“Mm-hm. It was almost like he’d planted his name at the end of every trail we followed. He knows what he’s doing.” “Does Haldren know that?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
“I’m not sure I’d trust someone who went to such lengths to make sure you chose him for the task.”
“Oh, Haldren doesn’t trust him.”
Gaven laughed. “Of course not.”
The sky grew dark over the ruins of Paluur Draal. Cart paced slowly back and forth, watching for more trolls or any other trouble. Darraun finished copying the map he’d found. Haldren knelt beside him, pointing out details and criticizing his work. Darraun entertained himself with thoughts of strangling the sorcerer as he put the finishing touches on the paper.
Haldren stood, brushed dried mud from his knees, and looked up at the darkening sky. “Damn,” he muttered. “We’re not going to find them now.”
Darraun double-checked his map and rolled it up. “At least we found what we came here for.”
“Indeed, and the information in the Sky Caves could very well make Gaven irrelevant to us. As for Senya… well, I shall have to trust that she can free herself from his clutches eventually.”
“Free herself? You think he’s captured her?”
“Of course. What else?”
Darraun opened his mouth but closed it again, remembering Haldren’s temper. He would not be the one to shatter Haldren’s delusions.
“Cart,” Haldren said, “find a secure location and set up camp. Darraun, I’d be grateful for some of your cooking, if you can make something palatable from the supplies we have left. I need to contact Vaskar and inform him of our progress.” He glanced around, then pointed to a small stone house near the trolls’ cave that was mostly intact. “I’ll be in there.”
Haldren went into the little house without a backward glance, and Cart busied himself inspecting other structures nearby. Few of the ruined buildings offered much shelter, and Darraun suspected that the trolls had kept the area around their lair clear of competing predators. All the same, something emitted a horrible dying shriek from the house Haldren had entered.
Darraun started to throw a meal together while Cart checked on Haldren. Darraun shook his head as Haldren rebuked the warforged for disturbing his privacy. Darraun waited until Cart had returned and busied himself setting up their camp in another little house. Then he rummaged in a pouch at his belt until he found the right scroll. He spared a quick glance at the warforged, who was rummaging through their supplies, then began to whisper the words inked upon the scroll. A final glance at the warforged, then Darraun uttered the final syllable. With a slight tingle across his skin, Darraun became invisible.
The spell didn’t quiet his footfalls, so he moved as quietly as he could up to the house Haldren had claimed. He crouched in the doorway and peered in to where Haldren stood before a shimmering image of the bronze dragon’s head. The image was speaking.
“… than the Lyrandar whelp could anyway. Meet me as we planned, give me the Eye, and everything will be fine. You will receive your reward.”
“What about Senya?” Haldren’s voice was agonized, and Darraun almost felt sorry for him.
“She is irrelevant.”
Vaskar’s head vanished in a shower of sparks, and Haldren sank to his knees, his chin on his chest. Darraun watched him for a moment, but the sorcerer didn’t move. Darraun slunk away, glanced around to make sure he wasn’t in Cart’s sight, and dismissed the spell of invisibility.
Waste of a good scroll, he thought.
He finished preparing the meal and ate some. The rest was cold before Haldren emerged.
CHAPTER 16
A splashing in the stream jolted Gaven from his sleep, and he scrambled to his feet. The sky was growing bright in the east, shedding enough light into the valley that he could see Senya kneeling on the bank. She had removed her leather coat, baring her shoulders, and she washed her face and hair in the stream.
Gaven sighed and lowered himself back to the ground. “You startled me.”
Senya spun around, surprised by Gaven’s voice. Her startled look dissolved into a laugh. “I didn’t hear you move. Sorry I disturbed your sleep.”
“That’s all right. We should get a start on the day.”
Senya sat on the ground, stretching her legs out in front of her and leaning back on her hands. Her wet hair clung to her cheeks and neck. She had washed the pigment off her eyelids and lips, which to Gaven’s eyes enhanced her beauty. Gaven was painfully aware of the smooth, bare skin of her shoulders, the gentle curve of her collarbones, the graceful arc of her throat. She teased one corner of her mouth with her tongue and smiled. “It’s still early.”
Gaven turned away. “You never give up, do you?” He pulled his boots on.
“Not when I know what I want.”
He stood and shouldered his pack and his sword. “Get dressed. It’s going to take days to get to Korranberg.” Without waiting for a response, he started walking downstream.
Subdued by his rebuff, Senya trailed behind him in silence, and he lost himself in the monotonous rhythm of walking. Step after step, mile after mile-the scenery changed little, and nothing distracted him from the thoughts that surfaced and subsided in his mind. It was a bit like sleep, especially when the nightmares began-
Enormous wings beat the air, and the morning sun gleamed on scales of every color-red and black and blue; silver, gold, and copper. Dragons wheeled and dived, grappled each other, furies of claws and teeth. Raw elemental power spewed from their mouths-fire and lightning, searing acid, virulent poison, and bitter cold.
He felt the earth tremble beneath his feet and saw a column of blinding light spill up from the ground, casting sickly shadows on the dragons fighting overhead. And he knew what was coming: the hordes of the Soul Reaver.
“Gaven!” Senya’s voice jolted him back to the present, and he caught himself just before he slipped over the edge of a low cliff. Off balance, he fell backward and sat on the rocky ground. Beside him, the stream tumbled over the cliff and began to broaden, forming a wide, slow river as it left the valley and wound among the foothills of the Seawalls.
“Are you all right?” Senya clutched his shoulder.
He didn’t feel all right. His skin was clammy, and his stomach churned. He dropped his chin to his chest, trying to keep his head from swimming. He cursed under his breath. The Eye of Siberys had given him clarity, but it was slipping away.
“What is it?” Worry creased Senya’s face.
“It’s nothing,” he croaked, but Senya was clearly not convinced.
“Here, why don’t you lie down for a moment?” She wrapped an arm around his shoulder, trying to guide him into a more comfortable position.
“It’s nothing!” he repeated, pushing her away. “Don’t mother me.” Rienne had mothered him from time to time, and he’d accepted it from her. Not from Senya.
“I’m sorry,” she said. She looked hurt, so much that Gaven almost regretted his words.
He stood, slowly, with Senya hovering nearby. He was a little unsteady on his feet, and Senya put a hand on his arm as if to steady him. He decided against brushing her hand away, and let her help him down the little cliff. Then they continued, side by side, along the river.
Darraun gazed at the brightening sky as Haldren finished his spell. He blinked, and the ruined city disappeared around him, replaced by the churning waters of Lake Brey. The sun, no longer hidden behind the surrounding mountains, shone in his eyes and glared off the lake so that he had to look away.
Darraun shivered as he surveyed the near shore. They stood on a rocky bluff overlooking the lake. To the
