Chapter 15 - A Narrow Escape
Jeremiah woke to a ray of light beaming in through the arched window above, painting the picture from the stained glass onto his bed. Thoughts of the past week raced through his mind. Chalice is right, he told himself. They needed to leave. It was good that they had been allowed to stay there while she recovered, but now it was time to move on.
He was concerned about his family. The more he learned about Dar’Maalda, the more he worried. Drawing breath, he pulled himself from the sheets, dressed, and freshened up in the washroom. The aroma of eggs, bacon, and fresh coffee drifted into his chambers from the kitchen and made his stomach rumble. Ben had told them to be ready before they sat down to eat and he was glad he had packed everything the night before.
Arriving in the dining room, he discovered that the table had already been set for breakfast. He was the first one there. He was always the first one awake, but then again, he had always kept early hours. He decided to let Chalice wake on her own. Although she was fully healed, she still needed as much rest as she could get before they left.
He sat down and the servants immediately brought in the dishes of food and pitchers of coffee and juice. After a while, the others slowly began to emerge from the hallway to join him. Soon, they were all seated, except for Chalice, and were eating vigorously, excited but nervous for the journey ahead. He was even surprised to see Naeren and Charleton there as well.
“We wanted to come have one last sit-down with you before you go. It has been so much fun having you here,” Naeren said.
“I wish we could stay longer,” Chalice’s voice echoed from the doorway. No one had heard her open the door, but there she was, looking as beautiful as ever, he thought, in her blue riding habit.
“I do plan on coming back,” she said and smiled at Naeren, taking a seat next to Jeremiah.
“We definitely look forward to another visit from you!” Charleton agreed. “You especially, Tycho. We need to finish our game of jags.”
Tycho smiled weakly. “Of course,” he replied. By his rueful expression, Chalice could tell that he was not looking forward to the game. He must have been losing, she thought as she and Jeremiah exchanged a knowing smile.
“Naeren, Charleton, how are the new children doing?” Sieren asked.
“They are doing surprisingly well despite the fact that their parents are dead,” Naeren replied, shaking her head in disgust. “One of them wouldn’t eat, but we finally managed to get some food into her. Sasha is taking care of them today.”
“That is good news,” Sieren said, relieved. “Sasha is very good with children. With her, they will heal quickly.”
“What happened, Sieren?” Ben asked.
“A small village in the periphery was attacked a couple of days ago. The children were found yesterday evening wandering in the forest, foraging for food. We were informed this morning that they had been brought to the castle for care.”
Chalice was shocked. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“What happened to the rest of the villagers?” Ben asked.
“We sent out a party of our people to see to the damage control. We will find out more in a few hours.”
“And the attackers?”
“They haven’t yet been found, but we have a suspicion. Only Dar’Maalda’s men could be this cruel.” She paused and looked at Ben. Her features shone with concern. “Are you sure you want to leave today, Ben?”
He frowned in thought. “We have to. If we take the trail I suggested, there shouldn’t be any trouble.” He saw that she was still looking at him intently. “We will be careful, Sieren,” he said and his words seemed to comfort her.
“Alright, if you say so.”
Chalice was confused. She couldn’t understand the reason for all this reckless hatred and killing of the Naeon. To her, it was completely senseless. She set down her knife and fork, sighed, and settled her shoulders back in the chair.
“I don’t get it, Ben. Why are they so cruel? Where does all this hatred come from?”
“From their leader, I imagine.”
“But why is he so evil? People aren’t born evil. They become that way. So, what happened to him?”
“No one knows, Chalice. If we knew that, we would be one step ahead of him. If we knew that, maybe we could have stopped him early on and none of this would have ever happened. We can never be sure what causes him to behave the way he does.”
“I mean, what is he going to do? Kill everyone in Naeo’Gaea? He can’t!”
“You don’t understand, Chalice. He will raze every city, every village, and every farm to the ground if he has to in order to find you. He won’t stop.”
“This man is crazy!” she said, exasperated. Then, suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in the side of her head and lifted her hand to massage her temple. It surprised her. She had never had a head pain like this before.
“What’s wrong?” Jeremiah whispered.
“My head.” She grimaced. “It hurts.”
Ben stared at her, his expression very serious. “What does it feel like?”
“A splitting headache. It’s a sharp pain, right here.”
“As though someone is sticking a knife into the side of your head?” Ben asked.
“Yeah, that’s exactly it,” she said as she rubbed her temple. Jeremiah had his arm behind her, holding her steady.
Ben looked alarmed. “We need to leave,” he said and began to rise from his chair when Tremmon ran in from the hallway that led to the outer courtyard. William followed close behind him.
