Spark of Truth (The Hidden Wizard Book 3) Read online

  “Well, we can’t mess around right now. I’ll make up for it later,” she said. Alrion shook his head at the thought and Lara bounded ahead.

  “Just a bit further,” Lara said, urging them on. The main road was paved with cobblestones which were uneven and worn down. The entry to the village had a few houses and buildings packed in close, but as they turned the corner the houses started to spread out more. The Healer’s house was easily spotted, as there was nothing around it. It spanned two levels and was the only one with a mess of vines wrapped around it.

  I’ll have to ask about that, Lara thought. It seemed at odds with the surroundings. She went ahead, and rapped smartly on the red, wooden door. After a delay she was about to knock again when she thought she heard footsteps.

  “Who is it?” a female voice said from within.

  “It’s the travellers who brought the amulet. We have a critical injury,” Lara said. The door opened immediately and a young woman peered out. She looked only slightly older than Lara and had darker skin. She looked completely out of place with the local residents and the colder climate.

  “I’m Lara. Older gentleman is Vincent, the other one is Alrion, and the sickly-looking woman is called Alyx.”

  “Beatrix. Please come in, I see she needs immediate attention. I have a special couch set up in the room next door,” Beatrix said. The Healer walked off immediately. Lara waited for Alrion and Vincent to make a start, and she stepped back to close the door behind them.

  So far so good. It felt good to finally be within some enclosed walls, and not stuck out in the cold wilderness.

  I’m definitely a city girl.

  Now they could get Alyx some help, and prepare for the next leg of their journey.

  I just hope we make it in time. He has to make it, Lara thought as she joined the others.

  14

  POISON

  Alyx felt an initial surge of relief as she lay down on the couch. She had been tense for hours, and it was the first time she could fully relax. The feeling was enough to temporarily overpower the extreme burning sensation in her legs.

  “This is quite a serious burn, and strange in its application. What did this?” Beatrix said. She looked at them with concern.

  “You wouldn’t believe us if we told you,” Lara said.

  “Try me.”

  “It’s from a wizard that was transformed into a Shade,” Alrion said. Beatrix’s eyes widened.

  “That’s not possible,” she said.

  “We’ve seen it twice now. It’s plenty possible,” Vincent added. Alyx just nodded, not adding any commentary. The pain was flaring up, so she clenched her teeth and tried to ignore it.

  “Wizard fire is a bit different to normal fire. More intensity and it also attacks the nerves. Let me fetch something,” Beatrix said. She disappeared into another room. Alrion came over and held Alyx’s hand.

  “You’re almost there. She is going to help you. I had no idea that this was even worse than a normal burn,” he said. Alyx nodded. But she realised he probably wanted a response so she swallowed hard and prepared to speak.

  “It was the right decision. I can rest now,” Alyx said. She closed her eyes. Another wave of pain assaulted her and she tried to compartmentalise her mind and shut out the feeling in her legs. She heard footsteps approaching and opened her eyes.

  “This will help,” Beatrix said. She was holding a clear jar with white contents.

  “Remove the pants,” Beatrix said. Alrion looked away in embarrassment and Vincent and Lara struggled to get Alyx’s pants off. Before the intense pain Alyx had to laugh to herself at Alrion’s response.

  He forgets that I’m not a woman, I’m a weapon.

  Although, it was nice for someone to think of her as something else. Lara and Vincent were rough, but efficient. Soon the cool air was a relief to Alyx’s legs. She shuddered suddenly, as she felt an icy touch. She looked over and saw Beatrix applying the cream liberally.

  “So. Cold,” Alyx said. It was unbelievable, almost the exact extreme to what she had been feeling.

  “It’s necessary. Don’t worry it will settle down soon,” Beatrix said. She continued to apply the cream, and Alyx finally relaxed. The burning started to subside, and her legs started to feel numb.

  “That should do the trick. It’s lucky you got here when you did, the damage is not as bad as it could have been,” Beatrix said. She pulled a light blanket over Alyx.

