Black wizards - Douglas Niles [134]
"I wish we could find a horse!" cursed Fiona. The young woman had grown more furious with each passing day. She railed against the king and the ogres and complained about their own situation. "My feet are worn to the knees!"
Pawldo nodded, looking after the riders. "That pretty well clinches it. They have to be going to Doncastle."
For three nights they had been walking steadily toward the forest, spending their days in isolated barns or sheds, traveling only after sunset. They were cold, hungry, and tired. A sense of danger followed them everywhere, for the riders of the Scarlet Guard were out in force. Some patrolled the countryside, but most rode to the southwest, toward the forest – and Doncastle.
They trudged through the night and reached the outskirts of the forest before dawn. "Let's keep going," suggested the halfling. "We can reach Doncastle by nightfall."
Pausing only to drink from a clear forest pool and eat some bread Pawldo had acquired the previous day, they resumed their march.
* * * * *
King Carrathal awakened suddenly with a small cry of alarm. Biting his tongue, he felt the coach lurching beneath him. Where was he? What was happening? He pushed the Crown of the Isles up – it had slipped over his eyes.
The red satin curtains tinted the afternoon sun to the color of blood as it streamed through the window. The heavily cushioned seat, plush with furs, felt hard and unwelcoming against him. There was room for a dozen people within the large compartment, but King Carrathal rode alone.
Oh yes, he reminded himself. The war.
He pulled the curtain aside and leaned out the window. Beyond the six horses that were pulling the royal coach, he could see the companies of the Scarlet Guard stretching into the distance. Fortunately, the weather was cool and humid, so the path of their march was not very dusty.
The coach shifted suddenly, and the king whirled to see Cyndre. The wizard had not been there a moment before – his sudden arrival in the seat beside him sent the monarch's heart pounding.
"Well?" King Carrathal did not try to hide his annoyance.
"We'll have provisions when we arrive at Cantrev Bounty."
"Good. Did you have to…?" The king looked away.
"No. It seems the fate of Cantrev Lehigh has become common knowledge. I doubt you will find any other lords reluctant to provide your royal due."
King Carrathal did not seem pleased by the news. The destruction of an entire cantrev, performed with relish by his ogres, weighed heavily upon his conscience. Certainly the wizard had made it sound like a good idea. And, in truth, since then they had had no more difficulties with the other lords. Food and drink had been willingly provided in the next village they had used as a bivouac.
The army column marched on, across the central plain of Alaron. The ogre brigade marched heavily in the lead. Outriders, their red coats visible for miles, protected the flanks of the column. Several wagons full of supplies trailed the column, and the king's coach rolled along behind them. At the very rear, trailing the army by as much as a half a mile, rumbled another, larger coach.
This one was pulled by eight black horses. In it rode Talraw, Wertam, and Kerianow – the rest of the Council of Seven. And there, too, would ride Cyndre.
* * * * *
They spent most of the night together, holding each other, gazing at each other. They made the promises and pledges and exchanged the regrets that made them both feel warm and needed.
Tristan could still not quite believe that Robyn was in Doncastle. To go a year without seeing her, yearning for her every day, and then to have her arrive in this secret city, so far from their home – it seemed impossible.
Yet, the warmth of her body and the light of her smile told him that it was true. She said she had come because she feared for him. Tristan listened