A Sea of Shields

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Alistair walked beside Erec, each holding their horse by its reins, a dozen Silver behind them. She was thrilled to finally be dismounted and have some time to walk quietly with Erec. This journey, heading south so that they could embark for the Southern Isles, had been taxing, most of all because Alistair hadn’t had much quiet time with Erec. Now, finally, she and Erec walked out in front, the two of them alone, walking close to each other. They had all ridden most of the way, but as they reached this narrow mountain pass, they had all dismounted to walk with the horses, the trail too rocky, the fall-off too steep in either direction.

Alistair welcomed the break, welcomed the opportunity to be able to walk beside Erec, to finally have a chance to speak with him without the sound of galloping horses in their ears. There was so much she had wanted to say to him. Most of all, she just wanted to be close to him. She was a bit nervous about leaving the Ring, crossing the ocean, about the huge adventure that lay ahead of them. They’d be leaving her homeland, entering a foreign kingdom. Would his people like her?

Alistair felt as if she never had a chance to spend time alone with Erec, to get really close to him—there were always some events coming in between them. And now that they were finally alone, there were so many things she wanted to ask him. So many, in fact, that her mind froze up, and she could think of none.

That was okay, though; just being with him in the silence was enough.

As they walked side by side, Alistair was awestruck by the vista that spread out before them. She looked out at sweeping valleys and ridges, lit beneath the beautiful summer suns, fields of tall, orange grasses swaying in the wind. How incredibly beautiful the Ring was, she thought, especially now, in summer, entire valleys filled with trees of every color. It was a place of incredible bounty, of such prosperity and peace. A part of her never wanted to leave.

Alistair felt overwhelmed with conflicting emotions as she thought back to all she was leaving behind. Her brother, Thorgrin, just as she was beginning to know him. A part of her wanted desperately to seek out her mother, too.

There was also her new sister-in-law and friend, Gwendolyn. Alistair had been looking forward to her wedding so much, and a huge part of her wanted to stay behind and be there for it, as she had promised Gwendolyn. She felt as if she were letting both her and her brother down.

What bothered Alistair most of all was her premonition, no matter how hard she tried to shake it, that terrible things were coming for the Ring. She tried to ignore it, to discard it as nonsense. After all, the Ring had never been more secure. What bad could possibly come here?

Alistair reached over to take Erec’s hand, and as she did, she could feel the warmth coming off of it, and she knew, above all, she had to be here, by her husband’s side. She wanted to be here. Despite everything, there was nowhere else she wanted to be. Her people needed her, but her husband needed her more—and she would not be happy if she were not by his side.

Erec squeezed her hand.

“Thank you for coming with me,” he said. “It is a journey I would not wish to take without you. I can’t wait for you to meet my people.”

Erec smiled at her, and she smiled back as she held his hand. It was the right decision. After all, his father was dying, and it was past time for him to return to his homeland. And once they reached the Southern Isles, they would marry. Nothing meant more to Alistair than that.

“I would journey with you to the ends of the earth, my lord,” she replied.

They walked until the trail forked, and they all came to a stop. To the left, atop the ridge they had been walking, the path continued—but it also forked to the right, sharply down, curving off in a different direction.

Erec and his men all began to take the path downward, but Alistair stopped in her tracks, her entire body suddenly feeling cold. Her eyes opened wide as she sensed something—a powerful feeling. She stood there, frozen.

Finally, Erec and the men realized, and they all stopped, too, and turned and looked at her.

Erec looked at her with concern.

“What is it, my lady?” he asked.

Alistair looked down in terror at the trail they were about to embark on.

“We cannot go down there,” she said. “The trail is not safe.”

“What do you mean, my lady?” one of the Silver said. “This trail has been traveled for centuries. And against warriors such as us, no thieves stand a chance.”

Alistair stared at the trail, and she did not back down. She felt something off.

“I do not know what it is,” she replied, “but I know it is not safe. If you take that path, you will die.”

They all turned and looked down at the trail, wondering, skeptical.

Erec walked over to her and took her hand. He faced the men.

“If my lady says the trail is unsafe, then it is unsafe. We shall follow her.”

“But my lord,” one of them protested, “that trail offers the most direct way to the ship. To go another way would lose us days. We could miss the ship. And for what? A premonition?”

Erec’s jaw tightened in Alistair’s defense.

“I said we shall not take that trail,” Erec repeated firmly.

Erec turned and, taking Alistair’s hand, forked to the upper trail. Reluctantly, all his men fell in behind him.

As they walked, Erec squeezed her hand, leaned over, and whispered in Alistair’s ear: “I trust you, my lady.”

Alistair was about to reply, but before she could, suddenly, there came a great rumbling. They all turned and looked below, and they watched as there suddenly came a tremendous rockslide, huge boulders separating from the steep mountain ridge, rolling down. In moments, they completely filled the trail below them—the trail they all would have been on had they chosen the opposite fork just moments before.

They all stopped and turned to Alistair in awe.

She could feel all the eyes on her. They all knew that if they had gone the other way, right now, they would all be dead.

Alistair didn’t know where her power came from. A part of her did not want to know.

Was it even greater than she could ever imagine?