Victim of Fate Read online

  He grimaced and doubled over, his broken ribs moving of their own accord. He felt them shifting and putting themselves back in place, but something was wrong. A darkness was filling his vision. Alto blinked, trying to clear it away but it kept coming until he could see nothing at all. Was this the terror Thork’s potion would show him this time, blindness?

  "Please no! Don’t do this!"

  Alto jerked his head up and around. That was a woman’s voice. A girl’s. Not any girl, but a girl he didn’t need to see to recognize. "Caitlin?" Alto mumbled, naming his sister.

  "Let us go, we didn’t do no harm to you!"

  Another girl, Alto’s youngest sister Harvest, cried out for her mommy.

  "Save the girl for me."

  Alto gasped. He knew that voice, too; it was Beck’s.

  "The rest of them get their heads on pikes as examples of what happens to those who defy us!"

  Alto fell to his knees. He couldn’t see but he could hear and what he heard was screaming and crying and awful sounds that ended in a silence far more terrifying than the screams had been. He felt the tears running down his cheeks and struggled to breathe. The final words he heard before the darkness lifted and he could see again were, "Come to me, Alto. Come to me and learn the price of resistance!"

  Chapter 26

  "They stopped!" Mordrim called out.

  Trina turned, pulling Namitus with her as she spun. He stumbled on his wounded leg and nearly forced both of them to fall. The gnomes had stopped fighting. They stood back, snarling and calling out to them in their own language where the two caves converged into one.

  "I smell fresh air," Garrick said.

  Kar laughed, and then explained himself when the barbarian glowered at him. "They don’t care for being aboveground."

  "Bah, cowards," Mordrim muttered. He banged his hammer against his shield and spat at them.

  "Let’s get out of here," Tristam panted. He’d stayed back with Mordrim to keep the gnomes at bay while the others fought through the last effort the gnomes rallied to stop them. He bled from dozens of wounds caused by the sharp nails and teeth of the gnomes.

  Garrick led the way up the tunnel. He paused at a small room and looked about, expecting trouble. There were bones scattered about the floor but whatever had left them there was long gone. Garrick shrugged and continued on, not stopping until he stood in the opening of a cave high on the side of a hill. A trail led down through the snow on the mountain to foothills below.

  "It's good to clear the stench from my nose," Garrick announced.

  "Aye, gnomes don't bathe much," Mordrim said as he walked up clanking in his full plate armor.

  Garrick turned and looked down at him. He nodded after a moment of staring at the dwarf. "You fought well, but not like a demon."

  The dwarf barked out a laugh. "Aye, I'm no demon, lad. You fought well, too, if rash."

  "Such is our way."

  Mordrim shrugged, his pauldrons clinking with the movement. "Take care you don't use your way to get yourself surrounded and overrun."

  Garrick opened his mouth to respond but Patrina and Karthor emerged, guiding Namitus between them. Kar and Tristam came last, eyeing the tunnel behind them.

  "Can you seal it?" Tristam asked.

  "I've been burning, dissolving, electrifying, or exploding our foes for a day and a half without rest and now you want me to bring the mountain down on them?" Kar sputtered.

  "Yes, if you've got it in you," the seasoned leader said. "I'm too damn tired to even lift my sword should they come after us."

  "Over there!" Patrina cried out. She raised her hand to point into the distance. Faint lights sparkled as the sun set to the west.

  Kar studied the lights and then looked to the sky. He followed a few of the brighter stars and traced invisible lines between them with his fingers. "That's Whitecap Watch, where your wise woman is at."

  "It's not that far," she said.

  "Farther than I can walk tonight," Kar muttered.

  "Garrick, pick the old man up, would you," Tristam said.

  Garrick turned and eyed Kar up and down. He frowned and took a step towards the wizard.

  "Just a damned minute!" Kar huffed. "I'll turn you into a bunny rabbit and sick a wolf on you!"

  Garrick's eyes narrowed.

  "Thought you was out of magic since you were too tired?" Tristam asked.

