The Ranger (Book 1) (26 page)

The griffin screeched in rage as it batted Vincent aside. He landed hard, but was quickly back on his feet, following behind the group of fleeing monks. They had cleared the mountains now, and there was nothing for Vincent to push against to get extra height as he jumped.

Five more of the creatures swooped in from the mountains as they cleared the pass. Fear was coursing through the fleeing monks.

Lauren continued to send arrows at the beasts as they dove at the group. A few times they got low enough for Vincent to swipe at them, but he did little damage.

The towering walls of the city were in sight now, but the monks were tiring fast. They were not used to running. Thomas, however, still seemed full of energy and led the pack. Auna caught up to him.

“Run ahead and warn the guard,” Auna commanded. “We need their help as soon as possible.”

Thomas seemed invigorated by Auna’s words and dashed ahead, sprinting as fast as he could. The griffins continued to dive, slashing at Vincent. Lauren’s arrows were starting to run out, and Vincent was getting tired. He had been using Furtivos for a long time, and he knew he was reaching his limit. They continued to run, feeling more desperate now.

A griffin dove again. Vincent wasn’t sure he would be able to dodge this time, but he didn’t have to. A giant bolt rocketed through the air, hitting the griffin and blasting it out of the sky in a puff of feathers. Vincent looked ahead. On the wall of the city, the guards were loading a second bolt onto the ballista mounted there.

Another bolt flew, this time just missing the flying creatures. They screeched in anger once again. The third bolt hit another of them. The griffins turned and started retreating toward the mountains.

The city guard was waiting for them at the gate of the city. Most of the monks were on the verge of collapse and the knights could hardly stand. The guard assisted them as they walked to the abbey. The priests there had obviously been told of their coming, and stood at the gate of the abbey, waiting to help.

Vincent, Lauren and Auna were led to a private room deep beneath the abbey, where they were left alone. Vincent finally released his token, dropping the effects of Furtivos. The room started to spin wildly. He had held it far too long. His legs gave out and he collapsed as everything went black.

Chapter 15: Spacco

When Vincent woke up his head was still throbbing. He was lying on his back, still on the floor, and he could feel a trickle of blood oozing down the side of his face under his mask.

Everything was blurry as he opened his eyes. The light in the room stung. He could hear Lauren and Auna talking to someone, but it sounded like they were underwater. Vincent groaned as he started clawing at his mask, trying to get it off.

“Leave it for a minute longer,” Auna said compassionately. “As soon as Abbot Foster leaves you can take off your mask.”

“Then I’ll finish here quickly.” The unfamiliar voice of the Abbot came from beside Vincent. The orange glow of healing skewed Vincent’s vision even further, but the throbbing lessened, and he could feel the trickle of blood slowing. “There,” the Abbot said as he got to his feet, “good as new. I’ll leave you for now, Master Auna, but I would speak with you in the morning. There is much that troubles my mind.”

The Abbot excused himself and closed the door to their room. Vincent pulled off his mask and sat up. Despite the healing, his body felt like a lump of lead, and he had difficulty balancing.

“You hit your head pretty hard when you passed out,” Lauren said smugly as she too removed her mask. “You seem to have a tendency to make things harder than they need to be. There was no need to hold Furtivos that long. Once we were out of the mountains it was useless.”

“Yeah, well,” Vincent grumbled, at a loss for an excuse. He knew she was right, but didn’t want to admit it. “At least we all got here alive.”

“Vincent,” Auna cut in, sounding very serious, “you need to be more careful. You very nearly died. It is difficult to repair damage caused by overexerting yourself with your token. There is little that the token of healing can do for you. Fortunately, Abbot Foster is one of the most skilled healers of this century. Had it not been for him, you may have died. You still have limits, and you must be aware of them.”

The words stung Vincent. Auna had said them gently, with kind intent, but he might as well have shouted. Vincent felt foolish.

“I’m sorry,” Vincent said sheepishly. “It won’t happen again.”

“See that it doesn’t,” Auna said as he helped Vincent from the floor. Vincent took a tentative step, but his legs gave out and he would have fallen on his face again if Lauren hadn’t caught him under the arm.