“What is it Tremmon?” Jor asked.
“Sir,” he panted. His face was pale and he was covered in sweat. His chest was rising and falling as if he had run the whole way from the outer wall. “There are men at the gate, demanding that we let them in.”
“Who?” Sieren asked.
“The King’s men, Madam.”
Kirna gasped and Tycho looked as if he were ready to bolt for the door.
“Don’t panic!” Ben commanded. “We are still safe in here.” He turned to Chalice. “Chalice, don’t focus on the pain. Concentrate all your thoughts on something logical, like a game or a mathematical equation.”
She looked a question at him.
“Just do it!” he said and she nodded.
“Which one is in charge?” Sieren asked.
“Ronaan,” William replied.
“Right, Ben, you know what to do,” Jor said and Ben nodded. Then, Jor and Sieren rose from the table. “Our men will meet you on the north side with your horses. We will stall the men as long as we can. When you get to Auvergny, send us a pigeon.”
“And Ben,” Sieren added. “Be careful!”
Ben gave her a curt nod of the head and she and Jor hastened out of the room. Charleton and Naeren stayed behind to hug them goodbye and then scurried hurriedly after their parents.
Ben turned to address the others. “Grab your things, quickly, and meet me in Chalice’s bedchamber.”
They all rose from the table and rushed out. Chalice staggered to her room as she tried to concentrate on the game she played with Jeremiah as a child. She could barely make it to the door. Before she knew it, Jeremiah was there at her side with his bag over his shoulder, helping her into the room. In a matter of minutes, they were all in the room with their bags, waiting for Ben. He ran in, holding a lantern and made for the candelabra on the wall, the one, Chalice knew, would open the doorway to the secret passage. He jerked it to the right and the door sprang open. Kirna and Tycho gasped in surprise.
Ben lit the lamp. “Follow me,” he said and they carefully descended the staircase behind him to the lower floor. Before they reached the study, Ben turned to the left and entered the bedchamber that Chalice had passed the night she had discovered the rooms. It resembled the chamber above except for a wooden door on the right side of the canopied bed. He led them to the door an
d opened it. A long corridor stretched deeply into the darkness. There were cobwebs everywhere.
“This hasn’t been used in a while,” Ben said as he brushed the webs aside and entered. “It will lead us to the north side of the castle. That is what Jor meant.” They all struggled to keep up with him as he rushed down the corridor. Bunejab squeaked as he fell behind and Jeremiah picked him up with one arm, carrying him as they went.
“The north side? You mean, outside the castle wall?” he asked.
“Yes. You might recognize something like this, Jeremiah. I had your father dig one similar to it on your farm.”
“You did? I never knew that. We have definitely used it.”
“Yeah, just recently actually!” Chalice panted as she ran, trying to keep up. “I’m getting used to this, I think.”
“How is your head now, Chalice?”
“Fine. The pain is gone.”
“Good. I thought it would be.”
“What was that, Ben?”
“I’ll explain later.”
They ceased talking. They were feeling the fatigue as the grey stone hallway seemed to stretch on forever. It took them a good half an hour to reach the end. Chalice hoped that the Farahs had been able to distract the men long enough. She was sure they had. They seemed practiced at this sort of thing. Finally, they arrived at a staircase that led straight up to a trapdoor above them. They ascended and Ben fidgeted with the latch. It clicked and he pushed on it but the door would not budge.
“Here, Ben, let me try,” Jeremiah said, setting down the Chinuk and nudging by everyone to the door. He was strong and although he placed his whole weight against it, it still would not budge.
“Oh, curse it!” Ben growled and banged on the door with his fist. Suddenly, they heard hoofbeats above and loud, swift scraping that continued for a few minutes. Then, the door sprang open. William’s profile appeared as the sunlight shone down, blinding them.
“I’m sorry, Ben! We were standing on the door. We didn’t know where it was. It was completely covered with dirt. You know, this passage hasn’t been used since the last time you were here.”
“It’s alright, William. I understand,” Ben answered. “Here, lend us a hand, would you?”
William reached in and helped them out of the corridor into a small clearing. Four other stablemen were there, holding their horses steady. The huge grey wall that surrounded the castle lay just behind them. Ben thanked them, strapped his bags to his saddle, and jumped onto his mount, placing Bunejab in the front. The others followed suit and they darted toward the trail that he had shown them on the map.
The morning air smelled sweet and Chalice relished the breeze that blew her hair as they galloped along the road. She had been indoors for too long, she thought. Ben drove his steed fiercely, determined to put as much distance between them and the King’s men as he could. There were sections of the trail that were not blazed well, which slowed them at first, but after a few hours, they could hear the sound of swiftly rushing water and knew they were close to the river.
