With the rising of the morning sun Rael gathered his last soldiers, and together – all save Caprishan – they returned to the armoury and clothed themselves in the silver armour of the Crystal Wars.
For Ro it was a different kind of pain. There was no longing involved in it, no yearning to draw the life from others. For him it was the pain of despair, of bereavement and loss, allied to an aching of the limbs that made him feel his muscles were slowly tearing themselves apart.
He sat cross-legged upon the rug holding onto Sofarita’s hands. His fingers were numb now, his thoughts almost desolate. Tears fell from his eyes and he would have welcomed death like an old friend. She sensed his increasing despair and allowed the pain to flow back inside her. Ro sighed with the release from agony.
And so, locked into the rituals of the Avatar Prime, they endured the journey, sharing the pain, each holding to it for as long as possible, then allowing the other to take up the burden.
On the evening of the third day, as the Serpent approached the land mass of the western continent, Sofarita felt the power returning to her. It came like a breath of sweet breeze, faint crystal energies flowing over her. She drank them in. They tasted of life.
Drawing in a deep breath she released Ro’s hands. He opened his eyes, smiled at her, then slumped to the floor, exhausted. Reaching forward she tenderly stroked his cheek, then she rose and stretched. Moving from the cabin to the central deck she stood in the last light of sunset and watched the gulls wheel and dive over the ship.
Talaban saw her there and moved alongside her. ‘How are you faring, lady?’ he asked her.
‘Ro saved me,’ she said.
‘I know. I came to your cabin many times and saw the two of you sitting there. He is a good man.’
‘The very best,’ she said.
Without another word she moved away and sat on a coil of rope by the port deck rail. Releasing her spirit she soared high over the distant bay, across the darkening land and its forests and plains, seeking out the One-Eyed-Fox. The encampment she had first encountered was in ruins now. Blackened tent poles flanked the river and several bodies lay on the ground. But there had been no wholesale massacre. The Anajo had largely escaped the attack. She searched the area, and found a mass grave near the tree line. Allowing her spirit to sink beneath the earth she found the grave contained around forty bodies of Almec warriors.
The Anajo had not only survived, but had inflicted heavy losses upon the enemy.
As high as a hunting eagle Sofarita flew in a wide circle over the land seeking sign of movement. She saw an Almec column of close to 500 men .moving towards the east. As she flew towards it she saw a second, smaller force running through the trees two miles ahead. Sofarita sped over them. They were Anajo, seventeen men and three women. Their faces were smeared red and blue and they carried short hunting bows and quivers. In their belts were battleaxes made of flint.
As she came closer the first of the twenty runners paused and looked up. He was a middle-aged man, with deeply tanned skin and deep-set brown eyes. He raised his hand, palm outwards towards her, and smiled. Then he knelt, folded his arms across his chest, his spirit rising from his body.
‘It is good to see you, my sister,’ he said.
‘Your enemies are close behind,’ she told him.
‘They will not catch us until we wish them to. Is Touch-the-Moon with you?’
‘Yes. And Talaban.’
‘Aiya!’ he said, his tone triumphant. ‘That is good. I have my wolf soldiers with me. Come ashore in the bay and head south-west towards the highest mountain. We will meet you there. We will fight the last battle, yes?’
‘There is no need,’ she told him. ‘The Crystal Queen knows about Anu and his pyramid. My journey here is now futile.’
‘Not so, my sister. I have walked the Grey Road. I have seen. She is trying to pierce the magic around his encampment. She seeks to stop him before he completes his work. You can drain her power. You can give Anu time. Nothing is futile. Go to the mountain. We will draw the Almecs away from you.’ He paused and sorrow touched his face. ‘First, though, fly to your city of stone. Much has happened there. The Spirits of Death fly over it and the Ravens wait for the heroes to ride. I will see you on the mountain.’ Fading back into his body he waved a farewell, then led his runners away to the north.
Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172