“I don’t think you’ll be going anywhere else today,” Lauren laughed. “You should get some rest.” She helped him to one of the five beds that lined the walls of the room. “This room is meant to house an entire company of Rangers. The abbeys are a lot more accommodating than the local sanctuaries.”

Vincent sat on the edge of the bed. It wasn’t a feather mattress, like the one at Senno, but it was still soft. He pulled off his armour, with difficulty, for the first time in three days. It felt good to be free of it. He lay on the bed and closed his eyes. He heard Auna say something to Lauren and then leave before he fell asleep.

When Vincent woke he felt much better. His legs were still stiff, but he could move again. Lauren was already awake and dressed, sitting in a chair in the corner of the room reading an old, leather-bound book.

“It’s about time you woke up,” Lauren said without looking up. “It’s well past midday.”

“Why didn’t you wake me earlier?” Vincent asked as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

“Don’t think I didn’t try,” Lauren laughed as she set her book down. “Even Master Auna couldn’t wake you, so we thought it was best to just let you sleep.”

“So what’s the plan for today?” Vincent asked, noticing the tray of food on the table next to Lauren. He groggily stumbled over to it and started picking away at a loaf of bread.

“I still need to contact one of our agents,” Lauren replied. “She should be able to tell us something about what’s going on with the Draylor.”

“Where do we find this agent?”

“We need to go to her home.”

“But won’t it give her away, to have two Rangers show up at her home?” Vincent asked. “I know I’d be suspicious.”

“Firstly,” Lauren explained, “we will be going in disguise. Secondly, this agent is not of the common folk, she’s a noble. It’s common for her to have foreign visitors.”

“And what kind of disguises are we going to wear? It’s not like I can go around without my mask, I’d be found out,” Vincent pointed out between mouthfuls of food.

“I shall be dressed as a visiting noble,” Lauren sighed. “You shall be dressed as my aide. It is customary here for the guards of the upper class to hide their faces, it sets them apart from their masters.”

“I still don’t see how we’ll go unnoticed,” Vincent said as he finished the last of the bread and started tearing into some cheese and the pieces of fruit that remained. “I mean, two Rangers enter the abbey. Then a noble woman and her aide, whom no one saw enter, come out. If anyone was looking for us, it would be easy to find us.”

“We’re not just going to walk out of here,” Lauren said, exasperated. “There is an inn close to the abbey. The owner is another agent of the Order. This abbey and the inn are connected. We shall emerge from the inn, not the abbey. A noble woman and her aide coming from the inn, there’s nothing suspicious about that.”

Vincent grudgingly agreed. He was surprised at just how many contacts the Rangers had.

When Vincent had finished arming, Lauren led him from the room. The corridor was deserted. She quickly guided him down a maze of passages that seemed to wind deeper and deeper into the earth. The final corridor ended at a ladder.

“Up you go,” Lauren said with a smile.

Vincent climbed the ladder. It led through a hole in the ground that was barely big enough for him to squeeze though. A wooden trap door covered the opening at the top. He cautiously opened it a crack. It seemed to open into a closet.

He pushed the door fully open and climbed from the hole. Lauren was close behind. She opened the door to the little closet and confidently entered the room beyond. It was a bedroom. Two beds sat next to the wall with clothing laid out on each of them: an elegant blue gown on one, and a fine red shirt and pants on the other. A large tub of steaming water sat in the middle of the room.

“Get dressed quickly,” Lauren ordered. “I need time to get ready. I can’t be a lady if I’m dirty.”

Vincent pulled on the clothes set out for him. They were silk; they felt good. A strange undershirt had been left for him. It was also made of silk, but it was black and had a neck so high that it covered most of his face.

“It suits you,” Lauren laughed as Vincent finished dressing. “You look like a true servant. Now go stand guard while I take a bath.” Vincent glared at her as she ushered him from the room and closed the door.

Their room seemed to be off of a hallway on the main level of the inn. He could hear the murmur of the guests in the common room, just down the hall. Several people passed on their way to the stairs at the other end of the corridor, but few paid any notice to Vincent. He just glared at them as they passed; trying hard to imitate what he imagined a bodyguard would look like.

