been a stark reminder that in the next breath it could be her turn.
The Raven rode hard or walked their horses at a march for the whole day, once stopping briefly for a meal. Their direction would take them close to but east of Understone on a route that would keep them hidden from the town, with Darrick assuring them that ideal cover and a base for their attack was only a mile or so the other side.
Ilkar hoped and prayed he was right. At times during the day the pain became all but unbearable but he refused to cast to dull it or ask them to slow to ease it. There was fire in his veins and venom in his muscles. His stomach felt like it was being eaten from the inside, there was a rattle every time he took a breath and his heart beat off-rhythm, palpitating, slowing and pounding such that he felt it would crash through his ribs. His eyes played tricks on him while his ears heard sounds that couldn’t be - his mother’s voice calming him, his tutor at Julatsa chiding him for laziness, the sound of the wind in the sails.
Through it all he kept upright in the saddle and replied in the affirmative when any of them asked, and they asked so often it almost made him laugh, whether he was all right. Stupid question and they all knew it.
It was past dusk when they stopped in a river valley into which rocks had tumbled in ancient times, creating a maze of streams and a patchwork of green and grey. Darrick had been right. It was ideal cover. The ClawBound loped in an hour or so later. Ilkar only dimly heard what Hirad and The Unknown said to the pair before they settled down to rest. By the time he had eaten, his ears roared with a sound like thunder and his body shook with cold although the night was mild and cloudy.
‘It’s just us now,’ Hirad said, more for the benefit of Ren and Darrick than the more seasoned members of The Raven. ‘We have to work closely, move as one and keep on moving whatever we come up against. We faced down an army yesterday. Tomorrow we go to fight not talk. We all know why.’
‘We’ll be moving just before dawn,’ said The Unknown. ‘Take the fight to them while they’re still dull with sleep. We can’t rely on Ilkar’s defence because we won’t know his condition one moment to the next but we’re all right because they won’t have spell attack. We’ll be fighting without the TaiGethen or the ClawBound pair. They will attack as they must, all we’ve agreed are start points. Don’t look to them. We’re The Raven; we don’t need anyone else. Not to defend, and not to help us.’ He watched them all for reaction. ‘Now, Aeb, you have something you need to say.’
The Protector was standing at the periphery of the fire.
‘You were wrong to bring me,’ he said. ‘The Act of Giving will soon be rescinded. It is just a matter of time.’
‘It was a risk we were all happy to take,’ said Denser.
‘Xetesk know we are here,’ he said. ‘They know what we seek.’
‘And when will they get here?’ asked Hirad.
‘Tomorrow. Morning.’
‘Then,’ said Thraun, surprising them with speech after another lengthy silence, ‘we had better be quick.’
Chapter 47
When The Raven camp stirred, a light drizzle was falling. Ilkar had not slept much and looked every inch the dying elf. It was awful to witness. Shivering, Erienne kissed Denser, rose to her feet and breathed in deep. She felt the cool air rush into her lungs, banishing the fog she always felt around the entity of the One at first waking and easing the thumping in her head.
The Al-Drechar hadn’t spoken to her since that night in Blackthorne Castle and she was glad of it. They had opened the door a little further to power from the One and allowed her the freedom to handle it as best she could. And she had responded, working on partitioning her mind a third way to deal with the new power she alone on Balaia possessed. Further than that they had not offered questions or advice, leaving her and The Raven to do what they did best. And today was going to be a severe test of their belief. She wondered whether she dared employ what she had learned.