  “How’s that?” Beatrix said.

  “Better,” Alyx said. The feeling of relief was incredible. She had trained herself to ignore pain, and focus herself. But the effort was incredibly taxing, and she had had to fight through it to get here. But at last she could start to relax.

  “Good. It will take time for your legs to heal enough to put weight on. Why don’t you all go somewhere to stay for the night?”

  “Shouldn’t we stay here?” Alrion said.

  “And where is here?” Lara said.

  “This town? Highroad. There’s nothing more you can do, and I don’t need more people underfoot. I prefer a quiet home. Your friend will be quite safe,” Beatrix said.

  “We can’t thank you enough. Why did you help us?” Alrion said.

  “That amulet is very special. It would not have been handed over to you otherwise. Let’s talk more tomorrow,” Beatrix said. She walked off to the edge of the room pointing them back to the front door.

  “We will return at first light,” Alrion said.

  “I’ll have to wake you up for that to be true,” Lara said. The group had a bit of a laugh then left. Alyx heard the door close and footsteps return.

  “Just me. I’ll bring you some water, then you should sleep. Your body needs that more than anything else right now,” Beatrix said. Alyx nodded, it was too much effort to talk again. But the Healer seemed to understand that. Alyx closed her eyes, and the padding of returning footsteps alerted her.

  “Here, drink slowly,” Beatrix said. Alyx forced herself to drink slowly, even though she was incredibly parched. The water was cool and delicious. She felt like she noticed a slight aftertaste though.

  “Sleep well. I’ll be upstairs and I’ll check on you later tonight,” Beatrix said. Alyx was about to nod off, but forced out a few words.

  “I am in your debt,” she said.

  “No, you are not. You have bigger problems than worrying about repaying me. Rest, and we can talk more tomorrow,” Beatrix said. Alyx couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer and fell into a deep sleep.

  Alyx heard footsteps padding closer to her on the soft carpet.

  Oh, it’s Beatrix checking on me, she thought. She listened out for any words of comfort or reassurance but Beatrix was strangely silent.

  That’s odd.

  She was too tired to worry about small details like that. She felt a metallic cup pressed up against her lips.

  Beatrix could at least warn me.

  Alyx started to sip on the contents when she caught a whiff of something. She lashed out her hand and grabbed Beatrix’s arm. The fluid spilled everywhere and Alyx’s eyes shot open.

  “D … Darkroot,” Alyx stammered and looked at Beatrix in surprise. It was dark in the room and Beatrix was strangely silent. But struggling against the firm grip that Alyx had.

  “You’re. Not. Going. Anywhere,” Alyx said, digging her nails in harder. As her eyes adjusted to the surroundings she saw that the dark shape before her didn’t look like Beatrix.

  “Who are you?” Alyx said. She started to feel her stomach churn. How much of the Darkroot had she drunk? Was this an assassin? The figure continued to struggle and started to change tactics. It reached over to drag Alyx off the couch. Alyx couldn’t stop it, but tried to break her fall as well as possible. The figure started kicking her, using the leverage to break her grip. Arcs of pain shot through her arm, but she dismissed it. She had dealt with worse. And this was a matter of life and death.

  “This is going to hurt,” she told herself, and lashed out her legs
. They were not responsive, given their stiffness and burns. But they did obey, and her assailant didn’t notice them coming. She managed to trip over the assassin and roll over on top of it and pinned down one of its arms.

  A sliver of light through the window illuminated its face. It looked like a man, probably Tainted. He had dark hair and black clothes. His face was snarling and she noticed some black marks on his face.

  “Tainted? Who sent you?” she said.

  “You know the answer to that. I won’t let you take me,” the Tainted said. He used his free hand to pull out a dagger and swung it at Alyx. She saw it coming, threw out her hand and stopped it just in time. She was staring at the point of the blade. They struggled, the Tainted trying to drive the dagger home and Alyx trying to drive it away. Her strength was not what it used to be, and she felt a thrumming and shuddering inside her.

