Soar

Chapter 21

We waited for word, but none had come by the time I left for the evening. The city was eerily still: no music from the caves, no neighbors standing in the street to talk while their children played in the fading daylight. The only people about were those returning home from their day's work and the lamplighters, who hurried about their tasks with grim determination.

Erizar met me at the door, releasing a heavy breath at the sight of me.

"I thought you were supposed to leave today?" I said as he ushered me inside and barred the heavy wood door behind us.

"The king has ordered all ground patrols to the city. My patrol will not leave yet, and the others have been called back." He rounded me and pulled a chair up to the hearth.

"What has happened? One of the boys heard something about an attack."

Erizar leaned forward to stir the fire and check a pot hanging over it. "Umreo," he answered at last, settling back to watch the flames. "He is starting to renew his attack."

I sat on the warming hearthstones so I could see Erizar's face. The lines around his mouth and eyes had deepened and he ran a hand through his graying hair. Firelight reflected in his pale eyes.

"A village was attacked. North, this time." Erizar hunched his shoulders and stared fixedly into the fire. "The cities there are older, stronger, and so they guard themselves. Some are ruled by Old Blood and have dragons as well. But that snake did not dare to challenge one of the strongholds. He picked off a farming village. Anyone he did not kill he took captive."

In spite of the nearby fire, I shivered. All I could see was flame-blackened stone and twisted wood; the ravaged bodies of defenseless villagers, including the body of a little girl carried in a rider's cloak, her eyes wide open. Tryven had told me that no captives had been taken then. I could only imagine how prisoners would be treated at the hands of the monsters capable of such distruction.

"Then why is the king calling back the riders?" I asked. "Is he going to leave the southern cities-"

"No." Erizar's eyes flicked to me and the lines in his face eased a little. "Of course not. He is sending a guard of dragons to maintain patrol." With a sigh, he sat back, resting his elbows on his legs. "It is his thought that Umreo used that first attack as a distraction. It made sense for him to attack our weaker settlements. While we focused south, he turned north with no warning." Erizar's next words were so low I could barely hear them over the crackling fire. "His kind have always attacked like wolves." He folded his hands and met my eyes. "They will come here eventually. The king wants most of the riders here, in that event. We need every sword we can find."

I nodded, licking my lips. "Most of them?"

"Yes. I got the notion the king intends to send me north with some others, once Hedyr has returned. The smaller villages must be emptied and their people taken to the safety of the strongholds. They will be easier to defend there." His eyes drifted to the axes still on my belt and he smiled a little, looking wearier than ever. "I still wish to the ancestors you did not need those, but...." With another heavy sigh, he pushed to his feet and offered me a hand. "Keep training," he murmured once I was on my feet and could look him in the eye. He kept hold of my hand, gripping it until his own shook. "One day soon, you may be glad that you did."

Two days later, Tryven met me as I was walking home. His usual smile was gone, replaced by a thoughtful frown.

"Hello," I said as he fell into step beside me.

Tryven only grunted and folded his arms. Shoulders hunched, he stared at the ground. I walked slowly and waited for him to speak his mind.