Daughter of the Wind

19. Ever Deeper

Eighteenth of Harvest

Ertas waited until the morning light to march his company into Narandir. Though Ukari had warned that they would be at least twelve hours behind Davos, Ertas had refused to enter the Forest during the night. He had seen what lived in that land, and he had no intention of facing them in the darkness. He knew that such a fight was inevitable, but he wasn't going to invite it. Rangir had heartily agreed with the sentiment, remembering his first encounter with Narandir's evil. So at first light the company of Svaletans rose, took up their arms, and marched into the Forest. They marched with swords drawn and shields up, ready to put up a shield wall at the first sign of danger. Half of the archers had left their bows behind after Andiri suggested that they would be of little use in the deeper parts of the Forest. Rangir had disagreed, and a compromise was reached. So sixteen men carried bows, though these were slung over their shoulders as they held their own swords at the ready. Along the company's flanks walked twenty spearmen, and in two long lines marched the thirty swordsmen. Seventy men in all marched into Narandir ready for battle, the entirety of Farhad's resistance to the Recluse. Ertas did not know if it would be enough, but he was determined to fight his way through Narandir at whatever cost. As Andiri had said, he had his King's orders. He was left with no alternatives.

* * *

Belkai rose that morning to find that the Recluse had tracked them. She could feel him trying to distract her from his path, and she warned Davos that she would be unable to both protect them and find the Recluse. They set out with weapons drawn and at the ready. The Forest seemed to get denser, more oppressive, as they moved. Davos quickly lost sense of what direction they were headed, too focused on avoiding tripping to take note of the position of the sun in the few moments it could be clearly seen through the branches above.

"We are getting closer," Belkai said after a few hours of walking. "He is creating a sort of fog that I cannot see through. But it is weakening. He knows that a rival has entered Narandir. He will not allow us to go much further without resistance."

When she gave the warning, all was silent. It was only a while later that Davos put a hand on her shoulder and whispered for her to stop. She broke off her mental pursuit and turned to the scout, who put a finger to his ear. She nodded and kept silent. She could hear hooting, as if they were surrounded by a flock of owls.

"I first heard them ten minutes ago," Davos whispered in her ear. "They're getting closer."

"What are they?" Roulson asked.

"The Recluse's agents," Belkai replied. "Whatever they are, they have been sent to stop us. We have to keep moving."

"You don't want to stand and fight?" Davos asked. "Kill them now, then have more freedom?"

"They call out to make us afraid," Belkai told him. "We will not let him pick the ground of our fight. The closer to his home we fight, the more he will feel the pressure. Then he is more likely to make a mistake, and I will find him."

And then you will kill him, Roulson thought. And take his power for your own. A coup of the cosmic sort. As he walked, he found his eyes drawn back to Belkai as a wolf's to its prey. All he needed was the moment to strike.

* * *

Davos still had no idea where they were several hours later. The trees and undergrowth all seemed to blend together in his mind, and if he hadn't trusted Belkai he would have sworn that they were walking in circles. It took all his willpower to stay focused on tracking potential threats, but even so he almost missed glimpsing something strange out in the distance. He put a hand on Belkai's shoulder to get her attention, then waved for the others to stop.