DragonCrown Saga - The Grand Crusade Part 19

"I know." Resolute's eyes glittered. "They will be saved, both of them, mother and child. This I vow."

"Be careful of such vows, Resolute." Crow laughed lightly. "I vowed to see Vorquellyn free in my lifetime. See where it's gotten me."

"I say it with that in mind, my friend."

Laughter from near the food table brought Alexia around. A blue winter-berry skittered across the floor as Qwc, wielding a fork half as tall as he was, repeatedly dove and stabbed at it. The Spritha came up and around in a loop, then twisted around and made a low run at the elusive morsel. The fork sc.r.a.ped the floor, but only batted the berry away. It rolled toward Kerrigan instead.

The mage stopped it with his foot, then plucked another fork from the table. He held it suspended between his fingertips, then magick shimmered around his hands. He drew them apart, and as he did so the metal lengthened and thinned. Almost effortlessly, he transformed the fork and lofted it to the Spritha.

"Here, Qwc, catch."

Qwc dropped his fork with a clatter and plucked the foot-and-a-half-long silver spear from the air. With a high-pitched giggle, the Spritha flew upward, then threw his head back and flipped over, allowing himself to fall into a dive. As he neared his target, his wings flashed out. He leaned left, then right, and stabbed the barbed tip straight through the winterberry with a pop of purple juice.

Qwc laughed triumphantly, then licked at the juice running down the shaft of the spear.

Everyone in the room applauded, though whether for Kerrigan or Qwc, Alexia could not be certain. The mage looked at Rounce. "Please forgive me ruining that fork, Master Playfair."

Rounce waved the apology away easily. "Do not be worried, Adept Reese. I'll have the rest melted down and shaped into winterberry skewers. And you, Qwc, will keep that one as my gift to you. May you find it useful in the coming year."

Qwc nodded emphatically.

Resolute frowned. "If Qwc uses that on aught but winterberries, we'll be in serious trouble indeed."

"Leave the voicing of omens to me, Resolute." As everyone watched Qwc's antics, Oracle had found her way to his side. "Things are not as dire as you fear."

"Right now, you mean. You are the one who has told me that the future constantly shifts. Just the creation of that spear could change things."

"So it could. So it has." Oracle turned her sightless eyes on Alexia. "Fear not, Princess, I shall make no cryptic remark as concerns your expedition. When it comes to battles, things shift so quickly that there is no predicting outcomes."

"It's my task to make sure the possible outcomes are limited."

"It is a formidable task you set yourself." Oracle's lids closed for a moment. "When a life is ended, all its potential is released. All its possibilities are released. That is why war is so chaotic."

The princess nodded, then realized Oracle couldn't see her. "I know."

The Vorquelf's copper eyes snapped open. "Chytrine revels in chaos. Even in losing she can be victorious."

Alexia smiled. "I thought you said you weren't going to be cryptic."

"I didn't think I was. Conduct your war carefully, Princess, but do not shy from using the chaos.

Chytrine might enjoy it, but she cannot control it. Do what you know best and you will emerge the victor."

Oracle then turned to Crow and moved close to him, kissing him on his scarred cheek. "And you, brother Crow, you are close to fulfilling your vow. Sleep lightly, ride hard, and trust those who earn it."

Crow kissed her back. "Be safe on your journey, Oracle. All luck to you in the new year, and peace."

"If I have the one, I shall have the other." She turned to Resolute and took his right hand in her left. "And now, cousin, I have a vision of you dancing with me."

Resolute's face tightened. "I have not danced since we were children."

"Unless your eyes have changed, Resolute, we yet are."

"You know what I mean."

"And you know my vision is never wrong." Oracle tugged at his hand. "Come, dance with me. The others will join in. As we all dance together now, we shall dance a year hence."

Resolute looked at her. "Is that, too, a vision?"

"A hope, Resolute, a hope." Oracle smiled warmly. "And a hope is best to start the new year."

The first day of the new year dawned bright and cold, but Resolute had seen enough years to know this was winter's last gasp. Soon, the sun would blaze high and hot, coaxing the plants to grow. Hard winters always brought flooding, but flooding always brought warm springs and early harvests.

