The Hungering Flame (11 page)

Garrett made an unconvinced noise, but said no more. He walked to where the two dire wolves lay, panting, against the cool stone wall of the cavern. He busied himself removing the pack from Ghausse’s back.

Warren
removed
Hauskr
’s pack
and then rummaged through his sack to find his algae lamp. He scooped up a bit of water in the jar from a small pool at his feet and replaced the lid, shaking it vigorously. A faint blue glow grew inside the glass jar, giving the ghoul enough light to go exploring in the back of the cave.

Garrett heard the sound of tearing fabric. He looked over to see the prince fashioning a crude splint for Inglefras’s leg, using a pair of
thighbones
and a few long strips ripped from his green tabard.

“
We're in luck
!
”
Warren called out.

Garrett joined him in the shadows of a low tunnel he was exploring. There, in the light of Warren’s dim lamp, Garrett made out a series of crude images painted on the cavern wall.

“
What’s that?
”
Garrett asked.

“
This is a ghoul place!
”
Warren said, pointing at a pale smudge in the rough shape of a wolf,
“
That’s Nemre, the white wolf.
”

“
Who?
”

“
Nemre, The trickster,
”
Warren said,
“
ghouls used to worship her, or him, depending on who you ask, like a god.
”

“
You worship a wolf?
”
Garrett asked.

“
Not anymore,
”
Warren said,
“
it’s just a story, but this means ghouls used to come here, and it means there’s probably another way out.
”

“
What’s that?
”
Garrett asked, pointing at a black figure painted on the wall, an image of a great black wolf with hollow eyes, standing above a drawing of hundreds of little skeletons in the shapes of many beasts.

“
That’s the Black Wolf,
”
Warren said.

“
Doesn’t it have a name?
”

Warren shrugged.
“
You only learn his name when you die,
”
the ghoul said,
“
He’s the one that comes to get you.
”

Garrett shivered.

“
This makes me feel a lot better,
”
Warren sighed.

“
Do you think there are other ghouls around here that can help us?
”
Garrett asked.

“
Nah,
”
Warren said, running his big paw over the rock face,
“
I don’t think anyone’s been here in a long time, but ghouls have always loved tunnels... I
really
love tunnels.
”

Garrett breathed a little easier. After today, he could do with a bit of underground travel.

“
Garrett! Warren!
”
Cabre shouted from the main chamber.

They ran back to see the prince standing beside Inglefras with his sword drawn. The light of day had faded almost completely, the open sky above the sinkhole now a patch of dark blue. In its place, a shimmering glow now lit the cavern, arising from the trembling waters of the bone pool.

“
What’s happening?
”
Warren asked.

“
I don’t know,
”
Cabre said, his eyes wide, his skin pale in the ghostly light.

Lights of many colors flickered beneath the surface of the pool that now rippled as though disturbed by a hundred falling pebbles. Fear fluttered at the edge of Garrett’s reason, but the beauty of the sight held him transfixed as he watched the play of light on the water.

Now and again, faint swirls of colored flame danced across the surface and licked at the shining white bones at the water’s edge. Lights pulsed within the empty skulls, their sockets shining briefly like watching eyes.

“
No wonder the dragon fled,
”
Cabre said,
“
This place is haunted.
”

“
Ghosts can’t hurt you,
”
Warren said, but it sounded as though he was trying to reassure himself as much as anyone else.

Garrett laughed and pointed at a shimmering ball of light that now lifted slowly from the pool and drifted through the air like dandelion fluff.
“
A wisp!
”
he said.

Cabre looked at him, eyes narrowed.

“
A wisp,
”
Garrett said,
“
Marla told me about them! Look! There’s more.
”

Glowing orbs rose from the pool and floated upward, filling the cave with rainbow light. Some drifted in lazy circles, others darted to and fro like hummingbird spirits.

“
What do they do?
”
Cabre demanded, jabbing at a bold wisp with the point of his sword. The blade scattered it like smoke, but the glowing orb reformed again, just as quickly.

“
They don’t really do anything,
”
Garrett said,
“
They’re what remains, sometimes, when a fae creature dies. They don’t mean any harm. Marla says they don’t even remember who they used to be most of the time. They’re like little kids... babies almost.
”

“
Get away from him!
”
Cabre shouted. He dropped his sword and swatted away a trio of pinkish wisps that had settled on Inglefras’s back.

“
It’s all right,
”
Garrett said,
“
They won’t hurt him.
”

“
Get away!
”
Cabre said,
“
We don’t want you here!
”
His hand went through a large ball of green flame that had just lighted on the horse’s nose.