  "Extenuating circumstances," the wizard mumbled.

  "Well then, let's get down out of this wind; it's cold and I could use a real bedroll!" Tristam said.

  "Let me try to walk," Namitus said. He freed himself from Karthor and Patrina and balanced on one leg before trying to put weight on the other one. A scrap torn off Patrina's dress served as a bandage where a gnome had buried its teeth into his leg earlier. The green fabric had been soaked through but now the blood had dried.

  The rogue put his weight on his leg and, other than grimacing, was able to support himself. He flashed a smile at Patrina and risked a step forward, only to crash to the ground as his injured leg wavered and failed to support him.

  "You out of magic, too?" Kar asked his son.

  Karthor nodded. "I'm spent."

  Kar chuckled and clapped him on the back before turning away so Karthor could help Patrina lift the crippled bard back up. Fresh blood ran down the man's leg, prompting Patrina to tear off another strip of cloth and tie it tightly around his thigh. She'd removed enough of it now that her dress was hidden beneath Alto's shirt.

  Garrick led the way, his long legs putting him ahead of the others until Tristam called out for him to slow up. The barbarian waited a bit and then adjusted his pace so that he was ahead of them but not far enough that they'd lose sight of him amongst the hills and trees.

  Carrying the wounded rogue, they made poor time but still reached the village while Kar judged the night less than half over. Namitus was taken to the great hall and left to sit at a table, half asleep. The others collapsed onto the benches near him while Patrina rose up.

  "Somebody toss some logs in the hearth; it's chilled in here," she said before she turned and left the hall. Garrick trailed after her, catching up quickly and falling in beside her.

  "These are my people. I don't need a guard," she informed him. She bit her lip to stop herself from saying anything else. She wanted to rant at him, to tell him he should have been the one instead of Alto, but a part of her knew better. A part of her that wanted to prove that she could be the mature and responsible person Alto wanted her to be.

  Garrick nodded. "Never said I was guarding you," he growled back at her. He scowled and, in a softer tone added, "This looks like a northern village, but the huts are bigger and there's more of them."

  "This is barely a village, by my people's standards." She wiped the smirk off her face when she saw how wide eyed the barbarian was as he looked around. "And my people's cities are nothing compared to the great Kingdom cities. Or so I've heard; I've never been there."

  "I will see them one day," Garrick vowed.

  Patrina watched him as she walked and found herself nodding. "I believe you. But for now be silent; my people do not know you. They value strength and valor, but to them you're just a barbarian from the north. If I don't vouch for you, they will have nothing to do with you."

  Garrick frowned and opened his mouth to retort but Patrina had turned down a street away from him. He fell in beside her and was about to try again when she turned to a large house and banged on the door with her fist.

  Patrina banged again before it lurched open and a man wearing a nightshirt under a fur cloak stuck his head out. "What in the name of the saints are—Lady Patrina!"

  "Lord Ayerl, my friends and I are fresh from the mountains and we need your hospitality," Patrina began.

  His eyes dropped to take her in. He stepped out of his hut, forcing her back so the starlight shone fully on her. "You're wounded!"

  "We're all wounded, some gravely. Please, send for food, water, and a healer to the great hall
."

  He nodded and turned away, mumbling a few names of men in his village. He turned back with a start. "My apologies, my lady, I'll bring them at once!"

  Patrina smiled and let her shoulder slump. She turned to Garrick and let him see the exhaustion in her face. "Come, let's get back to them."

  "You really are a princess," he said.

  Patrina sighed and walked away from him.

  They reentered the hall to see Karthor and Tristam staring at them. A fire was blazing in the hearth and Mordrim had fallen forward onto a table and was snoring loudly. Kar had curled up beneath another table and was almost as loud as the dwarf.

  "Help is on the way," Patrina told them. "Food and a healer, among others. How is Namitus?"

  "Near death," Karthor admitted. "I've done all I can; it's in his hands now."

  "His hands?" Patrina asked as she sat on the bench next to the table he was stretched out on. She took his hand in hers and stroked his arm gently.

