Cathexis: Necromancer's Dagger (29 page)

“I would tend her to the ends of the earth
before I let her fall,” the massive Gustin promised.

Knowing how weakened they were from the
battle with the Darknull Hetark knew that even Gustin’s strong arms
would soon feel the pain from continuously holding Elizabeth in
place. He looked into Gustin’s eyes and saw that he knew how
difficult it would be to accomplish what he promised. In his
weakened
condition,
he might have
a hard time keeping himself in the saddle.

Hetark clapped Gustin on a piece of his
shoulder that was not bandaged and said, “I know that you would
take care of her forever if you had to Gustin, but I would consider
it an honor if I could spell you along the way, will you permit me
the honor?”

“Perhaps, once or twice,” Gustin said
grinning back at Hetark.

“Drake!” Hetark called, “It’s time to go. We
must ride without pause until we reach the Kirnath School and you
must carry Michael. Gustin and I will take care of Elizabeth,”
Hetark called to the seated knight.

“As you ask, so shall it be, Hetark,”
replied the troubled man. With profound dread in his
voice,
he then asked, “What if that ‘thing’
catches us before we reach the Kirnath sorcerers?”

“Then we shall have to fight it off,” Hetark
replied matter of factly.

“You propose to stop and construct another
fire as evening approaches?” Gustin asked.

After a moment of
thought,
Hetark replied, “I don’t think we
should. I
f we hurry we might make it to the
school before midnight. If we stop I think we will be guaranteeing
an attack by the Darknull. By continuing the ride we could arrive
at the Kirnath School before the creature can catch up to us.”

“If we are without the fire when it reaches
us we will have nothing to combat the monster and all will be
lost,” Gustin added dismally.

“I have an alternative,” Drake said, and for
the first time since the night before he showed a little energy.
“If the creature is getting near I’ll stop to delay it while the
three of you continue on toward the protection of the adepts.”

“You realize that you are contemplating more
than death? That beast consumes
souls;
if it kills you nothing may be left to reach the
River,” Hetark said, reminding him of what Elizabeth had told them
of the Darknulls.

Drake looked away, but said, “I know, yet
what other plan do we have? If that thing catches us we will all be
consumed, at least this way when I cease to be I will know I have
conquered my fears and died a true Knight Protector. Michael must
be protected at ANY cost. Perhaps my sacrifice will give you the
time you need to get him to safety.”

Gustin looked at his haunted friend and
weighed Drake’s resolve, and then he said, “You are correct Drake,
your plan might save Elizabeth and Michael, but I can increase the
odds of success by joining you in facing the creature. Two of us
will help to slow it even more if we can protect each other’s back.
Will you guard my
back,
my friend?
There is no other man I would feel more confident with than
you.”

Drake walked forward and clasped his forearm
to Gustin’s.

“It would be my honor to die
fighting
with you at my back, Gustin.”

“If both of you are finished deciding how to
die, can we get on with our
rid
e?
With speed perhaps we can avoid anyone’s soul from being consumed
by that awful thing,” Hetark exclaimed from Elizabeth’s side.

Gustin slapped Drake lightly on the back
before mounting, but his mind was on the small man’s troubles.
Drake had seldom taken anything seriously since Gustin had known
him; there was no situation where Drake had not been ready with a
quick jibe or witty comment. His serious comments showed how deeply
the fear was eating
at
his
friend’s mind.

After riding all night on their newly
obtained mounts Corporal Bante and his Tchulian mercs stopped at a
stream to water the tired horses. As the horses drank the Tchulian
soldiers changed saddles to the spare mounts.

One soldier looked uneasily at the corporal
as he cinched his horse’s saddle and then said, “When did Major Von
Dracek say he would rejoin us?”

Corporal Bante lied smoothly to the soldier
while he continued to tighten the straps of his saddle, “He said he
would try and rejoin us before we attacked, but he also told me to
use my discretion if we got close and had the opportunity.”

