The Forsaken Throne (Kingfountain #6)(66)

The moon was bright overhead as they continued to climb higher into the mountains, the trees growing sparser the higher they went.

Trynne’s legs burned from the climb, but she was determined to keep going. The sound of hounds called in the distance, gaining ground.

They stopped to rest on the mountain trail, taking in huge gulps of air.

“The air . . . is getting thinner,” Fallon said, gasping. He mopped sweat from his brow. “How far behind us do you think they are?”

Owen folded his arms, leaning back against a rock, his breath whistling in his chest. “Closer than I’d like. They’ve been moving quickly now that they’re on our trail.”

Trynne spotted several points of light at the base of the mountain. “They’re carrying lamps or torches,” she said, gesturing to them.

“Best to keep going, then,” Owen said. “The torches will be at the rear, not the front. The dogs don’t need the light to hunt us.”

“That means they’re even closer than they look,” Fallon said.

“We were never going to make it very far,” Owen said with resignation. “Come on.”

They continued up the trail, the night air cold against their necks. Trynne was fatigued by both lack of sleep and the trials of their difficult journey, but she was relieved that her father was with them. Even without his memory, he seemed much the same to her, always plotting ahead, pinpointing enemies’ weaknesses.

Huge broken fragments of rock were jumbled around, making their progress slower and more arduous. As they moved higher into the pass, the smells changed. There was a minty scent to the air, and she noticed some long-leafed plants choking the scrub alongside the mountain trail. She bent and snapped off one of the leaves. It was soft as felt and gave off the pleasant odor.

Suddenly, Trynne sensed a pulse of Fountain magic at work on the trail below them. Owen stiffened at the same time, holding up his hand to halt them.

Lightning exploded from the cloudless sky and struck a tree to their left, turning it into a tower of flames. The noise of the thunder was deafening, and the air sizzled with heat and danger.

“That’s the power of the Dochte Mandar. We need shelter,”

Owen said. The crackling noise of the burning tree filled the quiet that followed the clap of thunder.

“Aspis,” Trynne said, conjuring the word of power to form a shield around her and those near her. There was a risk that it would draw the Dochte Mandar to them, but the danger in not acting was greater. As if they were indeed summoned by her show of power, more bolts of lightning zigzagged across the sky—enough that it was soon as bright as day.

The shield drained Trynne’s store of magic, but she held it up to protect them as they climbed. More stabs of lightning continued to strike all around them, blasting trees and shattering stone, and the thunder ricocheted off the stone of the mountainside, magnifying the noise.

Trynne’s heart was hammering with fear, but she was grateful for her magic. She sensed it was their only protection against the Dochte Mandar.

Suddenly, she felt her shield rip away. Quivel was amongst those chasing them, she sensed, and he had just countermanded her word of power. They were vulnerable to the lightning strikes now.

“We need shelter!” Trynne cried out.

“A cave! Over there!” Fallon shouted over the tumult, pointing.

Off the trail, through the gorse, they saw a place where the stones had fallen and created a small warren. They trampled through the green, hurrying to reach the safety of the cleft of rock.

Fallon reached it first and ducked his head inside. He nodded and then waved them forward as more lightning crackled through the sky. Owen ducked his head and entered the cave. Then Trynne.

Then finally Fallon. His eyes were bright with fear and excitement as he moved deeper into the shallow cave. This time his height was no advantage—he had to duck very low to follow them inside.

Fallon lowered onto his haunches and gazed back out the cave entrance. The landscape was brightened every few moments by fresh displays of celestial power. The rocks thrummed with the pressure from the thunder. Trynne pressed her sweating palms against the stone. The cave was dark, but the sporadic lightning bursts helped them see each other. The air had a tang to it, the smell of dross from a smithy’s forge.

“It won’t take them long to find us now,” Fallon muttered, wiping his hand across his whiskers. “I should have killed Quivel. I was tempted to. He’s desperate to leave and he knows we have the Tay al-Ard. If he doesn’t catch us before dawn, he never will.”

A moment later, complete darkness fell.

“They’re coming,” Owen whispered after the stillness became prolonged.

They all quietly drew their swords in preparation.

The sound of hounds baying started up again, much closer this time.

“Do we run?” Fallon asked softly.

Trynne felt the seclusion of the cave would offer more protection. At least they would know no one was coming at them from behind. “I think we fight it out inside here,” she said. “The entrance isn’t very big. They won’t be able to charge us in large numbers. It’s as good a place as any to withstand a siege. We need time, that is all.”

“If the device you have can truly get us out of here,” Owen said, “then yes, this would be a good place to make a stand.”