  "He's got elf blood in him," Karthor said with a shrug. "That may help him, if his will to live is strong enough. He's lost a lot of blood."

  "And a lot of that was elf blood," Tristam muttered.

  Karthor spared a glance to let Tristam see in his face that he expected the worst.

  Patrina leaned close to Namitus’s ear and whispered something that was lost to the others. She kissed him on the forehead and then straightened and looked at the fire. She blinked away the moisture in her eyes.

  "You care for this man?" Garrick blurted out.

  Patrina jerked at the rude question. She looked up at the barbarian and nodded. "Yes, I do. I was a fool to think otherwise. He's my brother."

  It was Garrick's turn to twitch in shock. He stared at the unconscious rogue and looked back and forth between them a few times. "I don't see it. A different mother or father?"

  Patrina sighed. "It's a long story best left for another time."

  To reinforce her suggestion, the door to the hall opened and Ayerl led the way in. He was still dressed in his nightshirt and cloak. Other villagers followed him, including a gray-haired woman who wore a necklace with the symbol of Giga, the patron saint of fishing, sailing, and the ocean. She walked over to Patrina first and bowed her head.

  "Don't waste time with me; Namitus needs Giga's blessing most!" Patrina snapped at her.

  The healer's cheeks paled and she mumbled her apologies, and then turned to the supine man. She fought to untie the bandages on his leg but couldn't force the bloody knots loose. Patrina drew her dagger and cut them, startling the healer. With the bandages out of the way, the healer leaned in close to Namitus’s leg and she prodded at it. Thick blood oozed out of the deep gouges across his thigh.

  "He might live, but we must sear the wound. He'll lose the leg," she declared.

  Karthor swore and lurched to his feet, surprising them all. "What sort of priestess are you to declare such a thing!" he blurted out.

  "I'm a healer," she snapped back at him. Her eyes fell to the symbol on his chest and her eyes widened. "You're a priest?"

  "I am."

  "Then why don't you heal him?"

  "We've been on the run for near two days, maybe more," Patrina explained. "I doubt any of us can remember the last time we've slept. We've been fighting in caves in the mountains most of that time and Karthor here has saved all of us with Leander's blessing. So much so that he's got nothing left to give. I don't know how he stays on his feet."

  "Seems I don't have a choice," Karthor muttered. He walked around the table, brushing against Ayerl and clearing his throat until the Kelgryn healer stepped back. He grabbed his holy symbol and knelt down on one knee beside Namitus.

  "Karthor, stop, you can do no more," Tristam said. "You've given it your all."

  "I'm still breathing," Karthor whispered without looking up. "I've still got something left to give."

  Patrina gasped and reached for him but Garrick caught her arm and stopped her. She looked up at him, fresh moisture in her eyes. "This is beyond my knowing," Garrick admitted, "but he's a man that has made a decision. Let him be."

  "But what if he dies?" she whispered.

  "Then that is his wish and it's not your right to take that from him."

  Patrina turned back to Karthor, who was chanting softly as he bent his head in prayer. They all watched quietly and paid no heed to the man who brought in leftover bread from the evening meal and left it on the table next to several empty cups.

  Karthor's holy symbol flared with a bright light for a moment, forcing their eyes closed from the brilliance. When they opened them again, it was to see Karthor fall to the ground beside the bench.

  Patrina went to him and rolled him onto his back. She called to him and gently patted his cheeks. He looked relaxed and peaceful. She looked around, tears finally running down her cheeks. Garrick stared at the fallen priest thoughtfully, and then he nodded in respect for his actions.

  The healer knelt next to Patrina and tried to pull her away so she could tend to her wounds. The lady pushed her away and lowered her forehead to Karthor's chest while she wept unashamedly.

  "Look!" Tristam cried out, point at Namitus. The rogue's leg was far from whole but the shredded muscles had knit back together and the dark tinge around the wound was a healthy pink.

  "He did it," Garrick observed. He chuckled and shook his head.