Another soldier came over to join the
conversation. “I’m not as good a tracker as Mauklar was, but from
the hoof marks in the stream
bank,
I think they passed here some five to seven bells ago.”

“Then if they stopped to sleep we could be
close. Bide a moment while I think,” Bante ordered, and then he
concentrated and brought his aura powers to bear. He quested
outwards, searching for their prey for the first time. He hoped
that the sorceress was too tired or wounded to notice the aura
probe. Then he found them, only a short ride ahead in his widening
circle of awareness Bante encountered the small band for which he
searched. Looking quickly he noticed that the woman’s aura was
extremely weak and he knew that she wouldn’t be using any of her
powers against him for some time.

Nervous with the excitement of his prey so
close and the sorceress so helpless, Bante brought his aura
extension quickly back to his body and called to his men, “I have a
feeling our prey is very close, so we shall continue without
further rest. I believe that we can overtake them before they break
camp if we continue to ride, so mount up!” Bante called out and
added, “Yaslier you ride point about a quarter of a league ahead.
When you come upon them back off quietly and we will plan a
coordinated attack.”

Yaslier saluted and rode out ahead of the
troop.

The rest of the tired Tchulian mercenaries
grumbled as they mounted up, though they were used to following
orders.

Bante noticed the reluctance and quickly hit
upon a plan.

“Perk up girlies, our chase is nearly at an
end. Their sorceress is wounded to the point where she is out of
the battle and we will have our revenge for our lost comrades
before this day is done!”

The men still didn’t look excited about the
prospect of attacking the Knight Protectors and sorceress, so Bante
decided to boost their energy with something a professional soldier
would understand best. “Each soldier who kills one of our enemies
will get triple wages for the month and all of you will get double
wages if we take them before this time tomorrow!”

That got a better response out of them and a
soldier called out a question, “Are you guaranteeing that pay out
of your purse, corporal?”

Jingling a full leather pouch attached to
his side Bante smiled back at the man, “Absolutely, now let’s kill
these troublesome knights and perhaps you can taste the woman after
I’m through; I’ll bet none of you’ve ever had a chance at royalty.
Now let’s ride.”

Bante was pleased with the reaction to his
speech and congratulated himself in thought
: There, I have
promised them payment and a beautiful woman, that ought to keep
them motivated.

The troop of mercenaries galloped off with
renewed vigor, hot on the trail of Michael, the Lindankar
Knights,
and the helpless Lady
Elizabeth.

Hetark,
Gustin,
and Drake galloped along the forest trail and
their horses’ hooves rhythmically pounded the soft forest path with
dull thumping sounds. They rode with a single-minded purpose to go
as far and fast as they could manage. They had changed horses four
times during the
day
but had made
no other stops.

Drake rode silently, withdrawn in fear of
what pursued them and how he would react when it came time to face
what he feared. No matter how fast they rode he was convinced the
Darknull beast would overtake them and attack. He carried Michael
on
his back in the pack sling. The
small boy had cried at the terrible endless galloping ride, but
eventually he’d lapsed into a
fitful
sleep as fatigue set in and he passed out. Drake
had checked on him at each change of horses, but he seemed to be
relatively fine.

Hetark had taken Elizabeth from Gustin six
times to spell the big man.

Each time Hetark had carried her as far as
he
could
until each of his arms
felt like lead weights as he tried to support her slumping body in
front of him in the saddle. Had she been conscious this would have
been easy, but unconscious, her body constantly sagged and tried to
slip off the
saddle.
He’d kept
going until his arms began to droop and bend from the weight and he
feared he would lose her to the pounding hooves below. Only when he
could not physically support her another foot would he return her
to Gustin’s horse.

Gustin had cared for her most the day
without a word of complaint, and though he was severely wounded and
weak from the burns of the fire he never complained. His arms felt
dead and sweat ran down his face as a fever burned through his
body, but he vowed that nothing would keep him from holding this
precious woman.