The prince’s movements seemed to draw the attention of more wisps, and soon a crowd of them gathered around him as he tried, vainly, to shoo them away. A score of the colorful orbs now moved over Inglefras’s flanks as though stroking his fur, but the warhorse showed no sign of concern. The lids of Inglefras’s dark eyes began to droop, and his breathing slowed.

“
They’re bewitching him!
”
Cabre shouted, frantically scrubbing at a golden orb that had taken an interest in his hair.

“
No,
”
Garrett said,
“
I think they’re trying to help.
”

A cluster of wisps clung tightly to Inglefras’s injured leg, and their colors began to shift, pulsing together in a warm red-gold hue.

“
Cabre, look!
”
Garrett said.

The prince’s hand fell to his side as he stared, ignoring the golden coronet formed by the wisp in his hair. All of them watched as Inglefras stretched his broken leg, the splint falling away, unneeded.

The horse shook his mane and reared, scattering the cloud of wisps with a loud neigh. The glowing orbs returned again immediately, crowding around him as he pranced across the cavern floor, testing his freshly healed leg.

“
Inglefras!
”
Cabre cried out, running to catch up with the big horse. The wisps scattered, moving back a polite distance, as the prince knelt to inspect Inglefras’s leg.

“
He’s healed!
”
Cabre exclaimed, looking at Garrett.

Garrett laughed.
“
Marla never told me they could do that!
”
he said.

The prince looked up at the hovering orbs that surrounded him, his eyes full of wonder.
“
Thank you!
”
he said,
“
Thank you for this.
”

“
See, I told you things would work out!
”
Warren said.

Garrett yawned, the tension and fear of recent events finally draining from his body.

Cabre smiled, his eyes still on the rainbow-colored orbs that danced in the chill cavern air.
“
We should get some rest,
”
he said,
“
Just a few hours. From now on, we should only move at night whenever possible.
”

“
Thank you!
”
Warren said.

Warren found a way through the twisting caves that lead from the sinkhole. Several times, they had to stop while Warren shoveled out plugs of dead, matted vegetation that had washed down from somewhere above. They emerged from a damp hole beneath an old willow tree well before dawn. From there, they managed to find the road again and put in several hours of travel before the somber glow of sunrise sent them back into the forest to seek shelter. They nestled down beneath the boughs of a titanic pine tree and made beds of tarp and blanket over a thick mattress of pine needles.

Garrett found it hard to sleep. His weary eyes kept drifting toward the tiny patch of daylit sky visible through the canopy above. The half-dreamed image of something vast and dark
that
blott
ed out the sky
kept jerking him back awake, until, at last, exhaustion won out, dragging him down into an uneasy slumber.

The next two days passed in similar fashion. The shadow of the dragon lay like a sickness in Garrett’s heart. As they neared the edge of the Gloaran forest, the fear grew worse. They were forced to traverse large sections of road with no tree cover at all. The sight of stars should have thrilled Garrett, after living beneath the eternal cloud of Wythr. Instead, he held his breath in fear as they raced from trees to trees, eyes scanning the empty skies above.

Eventually, the old elvish road turned and followed along the edge of the forest toward the coast. Before them, the forest gave way to low, rolling hills and well-tended farmland. Broad c
ountry lanes and tall hedgerows
lay dark between the moonlit fields.

“
Welcome to Astorra, gentlemen,
”
Prince Cabre said, riding Inglefras out into the open grass,
“
Will you accept my invitation to enter my father’s lands?
”

“
Yeah,
”
Garrett said,
“
thanks!
”

Warren smiled nervously.
“
You think they’ve ever seen a ghoul before?
”
he asked.

Cabre grinned.
“
You have a point,
”
he said,
“
Perhaps we should continue to travel at night for a bit. We should reach Braedshal within a couple of days.
”

“
What’s that?
”
Garrett asked.

“
My father’s castle,
”
Cabre said,
“
We’ll be safe there.
”

Warren looked unconvinced, but nodded his assent, urging Hauskr forward into the open. Garrett and Ghausse followed as well, scanning the wispy night clouds for any sign of the dragon.

They rode together throughout the night, following the tree-shadowed lanes between the hedgerows. Cabre’s mood improved with every passing mile. By the time they reached a small farmhouse, just before dawn, the prince was sporting a broad grin.

“
Wait here, friends,
”
he called back to them, riding toward the chicken coop where the stooped figure of a man now tended his livestock.

Garrett and Warren moved their wolves farther back into the gloom beneath the trees and watched as the prince rode up to greet the farmer.

They could hear nothing of what transpired, but saw the man drop to his knees on the ground before the prince’s warhorse. After a long while, the farmer rose and hurried away to the little farmhouse while the prince turned and rode back toward them.

“
We’re in luck,
”
Cabre said,
“
He says we can stay in the barn until we are ready to ride again. Actually, he offered us his house, but I wouldn’t allow it.
”