The horses shot out from the forest trail into a glade that ran the length of the Kedros. The bridge lay just ahead and as they approached, Chalice’s heart sank. She knew that there was no way they would be able to cross. What lay ahead of them was the oldest, most dilapidated bridge she had ever seen. Constructed of dark wood, it spanned the width of the river and was so frail, it appeared to sway with the wind. It was cracked and rickety and small gaps spanned the length of it where missing boards had crumbled and fallen away. The horses halted at the edge and Tycho spluttered.
“Yeah right, Ben! We’ll never be able to cross this!”
“Have a little faith, Tycho,” he said and paused, tilting his head. “Although, the bridge is a little worse than I thought it would be. Hmm …” He scratched his chin. “Let me cross first. I will make sure it stays sound.” And at that, Ben clicked his mount into motion and proceeded over the bridge.
The four of them were struck dumb when it not only supported the weight, but ceased to sway in the wind the second the Appaloosa’s hooves touched the boards. Then, when the horse’s hoof touched thin air where a board was missing and did not fall through, Chalice knew that Ben was using his stone.
“He is stabilizing it for us. See?” she said, pointing. They watched Ben intently as he carefully made his way across.
When he reached the far end, he shouted: “Alright, your turn now, but only two at a time.”
Chalice looked at Kirna and Tycho. “Go.”
“Not without you, Chalice.”
“No Kirna, go!”
Kirna saw the stern expression on her best friend’s face and did not argue. She and Tycho heeled their mounts forward. Tycho was glancing anxiously on both sides of the bridge and swaying in his seat. Kirna had to grab his shoulder to steady him so that he wouldn’t fall.
“Don’t look down, Tycho! Just focus on Ben,” Chalice shouted. She knew he was not coordinated or balanced, especially if he was high above ground. This was why she had insisted they go first. She wanted to make sure they arrived at the other side safely before she and Jeremiah crossed.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, they reached the west end and Chalice clicked Sunny into motion. He stalled. He did not want to cross. She clicked him again, digging in a firm heel and he moved, reluctantly and slowly, dancing around the missing boards of the bridge. Chalice didn’t blame him. She had to admit that it was a bit unnatural walking on thin air.
They had advanced a few paces when, suddenly, she felt a flame burn near her left cheek. A burst of fire had flared up next to her, just missing her head. She turned quickly and saw three black riders in the distance, just south of them, galloping along the river’s edge. A thunder clap erupted in her face and almost knocked her off her saddle. Jeremiah grabbed her and pulled her back into her seat.
“Get back!” Ben shouted in fear. “Get back! I can’t hold the bridge and shield you at the same time.”
At that, she and Jeremiah reined in their mounts and scrambled backwards toward the east end of the bridge. As soon as they were on the bank, the bridge collapsed in a tangle of splintered wood.
Ben continued to shout at them. “Follow the river toward Northbridge. I will shield you as long as I can. When you get to the first ferry, take it. We will be there. Go! Quickly!”
They nodded and immediately bolted northward.
“But they can’t harm us from that distance,” Chalice shouted as the horses galloped at full speed. She knew the riders were too far away to reach them with arrows and she also knew that they could not use their power to hurt them.
“They can’t,” Jeremiah shouted back, “but they can use fire and other distractions to push us in the direction they want us to go. If they create a ball of fire or an invisible shield and we run into it ourselves, that is our fault. It is a strategy they use in fighting.”
“Did Ben teach you that last night?”
“Yeah.” He glanced back at her. She and Sunny were falling behind.
“Come on, Chalice. Keep up!”
“I’m trying!” she said, exasperated. “Sunny is not a Thoroughbred, Jeremiah.”
“Just do the best you can!”
She tried to keep Sunny in line with Banner, but she knew he could not hold a gallop that fast for long. After a while, he began to tire and slow, which caused the gap between her and the black riders to shorten. Jeremiah noticed and led them into the line of trees, which had grown closer to the river. He hoped the trees would provide a little protection and allow them to escape. He was wrong. The black riders gained and the attacks recommenced.
Chalice was at least happy that Jeremiah was a safe distance ahead of her. He was free of the explosions and fire that erupted all around her as Sunny dodged left and right. After a few minutes, the eruptions began to taper off. The moment she thought they had lost them, her head hi
t an invisible barrier that she hadn’t sensed in front of her. She let out a cry of pain and found herself falling to the ground. Jeremiah heard and looked back, faltering. Chalice’s whole body jolted as she slammed into the hard soil below. Then, the world went black and she knew no more.