After about an hour Lauren emerged from the room dressed in the blue gown. Vincent couldn’t believe what he saw. The dress accentuated the fine curves of her body, which were normally obscured by her armour and tunic, giving her an exquisitely feminine figure. Her brown hair, which usually hung in a tangled mass tied behind her head, had been brushed and now shone as it hung down her back. Her skin seemed to give a pale glow. She was beautiful.

“Shall we go then?” she asked. Even her voice was more elegant now. Vincent snapped himself out of it and they headed down the hall to the common room. It was full of travelers, a few of whom looked like they could have been nobles. Silence fell as Lauren entered the room. Every eye turned to her.

“We’re supposed to go unnoticed like this?” Vincent whispered. Lauren opened her mouth to reply, but she was cut off by a voice from across the room.

“Lady Merenda,” the voice came from the man behind the bar. “I’m so glad that you’re able to join us. You arrived so late last night that I didn’t want to disturb you, but how long will you be staying with us?” The sound of his voice seemed to break the spell, and a few of the men rushed from the room.

“I intend to continue my journey at first light,” Lauren replied elegantly. “I trust that you can accommodate us for one more evening.”

“We can always accommodate you, Lady Merenda,” the man said with a silly smile on his face.

“I am grateful,” Lauren nodded to him. “I intend to visit with an old friend here in Spacco. I shall be gone for much of the day.”

“Yes, of course my lady.” The man bowed as she left the inn.

Lauren walked off haughtily. Vincent followed, making sure not to fall far behind. He continued to glare at the people they passed; but it wasn’t necessary. The people in the streets parted as they approached, staring in wonder.

It took a lot of effort for Vincent to focus on his current mission, as he wanted to take in the sights of the city. Spacco was much bigger than Senno. The walls towered high above the buildings, some of which had more than three stories. The roads were all paved with large stones, and the buildings all had glass in the windows. Shops of all sizes lined the long wide streets.

Several street vendors approached, with the hope of selling their wares, but Lauren brushed them aside. She held her head high, not turning to look at those she passed, yet Vincent could see her eyes, straining to peer to the side whenever they passed groups of children playing.

She turned suddenly down a narrow side street and started running. Vincent could hardly keep up with her. She rushed through the alleys until she tripped and fell. She didn’t get up.

“Are you alright?” Vincent asked, approaching her cautiously, he could see that she was crying. He put a hand on her shoulder, but she batted it aside.

“I can’t do it,” she sobbed. “I just can’t do it.”

“Do what?” Vincent had no idea what she was talking about.

“This,” she said, sitting up and pointing at the dress. “The children mock me.”

“No one is mocking you,” Vincent said in disbelief. “If anything, they envy you.”

“It’s funny,” Lauren said softly, “because I envy them. All my life I just wanted to play with the other children. But the priests at the abbey in Gesta wouldn’t allow it. They intended for me to become a proper lady. It wasn’t appropriate for me to associate with such riffraff, they said. When Jason showed up to check on me, I begged him to take me away. I would have done anything to be free of the terrible solitude. I just wanted to play with the other children. I didn’t want to be alone.”

Vincent sat next to her and put a comforting arm around her. He knew what it felt like to be alone, but he still couldn’t comprehend the extreme loneliness she must have felt. He had always had the other children in the orphanage; and Master Auna had always been there for him. Then, when he had joined the Academy, there had always been Thomas. Despite the loneliness he had felt, he had never been truly alone. He felt a great swell of compassion for the broken figure crying beside him.

“It’s alright,” Vincent whispered, trying to calm her, “you’re not alone anymore. I won’t leave you.” Vincent’s mind flashed again to the roughhewn chamber. They were two children, frightened, but not alone. They had each other. They sat there for some time as Lauren continued to cry softly while Vincent maintained a comforting arm around her.

“The stone you wear,” Vincent said as Lauren was starting to compose herself again, “I’ve only ever seen one other like it.” Lauren looked at him, a mix of surprise and curiosity on her face. “On the night my parents died I hid in a chamber beneath my home. There was a young girl in there with me who had an identical stone.”