  "My lady, the priest!"

  Patrina lifted her head up and stared at Namitus through tear-blurred eyes. "I know, he gave his life for Namitus."

  "No, my lady, he lives!"

  "What?" She spun and stared at Karthor.

  "When you were on his chest, I saw his breath flutter your hair," the healing lady said.

  Patrina closed her eyes from where she knelt and raised her clasped hands in a silent prayer to the saints. "There's been too much death and hurt this day," she said a moment later when she opened them.

  "There'll be more before this is done," Tristam reminded her. "We need to be off as soon as we can to collect...uh, more men and let them know what's going on."

  Patrina rose on unsteady feet and turned to Ayerl. "Lord Ayerl, I need a horse. We all will, I think. Your fastest that can carry us."

  "My lady, this is unusual. What troubles you?"

  "Many things, but you must send riders out warning of the monsters and men that make ready to wage war from the mountains," she told him. "My father went that way and fought them; if the jarl survived, he will know of it. You can sound the horns of war and summon the other Kelgryn, though."

  "So what do you need the horses for?" he tilted his head and asked.

  "We've lost a dear companion. A friend to the Kingdom and to the Kelgryn. He was my champion and I will deliver the news to his family personally. I trust his companions and friends will accompany me."

  Tristam opened his mouth but shut it when he saw the others looking at him. He nodded, the muscles in his jaw flexing as he did so.

  "We leave as soon as we can in the morning. If my friends can travel with me, they will. If they are not ready, I trust I can count on your hospitality?"

  "Of course," Ayerl said.

  Patrina nodded. "Then we'll rest here tonight. I see most of my companions have already found places to bed down."

  "My lady, the hall is hardly a fitting place for you to—"

  "I can see no finer place than beside the bravest and strongest men I've had the honor of knowing. There is no place safer in all of the northern reaches. Now if you'll excuse me, Lord Ayerl, I think I've found a fine-looking place to lay down under that table over there.”

  * * * *

  "Namitus is in no condition to be riding," Tristam announced as soon as Patrina returned to the hall from her morning errands.

  Patrina glanced over at her longtime friend as he was having his bandage changed by the local healer. She’d let Ayerl force her into changing her clothes to something more presentable, but then he’d been dismayed when she’d insisted on soldier’s garb instead of
a dress.

  "How’s Karthor?"

  "He’s spending his morning praying," Kar shared as he joined Patrina and Tristam near the door. He turned his hard gaze on her and said, "And I’ll thank you to never ask him to put his life at risk like that again!"

  Patrina bristled. "I didn’t ask him to do any such thing. I tried to stop him!"

  "That much is true," Tristam admitted. "It was Garrick that held her back."

  Kar turned to the barbarian who sat eating a breakfast of eggs and mutton. Garrick’s attention was focused on his meal, allowing him to ignore even the dwarf who sat opposite him at the table. Mordrim was eating with equal gusto.

  Kar scowled and muttered. "Savages have no understanding of the dangers of such things!"

  "No, but without Alto, had it not been for the savage, we might not have made it out of there," Tristam said.

  Kar harrumphed and wandered away to a table near where Karthor was performing his morning rituals. A woman stopped by with a plate of food for him, which he accepted without his usual smile.

  "So, about Namitus?"

  "Yes, what about Namitus?" the rogue asked from where he sat. The healer gathered her things and stood up, and then nodded in deference to Lady Patrina before slipping out of the building. She’d already seen to the cuts and bruises the rest of them had endured.

  "Karthor and Tristam say you’re weak," Patrina told him.

  Namitus shrugged. "They’re upset that I can still beat them three out of five hands at cards."

  Patrina forced her smirk off her face before asking, "I mean to set out to tell Alto’s family of his heroism. Will you ride with me?"

  Namitus put his hands on the table behind him and used them to help him rise to his feet. He gently put pressure on his leg until he was standing on it. He chanced a step and, with a limp, was able to keep his balance. "I don’t see why not. I’ll be sitting on a horse anyhow."