But this year, the first harvest would be of blood-though he had seen plenty of fields flourish when fertilized with blood.Blood, manure, and carrion. The plants would grow, but he wondered if there would be people enough around to benefit.

The line of General Pandiculia's troops stretched out from the gates of Narriz along the coast road, heading north and eventually west. They would travel on the west side of the Delasena, while Alexia's troops would use the river road to the east. To avoid confusion, Pandiculia's troops were sent out first, and those who would travel later cheered them on their way.

Resolute and his companions traveled with them as a convenience. He would have much preferred just to head off on his own at a fast clip, but Bok was not yet suited to it, and he had reservations about Oracle's ability to deal with a hard ride. Banausic had dutifully a.s.signed himself to her care, and that annoyed Resolute. Still, it gave the raven-haired Vorquelf something to do, which meant he wouldn't be too much of a nuisance. Rymramoch traveled in a big box strapped to a pack animal, so he was likewise no trouble.

The Vorquelf cast a glance back at Kerrigan and noticed him shifting awkwardly in the saddle after only an hour on the road. Since his bones were no longer thoroughly insulated with fat, the saddle rubbed more roughly. Curiously enough, Kerrigan bore his discomfort silently, nor did he cast a spell to ease his suffering.

Resolute would have expected either complaints or magick. Back when they first met, the portly mage had made a very bad first impression on Resolute. But now the transformation in Kerrigan had surprised the Vorquelf, surpa.s.sing even that of Will Norrington. Will had been a feral thief in Yslin. And while he knew little of the world, he was a born risk-taker who did not shy from adventure. He might have fled from responsibility, but when he eventually grew into it, his penchant for action made accepting responsibility and succeeding possible.

Kerrigan had been very much the opposite. He had been responsible and deliberate to the point of fussiness. He made mistakes that had cost them dearly, and he had succ.u.mbed to melancholy on countless occasions. Unlike others, however, he did not let his failures consume him. As Will had grown into accepting responsibility, so Kerrigan had grown in an understanding of his own power and potential.

He acknowledged his mistakes so he could avoid repeating them. In one so young, who had been coddled and insulated from reality, that desire was both rare and vital.

Kerrigan looked up and caught Resolute's eye for a moment. The youth's face opened questioningly and Resolute frowned by reflex. Kerrigan looked down again immediately and slouched so abruptly that Qwc almost lost his seat on the mage's shoulder.

Resolute cleared his throat. "Kerrigan, come here."

The youth's head came up again, then he urged his horse forward and drew abreast with Resolute.

"Yes?"

"Something concerns you."

"It's just... I don't want to bother you with it."

Resolute controlled his frown. "What have you been thinking about?"

"Well, since no one is going to let me cast any of my searching spells for now, I was trying to think about how we will find Will and get him out of thecoruesci. You have a plan, don't you?"

"No."

"No?" Kerrigan's face knotted. "You have to have a plan."

"Please, Kerrigan, we seek Will. I don't need to hear you admonishing me the way he would."

"Sorry."

The Vorquelf turned to look at Kerrigan and while he wouldn't let himself smile, he did his best to erase a grimace. "Oracle has said Will is waiting for us. She has no specific vision that tells us how we will find him, but the Norrington Prophecy itself suggests there must be a way, else it would not exist. It may be something as simple as Will being hidden and waiting to escape until we arrive. It may be that we have to do something more drastic. We have a lot of time to get there."

"Okay, right. I have been thinking, though..."

"Would you like to share your thoughts?"

Kerrigan nodded, then looked down as he spoke. "Banausic has described much of what he saw there. The rituals that bind someone to Vorquellyn sound very powerful."

"They can destroy people if they go wrong."

"I remember. Two key things, though: elves didn't have to officiate at the ceremonies that worked."

Resolute nodded. "It is Vorquellyn which accepts or rejects. That's one thing. What's the other?"

"I think that to go through the ritual, one only has to have been born there. I mean, I think Vorquellyn might accept me."

A p.r.i.c.kling feeling ran up Resolute's spine. "Are you suggesting we perform the ritual on you so you can enter thecoruesci?"

"Well, yes. I was born there after Chytrine took the island, so I have a more recent connection than you do."

"That was also true of thekryalniriBanausic said was rejected."

"I know." Kerrigan looked up at him, his green eyes wet. "But if... no,becauseWill is waiting there, I'm willing to take the risk to free him."

