attack us? If he’s hiding, he might have broken the Shadowdreamer’s hold on him.’
‘Hmm,’ said Gellan. ‘Possibly.’
‘And there are more of us than there is of him.’
‘So the plan is really to wait and see what happens?’
Bel frowned. ‘I do not see what other plan we could have, without knowing more.’
‘All right, Blade Bel. Let’s just hope this fate of yours can carry us all safely through. Now if you’ll excuse me, I had better try to get some sleep.’
The next morning everyone woke up damp, but the sun soon warmed them through. Gellan disappeared briefly, returning with bunches of green stalks which he claimed were edible. As Bel chewed on the fibrous stuff, he wandered to the edge of the crevasse. The river gushed past about thirty paces beneath, and across the gap the other side of the ridge grew thick with moss, ferns and creepers. A green-furred rabbit appeared from behind a rock and began nibbling on vegetation.
‘Gold piece for your thoughts?’
This from Jaya, who’d joined him with a stalk dangling from her lips.
‘Just wondering if we’re on the right track,’ said Bel. ‘Or if we’ve come to this strange, remote part of the world for no reason at all.’
‘Always a possibility, I guess,’ said Jaya, shrugging.
‘Mmm. Yes. Now, pay up.’
‘Left my money in my satchel,’ said Jaya, in a tone that implied that was much too far away.
The rabbit stopped its munching and stood up straight on its hind legs, watching them. Suddenly, it bounded away between ferns. An orb of fire hurtled after it to burst across its rump, sending it flaming off course and leaving it black and smouldering. They turned to see Gellan with his hand outstretched.
‘What did you do that for?’ said Jaya.
Gellan lowered his hand. ‘Fazel can commune with animals,’ he said. ‘Best not to take any risks.’
‘You could have left enough to make a meal of,’ said Bel begrudgingly.
‘That one wouldn’t have made good eating,’ said Gellan, and winked. ‘It wasn’t ripe yet.’
‘Anyway,’ groaned Jaya, ‘who needs rabbit when there are watery weeds to chew on?’
‘Come on,’ said Gellan. ‘We should get moving.’
On they went, slowly enough for Gellan to send his senses questing far ahead. Towards midday the rock they travelled over grew hot where it wasn’t covered in moss. All kept a close lookout, but there was no sign of life beyond insects chirping. They stepped around a bend and saw a large boulder blocking the path, leaving only a narrow ledge to skirt around, a couple of handspans wide.
‘Ah,’ said Gellan. ‘This might be tricky.’ He glanced to the opposite ridge – the gap between was some five paces wide. ‘I could float us all to the other side,’ he mused. ‘But such an exerted use of magic would shine like a beacon to any shadow mage nearby. Either that or we take our chances making our way around the boulder.’
He glanced at Bel for an answer. Bel was pleased that he did, for while he did not bandy around many orders, it was good that everyone remembered who the leader of this expedition was.
‘We’ll hug the boulder,’ he said. ‘It doesn’t look like it goes very far.’
‘Aye,’ said Gellan, with a distant look in his eye. ‘We will have to.’
‘What do you mean?’
Gellan moved into the shadow of the boulder, and cocked his head as if listening to something only he could hear. He held a finger to his lips, and the others crept in after him.
‘There’s something on the other side,’ he whispered. ‘Of the shadow.’
Tense looks flitted across the party’s faces.
‘Will he know we’re here?’ said Bel.
‘Doubtful,’ said Gellan. ‘I’ve been holding my magic very closely to me.’ He frowned, concentrating. ‘He’s still some distance away. But it’s lucky I didn’t try to float us.’
‘So,’ said Bel, trying to sound certain, ‘we’ll traverse the ledge as planned.’
Gellan reached out to touch one of the creepers that ran across the boulder’s surface. ‘Quite strong,’ he muttered. ‘Not to be relied on fully, but we should be all right. Try to find handholds in the rock. I’ll go first. Everyone ready?’
The others gave wide-eyed nods, except Bel.
‘Bel?’ said Gellan.
‘I should go first,’ said Bel. A leader would go first, wouldn’t he? That was, in fact, the very definition.
‘If you do,’ said Gellan, ‘you’ll be vulnerable without magical protection. If I go, I can protect everyone who follows in case we are spotted.’
Bel felt this commonsense prickle him but nodded. ‘Very well,’ he said.
‘All right then – let’s go.’
Taking hold of the side of the boulder, Gellan edged out onto the ledge. Like everything here, it was slightly damp, and his fingers curled carefully to find nodes and notches in the rock. A moment later, he disappeared.
‘I’ll go next,’ said Bel. He embraced the boulder and shuffled out onto the narrow slice of rock. Beneath him, the sound of the river seemed to grow in intensity. Coming around the first jut of stone, he saw Gellan two paces ahead, moving steadily and surely. A tingle shot through him, like a milder version of what he felt in a fight – or maybe that was just what everyone felt when they were in danger? He glanced back and saw Hiza following with an anxious expression on his face. Despite the situation, Bel found himself grinning, and Hiza forced a grin in return.
‘Nice day for it,’ Hiza grunted.
‘Aye,’ said Bel.
Gellan reached the other side, where he dropped down behind some bushes then turned to watch over those who followed. Bel heard Hiza’s feet scuffle and looked back again to see his friend with a white face, bits of rock crumbling from his clenched grip. They bounced away into the river, sending up foam flares. Hiza scrabbled for a new grip, and his fingers seized the creeper vine. As it took his weight there was a series of crisp snapping sounds, of rootlets tearing free of the boulder’s surface. Hiza scrabbled swiftly, flinging out a hand to grasp a more stable outcropping of rock.