  Cursed Blight. Or Darkroot. Or both, she thought. The Tainted smiled a cruel grin, victory on his face.

  “Not today,” Alyx said. She brought her leg up and kneed the Tainted in the crotch. He cried out and Alyx used the distraction to force the dagger down into the Tainted’s chest.

  Panting, Alyx rolled off him. She turned her head to look over, and he appeared to be dying.

  That’s a shame, but I couldn’t take the chance.

  The effort had reignited the flaming pain in her legs, and her breathing was laboured.

  “Beatrix!” Alyx shouted, then blacked out.

  Alyx opened her eyes again. She tried to sit up, remembering what had happened. She was restrained and she looked around frantically. Beatrix was seated on a chair next to the couch.

  “What’s going on?” Alyx said.

  “You mustn’t move. That will help the Darkroot spread,” Beatrix said.

  “Do you have an antidote?”

  “I’m making one. But it’s not perfect, and time is against us. Hopefully you didn’t consume too much.”

  “I noticed what it was immediately,” Alyx said. She started coughing. Beatrix put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

  “You did well, I’m impressed that you survived that attack. What’s going on here? I’ve never seen Tainted so aggressively pursuing someone already infected,” Beatrix said. She gave Alyx a pointed look.

  “We can explain later. But Alrion is the key. I don’t matter, as long as he makes it,” Alyx said.

  “He doesn’t seem to believe that, based on his behaviour before. What’s so special about him?”

  “That’s his story to tell.”

  “Fair enough. You know what’s going to happen to you, right?” Beatrix said.

  “With the poison?”

  “No, with the Blight. You don’t have a lot of time. You need that amulet,” Beatrix said. She pointed and Alyx realised that she was wearing it again.

  “What can you tell me about it?”

  “Nothing. It’s a secret. Just keep it close. You’re going to need all the help you can get. Have some rest. We can talk more in the morning. Unless you think there’ll be another attack?”

  “I doubt it. They seem to be more concerned with slowing us down.”

  “Very well. Sleep,” Beatrix said. She placed a hand on Alyx’s forehead, then walked away. Alyx watched her walk away then let herself drift off again.

  Yet again I had a chance to die, but did not. What’s my fate? Why am I still here? She thought as sleep took her.

  “What’s going on?” Alrion said. The concern in his voice was obvious. Alyx awoke and looked around. Everyone seemed to be back, and Alrion was talking to Beatrix.

  “There was an attacker overnight. I have kept the body in the next room. She was poisoned with Darkroot, but I’m not sure how much. I’ve been working on an antidote, which I can administer soon,” Beatrix said. She kept her cool in the face of Alrion’s emotion.

  “What does it do? The Darkroot?” he said.

  “It kills,” Alyx said. She could feel her temperature rising, and knew that the poison was doing something.

  “Slowly, so we have time. You needn’t worry I haven’t seen any warning signs yet,” Beatrix said. She left the room and Alrion rushed over to Alyx.

  “I’m so sorry. Who did this?”

  “Not sure, you should go look. He looked like a Tainted, from what I saw,” Alyx said. She wanted to say more but started coughing.

  “It’s all my fault. Ever since you’ve been with us you’ve suffered,” Alrion said.

  “It’s not on you, it’s just the journey we are on. I signed up to this you know. Let the Healer do her work,” Alyx said.

  “You’re wearing the amulet again,” Lara said.

  “Yes, Beatrix said it would help. But she wouldn’t say more. Incredibly frustrating,” Alyx said.

  “I think there’s a connection between them,” Lara said.

  “Perhaps. The amulet did seem to be important. Why don’t you take a look at the attacker and see what you can find out?” Alyx said. She needed a break from all the attention, and was curious about the man. She’d never had anyone try and assassinate her in her sleep before. And she wondered why she had been targeted.

  It must be because I’m already injured.

  If that was the case, then the objective was definitely to slow them down.