Night
was
approaching and the shadows were getting long, yet the great forest
of Gellern seemed without end. Gustin’s mind had given up on all
thought other than staying on his horse, holding Elizabeth in place
and staying on the path between the endless trees that swept past
in a continuous blur.

Hetark rode point about four lengths before
the other two knights, but he reined in when he heard Drake call
out to stop. Hetark turned and saw that Drake had leaned down to
take hold of Gustin’s bridle and bring both of their mounts to a
halt.

“What’s the matter, Drake?” Hetark called
out and cantered his panting and sweating horse back to the
others.

“It’s time Hetark; I must have time to build
a fire. This is the only way we can last long enough to give you a
chance to get Elizabeth and Michael to the adepts,” Drake answered,
and the rigid control in his voice and features was very evident.
Hetark could see the fear dancing just behind his eyes.

“Then we will stay and fight it off
together,” Hetark decided.

“We already discussed this Hetark, it’s my
fault that Elizabeth’s in this helpless condition, so I will
protect her the only way I can. You must get her to the school
while this beast attacks us for once it is done with us it will
swiftly come after you. We cannot let this beast have Michael,”
Drake said.

“I can’t leave you to die, Drake! Listen, it
wasn’t your fault, any man can fear something Drake, I was scared
to death,” Hetark admitted truthfully.

“But you kept control of your fear, you
didn’t let it endanger your friends, as I did,” Drake answered with
his eyes downcast.

“I would have given in if Elizabeth hadn’t
spoken to me when she did; I was on the edge of madness and she
barely brought me back,” Hetark responded, still trying to convince
his brother knight.

“I’m all right Hetark; I just know that this
is my time. If I can save Michael then my life was well spent. Now
you must ride on or our sacrifice will be in vain,” he commanded
sternly.

“I can’t leave you to die with that soul
eating monster!” Hetark complained desperately.

“Hetark, Michael needs your protection,
remember your oath! Gustin is all done in, look at him, without
your
guidance,
he couldn’t stay
on
the path. I’m not strong enough
to support Elizabeth and carry Michael, so that leaves you. Ride
Hetark, like a creature of the
dark
is
after
you, as it
will be once it has finished with us. I promise you that Gustin and
I will make it pay dearly for the souls of Michael’s Knight
Protectors. When Michael has grown, tell him of Drake and Gustin’s
stand, and our willing sacrifice. Tell him so that he can avenge us
on these evil things, and tell him of our love.” As he finished
speaking Drake looked into Michael’s face to gain the courage for
what he must endure, and then he handed him up to the mounted
Hetark.

Hetark put the pack with Michael on his back
and took the still unconscious Elizabeth onto his horse with help
from Gustin.
First,
Drake and then
Gustin reached up and clasped sword arms with Hetark, exchanging a
look that told the story.

Hetark spoke again before he turned his
horse toward the path, “I will always remember my brothers,
Drake,
and Gustin. Send that thing
back to the Dark Plane!” He turned the horses and kicked them into
a gallop down the long forest path.

Two bells later the full dark of night
permeated the vast Gellern forest and the Darknull came swiftly
down the trail of his prey.

The giant trees towered around the clearing
where Drake and Gustin had chosen to make their final stand. The
two men sat before the snapping and popping fire that burned
hungrily in anticipation. A wood meal lay in piles nearby ready to
be served to its flaming gullet. Torches lay ready and near to hand
for the knight’s defense. With two bells of
rest,
Gustin had recovered somewhat from the ride while
Drake had prepared the fire and torches.

Now that the preparations were done and they
waited for
their destiny Drake
asked, “Are you afraid, Gustin?”

“Terrified,” the giant man replied
honestly.

“But you always remain so calm and
collected, I had thought you were impervious to fear,” Drake
stated, talking to get his mind off what was coming.

“Part of
fear
is being
alone
when
you have only yourself to trust it’s easy to succumb to fear. I can
handle my fear because I am never truly by myself,” Gustin
explained.