fire. You will burn a path through this false wilderness and take us out the other side.” He heard the echo of Uwan’s words in his own. “Her flesh awaits you. Don’t disappoint me now.”
The nightmare snorted-a sound of amusement, Ashok imagined. The beast didn’t need his encouragement.
The wind blew cold into Ashok’s face, but suddenly his legs were burning, his skin slick with sweat. He looked down and saw the snow melting, running in rivers off the Nightmare’s flanks.
Ashok didn’t need further warning. He slid off the nightmare and backed the others a safe distance away.
“What’s he doing?” Skagi asked.
“Sending a message,” Ashok said, and before he’d finished speaking, the nightmare burst into flames.
The beast’s mane, fetlocks, and tail were all ablaze, but the flames didn’t stop there. They spread to consume the rest of the nightmare’s body until the beast had transformed into a walking fireball. At his feet the snow melted and turned back to swampy water. The nightmare reared up and snorted gouts of flame into the frozen air.
“Godsdamn, will you look at that?” Chanoch said. “Did you know he could do that?”
Ashok shook his head. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
“Hard to be cold with that striding beside you,” Skagi said.
Negala must have thought so as well, for the snow stopped falling, and abruptly the white scene faded, the swamp disappeared, and the group found themselves standing on an open expanse of the Shadowfell. The wind plucked at their clothing and hair, carrying away the smells of rot.
Skagi looked around. “That’s it, then?” he said, sounding disappointed. “She’s giving up?”
“Don’t question it,” Vedoran said. “Let’s move along while the beast is still aflame.”
Ashok walked beside the nightmare. In the wake of the beast’s footsteps, fire surged ten feet or more into the air. Heat from the flames beat against his face, but Ashok didn’t care. He was fascinated by the orange and deep blue glows that played in waves across the nightmare’s flesh.
“Your fire burns as your soul burns,” Ashok said. “But right now, in this place, you are our light.”
What would Tempus think of such a guide? Ashok wondered.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
'Are you sure that’s the place?” Cree asked Vedoran.
A narrow valley of jagged rock lay below them. At the bottom a silt stream cut a path to the east.
“It has to be,” Vedoran said. “Uwan claimed we would find our destination on the other side of the bog. This valley is the only landmark for miles.”
“Look,” Ashok said, pointing at a spot several feet away from where they stood. “The rocks look like stairs. I think they’ve been shaped, and not by the weather.”
They went to the spot, and Vedoran bent to examine the rock. “You’re right,” he said. “There’s a path going down to the bottom.” He glanced up at Ashok. “You have good eyes.”
Ashok said nothing. Tension suffused his body, no matter how hard he tried to force himself to relax. But Vedoran’s compliment seemed genuine. He didn’t sound suspicious.
Vedoran took Chanoch, and the two of them went down the steps to scout the bottom of the valley while Ashok, Skagi, and Cree stayed with the nightmare and kept watch.
Ashok tried to look at the valley with fresh eyes, but he had been over every stone of the place since he was a child. He knew what Vedoran and Chanoch would find at the bottom, and as he marked their progress down the stone steps, he knew the instant they would see the entrance to his enclave.
He didn’t know how much longer he would be able to hide his ignorance.
When the pair returned, Vedoran said, “We found it. On the opposite bank of the stream there’s a cave entrance. It’s hidden unless you climb down the valley.”
They camped for a short rest, their last chance to sleep and prepare themselves before the second part of their mission commenced. Ashok stood apart from the others, waiting to begin his watch. His thoughts were eaten up with how to proceed.
By showing Vedoran the path to the caves, Ashok had betrayed his enclave. He would have their blood on his hands, unless he could convince Vedoran and the others to barter for the missing party members.
He dismissed the possibility almost as soon as it occurred to him. Even if by some grace of Tempus the captives were still alive, Vedoran would never bargain for his people’s release. With so much to prove to Uwan, he would accept nothing less than an all-out annihilation of the captors. Similarly, Ashok’s father would never agree to release his prisoners, nor would he allow a hostile force to know the location of his enclave.
No matter what Ashok did, in the end there were only two options: betray Ikemmu, or betray his father and the rest of his enclave.
“Ashok,” called a voice.
Ashok turned. “Yes, Chanoch?”
The young one grinned and said, “Good hunting, eh?”
Ashok nodded stiffly. “Good hunting.”
“Wake us before you become weary,” Vedoran said. He lay down on the hard ground and propped his head on one arm. They were all asleep within breaths. As eager as they were for the challenge ahead, they wanted to be as fresh and alert as possible when the time came.
Ashok watched them all at rest, their faces slack. Sleep took the stress and wildness from their expressions, so that Ashok barely recognized them as the warriors he knew.
A memory surfaced, of the few journeys Ashok had undertaken to the Shadowfell with his father and brothers. There were no watches, no long marches across the open plain. They traveled only so far and did only so much as they could do without sleep. Sleep on the unguarded plain was as good as a death sentence, if you failed to hear the dagger coming for you in the dark.
Ashok stared down at the cave entrance. There was no movement, though he knew there were guards just inside the cave mouth. He would have to find a way to alert Vedoran to their presence, if his other companions didn’t detect them.
Restless, he stood and paced the camp. He went to the nightmare, tied to a cluster of kindling trees a few feet away. The beast’s hair appeared flat black now, with only a feathering of blue at the roots of his mane and tail. The heat had dulled enough that Ashok felt confident running his hand up and down the beast’s neck.
They’re all good, Ashok thought, Vedoran and the rest-warriors to equal any in the enclave. But his enclave had numbers in the caves. They knew where there was enough space to swing a sword, and where the passages narrowed so two shadar-kai couldn’t walk abreast. There was a reason they’d survived in the valley so long.
The nightmare’s ears twitched. He whickered and nudged Ashok with his body when he ceased the gentle rubbing.
“You’ve done your part,” Ashok said, “and have my thanks. It’s time for me to return the favor.”
He untangled the reins from the needle branches. The nightmare lowered his head, and Ashok removed the bridle and bit. The metal was hot in his hands.
“Go,” he said, slapping the beast on the rump. The nightmare whinnied in indignation and took off at a gallop across the plain. When the beast was almost out of sight, Ashok saw the flames burst from his mane. Streaks of fire cut the ground in the wake of his passage. Ashok watched until the flames disappeared.
He turned back to the camp. The others slept on, their dreams unfettered by the nightmare’s influence.
Some time later, Ashok woke Skagi and took his place. The ground was still warm from the heat of his body. Ashok closed his eyes, but he didn’t sleep.
He planned.
Natan woke in a sweat in his small chamber. His skin was hot as if flames had grazed him while he slept. Had he been dreaming, or was there vital portent he’d missed?
Cursing himself, Natan got up but went almost immediately to his knees by a small wooden altar, bearing
