The Fate of the Dwarves - By Markus Heitz Page 0,64

Coïra looked at him sternly. Her gaze wandered over him and she noted the dirt on his hands. “So you were waiting here the whole time, you say?”

Before he had to tell a lie the door opened and an excited Loytan stood facing them. “You must look at this, Your Highness!” he said, pointing outside. “There’s a very strange race taking place.”

Coïra looked Rodario keenly in the eyes once more, then ran out with Loytan. With a sigh of relief Rodario followed them out.

An icy storm wind had risen up and gray clouds hung over the lake. The waves splashing against the metal walls were noticeably higher than earlier; a fine mist covered cloaks, helmets and faces with tiny drops.

Loytan took them round to the west side, from where you could see past the island to the land. He handed her his telescope. “Have a look at the shore. Just now they were about half a mile from the ferryman’s house.”

The young woman lifted the glass to her eye. The shore was too distant for Rodario; he could just make out two black marks on two black spots chasing a white mark on a black spot.

“And? What is it?” he urged. One of the guards lent him a telescope. “Are those… nightmares?” he asked in a mixture of fright and surprise. The muscular black animals were galloping along the crest of the dunes. Under their hooves the sand seemed to be exploding, shooting up high, and there were flashes round the horses’ feet. The black-clad riders on their backs were älfar.

Rodario turned to focus on the pitiable creature they were chasing and cried out in astonishment. “By Elria and Palandiell! What a sight! A human riding a nightmare!”

“I don’t suppose you’ve even seen a nightmare before,” countered Loytan.

“She must be a very brave woman, riding a mount like that one.” Coïra saw the quarry’s long blond hair flying in the wind.

“She must have killed an älf if she’s riding a nightmare,” Rodario interjected. He managed to get a clear view of the girl’s face through the telescope. She was pretty and he saw no trace of fear in her features, just sheer determination. Her pursuers were not gaining on her. “It’s amazing the animal is obeying her.”

Loytan scratched his chin. “Lohasbrand won’t like it if he hears the älfar have encroached on his territory.”

“Am I correct in noting a certain satisfaction in your voice?” replied Coïra, looking at her faithful friend. “You think this might inflame the old enmity between the Dragon and the älfar if we go about things the right way?”

The young blond woman whom Rodario was observing was seeming increasingly familiar—and then it occurred to him where he had seen her face before. “By all the gods. It must be Mallenia!”

Coïra glanced over at him. “Mallenia? The freedom-fighter?”

Rodario nodded. He did not realize the princess was watching him. He continued to follow the progress onshore. “Yes! I know her face from the posters I saw on tour with the theater in Gauragar and Idoslane. The älfar and their vassal-rulers have put a huge price on her head.”

“They seem to be taking the matter in hand personally now,” Loytan remarked. “They’re speeding up. It won’t be long before they catch her.”

Rodario lowered the telescope and moved toward Coïra. “Princess, even if it’s nothing to do with us, I beg you: Help Mallenia of Idoslane,” he implored. “I know how the people love her. If she dies the struggle against the oppressors in the east of Girdlegard will die, too.”

Coïra raised her eyebrows.

Rodario took this as an invitation to say more to convince her.

“I beseech you, act to help her. You have the power to save her from the älfar and to keep Idoslane’s hopes alive.” He swallowed. “I would do it myself if I had your powers or a fast boat with enough men to confront the evil.”

“And it wouldn’t be good to have everyone know that Mallenia had been killed in Weyurn before your very eyes. Within sight of your mother’s palace,” Loytan observed, coming to his aid unexpectedly. “Conclusions might be drawn. It might be thought we were helping the älfar. Or that Mallenia was coming to us to organize a joint uprising, uniting resistance in Weyurn and Idoslane. One way or the other, when the Dragon hears about it, he’ll be heading this way to investigate the rumors.” The count fell silent for a moment. “The last time the Dragon came there were many deaths,