brand hesitated, looking toward the Reverend. The Reverend held up a hand, to indicate that he should wait, and glared at the Captain. Nick could see he was making an effort to control his anger.
“Captain,” the Reverend said, then his lips moved but he said nothing. He seemed to be searching for the right words.
“My apologies, Your Grace, but I have urgent news I believe you wish to hear.”
The Reverend clamped his jaws together and spoke through clenched teeth. “Speak.”
“The boy has agreed to take us to the sorceress’s hideaway.”
The Captain stepped aside and Nick saw that Danny was behind him. Nick hardly recognized him. They’d cut his hair, washed and dressed him in what Nick could only think of as pilgrim clothes. Danny kept his eyes firmly on the ground.
“Child,” the Reverend said. “Is this true?”
Danny didn’t look up, just nodded in agreement.
The Captain moved up and spoke low to the Reverend. “They’re not so many as we’d feared, Your Grace. They’re not organized, and more, they fight amongst themselves. If we gather every able-bodied man and make one hard push…we can
“Can we trust him?” the Reverend asked.
“Yes, I am certain.”
“You’re risking a lot on this boy’s word.”
“As you well know our stores are at an end. What few crops the demon children didn’t destroy have withered in the field. We’re facing starvation. Now is the time to make a bold move while still we can.”
“I see,” the Reverend said and appeared to contemplate this.
“We would need to leave right away, before they have time to regroup. Your Grace, we could have her tonight…
The Reverend’s head nodded slowly up and down. “Yes, I believe this is what the Lord wants. Yes, right away then.”
“Good,” the Captain said and turned to go.
“Captain,” the Reverend called.
The Captain looked back. “Yes?”
“I am coming with you.”
The Captain couldn’t hide his surprise or, Nick thought, his displeasure. Apparently, the Reverend saw it too. “Is there a problem?”
The Captain shook his head. “No problem.” But it looked to Nick like there was.
The Reverend pointed at Nick and Leroy and addressed the guards. “Put them in the hold. We will deal with them upon my return.”
Old Scabby
The Captain raised his hand and the long line of men came to a halt before the trees. He removed his hat, beating the gray dust from its brim, then studied Danny, giving the boy a hard look. They’d never before dared such a venture, to drive into the very heart of this wicked forest and its dark secrets. Now here he was, putting his life and the lives of his men in the hands of this boy, trusting not only the truth of the boy but that the child knew of the things he spoke.
The Captain took in a deep breath. His ability to take the measure of a man had meant the difference between life and death more than once over his long years at sea. He trusted his instincts. There was no deceit in this child. He simply wanted this nightmare to end, same as the rest of them.
The Captain signaled the men to form up and they marched silently into the trees, two abreast, weapons at the ready. They worked their way up a steady incline until they found a spot of high ground in which they could survey the gray land around them.
The Captain saw two wide, muddy creeks snaking through the marshland below. He sat a hand on Danny’s shoulder. “Which one, Daniel? The one just below?” The Captain pointed. “Or the wider one farther north?”
“Farther north,” Danny said without hesitation.
The Captain was relieved that the boy was confident in the path, but it troubled him that the boy was so quiet, so withdrawn. The Captain understood why, he just wished there was a way he could make Danny see that he was doing the right thing.
It wasn’t long before they came upon the creek, and still no sign of resistance; in fact, they’d found no sign of life whatsoever. The woods were gray, seemed dead. The Captain signaled them onward and the company fell silent, listening and watching as they resumed their march along the muddy bank.
The Reverend slipped, the second time in less than a minute. His personal guard, the thick-necked brute Ox (whose true name was Oxenburg; he had been the gunnery sergeant on the
The Captain was very careful not to let any sign of his smile show. Even out here, even among his own troops, the Reverend’s influence was strong enough to have him flogged or killed at a word.
The Captain couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen the Reverend outside the compound, much less in the wilds. The Reverend’s cape was flamboyant and dramatic when he strolled about the village, but out here, among the brambles and mud, it caused considerable annoyance, collecting mud along the hem and—much to the Captain’s delight—the Reverend was reduced to hiking the cape up like a woman carrying her skirt as he tried to navigate the thorns and muck.
It was as the last light of the day began to fade that Danny halted. The shadows had grown deep and impenetrable, and the woods seemed to close in about them.
“There,” Danny pointed.
The Captain peered ahead, tried to see what the boy was pointing at. “What is it?” he asked.
“The stones. That’s where we cross. That’s the Lady’s Wood there.”
“Oh,” the Captain said. “And her tree? Is it much farther?”
“No, not really.”
After all he’d been through this long day, the Captain knew he should be weary, but instead he felt wide awake; his heart raced. After untold decades, would all finally end? It was all he could do to keep from sprinting up the trail. “Move out,” he ordered. The men crossed the stones and marched into the forest, toward the Lady and her tree.
ULFGER HELD CALIBURN out before him, examined the runes running along the broken blade. The sword had drunk plenty of blood this day, yet no stains marred its dark steel. How many had he tracked down—ten, a dozen?
He looked at the charred remains on the ground before him. The sword had found the two elves guilty, had worked its vengeance. Ulfger inhaled deeply, enjoying the smell of Avallach’s justice. He bent, picked up one of their