  Going to so much effort to capture us. It must mean a great deal, Alyx thought. But she was too tired to puzzle it out further. She heard noise from the other room.

  “What is it?” she said as loudly as she could. Lara and Alrion rushed back.

  “Are you sure?” Alrion said to Lara.

  “No doubt about that. That’s the Tainted one that escaped from the fight. The one that we thought was advising the leader.”

  “He’s a sneaky one. Anything else unusual?” Alrion said.

  “He had a strange mark on his hand.”

  “I’ll go take a look,” Vincent said. He had been sitting quietly in the corner and Alyx hadn’t even noticed his presence. Beatrix entered swiftly, going directly to Alyx.

  “Drink this quickly,” she said. It was a white liquid in a small vial. Alyx sat up as much as possible and drank down the liquid. It was thick and milky but had no real flavour. She eased back down with a sigh.

  “That’s the antidote?” Alyx said.

  “Close enough to one. It should purge all traces of the poison. But it will take a day or so for you to be considered safe,” Beatrix said.

  “I’m not comfortable with that,” Alyx said.

  “We can discuss it later. For now, you need to rest. I’m going to see what my father thinks about the attacker,” Alrion said. He strode off into the next room.

  “You know, I think they got more than they bargained for. They’ve thrown a monster at you, burned you, and tried to poison you. But you’re still alive and kicking,” Lara said.

  “Still here.”

  “I’m glad that you are. But I’m beginning to think you can’t be killed!” Lara said, a smile breaking out on her face. Alyx appreciated the attempt at humour, even though she was exhausted.

  “If only to frustrate them, I will live on,” Alyx said. She felt a coolness slowly washing over her. Hopefully the antidote was working. At least she felt a little better.

  This better not be for nothing. I don’t want to be healed just for the Blight to take me, Alyx thought. She looked over at Lara. A strange girl, but very skilled and very intelligent. She seemed familiar too. Alyx couldn’t shake the thought.

  I’ll ask her about it later. For now, she had to sleep again. Her body needed to focus on its recovery.

  15

  THE TRACKER’S STAND

  “There’s no doubt about it now,” Tarren said. He slowed down and started walking slowly.

  “You mean about them tracking you?” Celes said.

  “Yes. Once they had reason to suspect me, there was not much I could do. They know I’m not on this assignment, and I’m operating on my own. They will attack soon.”

  “How do you know?”
>
  “Because they are collectively blocking me. They don’t want me to know they’re coming.”

  “Do we need to make a stand?” Celes didn’t like where this was going. First, Tarren had detected something dark going after Alrion. And now, they were under attack too.

  “That would increase our chances of survival.”

  “Can we make it to Rolyntide? That’s the next town, right?”

  “I would not advise it. We would have to push hard to make it before we were attacked, and maybe we would not make it in time. And then we would be tired and in a poor position.”

  “That’s a good point. I also wouldn’t want to endanger innocents unnecessarily.”

  “They will not restrain themselves for anything. You must take that into account.”

  “So, let’s find a place we can defend. Do you know this area at all?”

  “Not well. We have to assume that we can’t hide. And if we stop moving they will approach with caution. The only thing we have working for us, is that they don’t know how many we are.”

  “Really? They won’t expect you to be alone?”

  “No. It would be very strange for me to act independently like this without some sort of other party involved.”

  “I would have thought if you knew what Alrion was up to, you would seek him out anyway.”

  “That is true, I am certainly dissatisfied enough to do so. But they will not think that. They are suspicious and in this case, they are right.”

  “Alright that’s settled. Let’s find a place where we have a fighting chance.”

  “Agreed. Let us travel a little slower and look for appropriate locations.” Tarren walked at a normal pace and seemed preoccupied. Celes looked at their surroundings. They were travelling alongside a small forest. That had potential as a way to thin out any attackers.

  “Do you think they will attack at night?”

  “They prefer to. But they will know I can see them. We can’t rule out an earlier strike.”