"To atone for his death?"

"You say that like you think it's stupid."

Resolute shook his head and glanced up along the line of soldiers. "On one level it is stupid, Kerrigan.

There is nothing to atone for."

"How can you say that?" Kerrigan's voice rose and tightened. "I could have prevented his death."

"No, you could not have. Isn't that true, Qwc?"

The Spritha huddled close against the sheepskin collar of the mage's coat. "True, true."

"What?"

"Kerrigan, the Spritha know where they are supposed to be at times of importance. You came late to the Council Chamber. Qwc flew immediately to the place where he caught Rymramoch's Truestone. He knew where he had to be, and when the time was right, he was there again. Your job was to make certain that he would not fail to hold on to that Truestone."

"But I should have caught the stone first."

"No, and that is why there is nothing to atone for. Will knew what he was doing when he went for the stone. He was showing the dragons that we are willing to sacrifice ourselves for others. He saved a life where Nefrai-laysh only wanted to take one. That lesson was a vital one. Given that the dragons want to rea.s.semble the Crown and that we had pledged to leave our piece of it there, they should have immediately joined with Chytrine. She has the most pieces. It only makes sense for them to do that, but they did not because of Will's sacrifice."

"How can they trust Chytrine?"

"They may feel forced to. She was Kirun's apprentice. They might think she is the only one who can destroy it. Their reasons, however, are as immaterial as they are misplaced. The prophecy is the key to all events and must be our guide."

The Vorquelf glanced at him again. "There's another thing to consider, and Oracle's news confirms it.

When the prophecy was uttered, we thought it applied to Lord Norrington, or to Leigh. Perhaps it did.

Each of them underwent a transformation. We know Will is waiting for us, and death will have been quite a transformation. Perhaps he had to grow into being the Norrington of the prophecy, and his willingness to make that sacrifice was the last threshold he had to pa.s.s."

Kerrigan looked over, searching his face. "Do you really think that is true?"

"I've spent a long time, Kerrigan, believing in only a few truths. One is that the more Aurolani I kill, the fewer will stand between me and getting my homeland back. Another is that I'll succeed within Crow's lifetime. Lastly, I accept that Will Norrington is going to be a part of getting my homeland back. The details around all that don't matter."

The mage shrugged his shoulders. "I guess not. You were really tough on him, you know."

"I'm tough on everyone, Kerrigan."

"Why?"

Resolute slowly felt a smile spread over his face. "Probably out of habit."

"Not that I'm trying to pry, but it just seems... you're being talkative today."

The Vorquelf nodded slowly, even as a little laugh from Oracle reached his ears. The previous night, dancing with her, he'd felt things he'd not allowed himself to feel for over a century. For an evening he swam up through the lake of blood and flesh and vengeance that had been his life and drew in a clean breath. It had been intoxicating and dangerous-for his guard slipped. And while he didn't actually abandon the burdens he'd shouldered, he had leaned them against a wall for a moment. And he had enjoyed it.

"I have lived a long time, Kerrigan. I saw the pain of the adults who survived the rape of Vorquellyn. I watched them leave. I have also seen many well-meaning people head out to deal with Chytrine or her creatures, and I have watched them die. When I am tough on people, either they get good, or they get hurt."

Kerrigan nodded. "And they don't get close to you until they are good, so they're less likely to die."

"Not always. I'm used to them dying. I just wish, for once, it would be of old age."

The youth shook his head. "You choose not to have friends, and I was never allowed to have them. Will was really my first friend. I didn't think he would be. I didn't like him at first."

"Will was like that."

"But he grew on me, probably as he matured." Kerrigan's eyes flashed. "Do you think he'll be angry?"

"Angry?"

"You know, for his dying?"

Resolute closed his eyes for a moment, then shook his head. "No. He made his choice and was content with it. I think he'll be happy to be back. And, knowing him, he'll come back with a fistful of treasure from Turic's realm and stories to tell about his time there."

Kerrigan laughed. "That's true."

"And I would not worry about his being angry with you. He likely won't even recognize you."

"I don't care about his recognizing me. I just hope Chytrine won't."

Resolute's lips peeled back in a predatory grin. "Oh, by the time we get to her, she'll know us all."