Into Darkness

10

As he expected, one of the thirteen ravens left the others to follow him as he quickly made his way through the woods. It flew through the forest, weaving in and out among the branches as if they weren’t even there to get out ahead of him, and then with a quick flutter of its black wings settled on a branch to wait for him to pass underneath. As he did, it would turn its head to look down at him with one black, glossy eye.

The bird’s black eyes reminded him of the eyes of the Glee. It was wearisome the way there was always someone or something watching them so that they were never completely alone, to know instead that they were always being observed for any sign of weakness and for the right time to attack.

He knew that if he wanted to, he could kill the raven—what he had done before with the bow was just to show the others that these were not merely wild ravens so that they would be on alert—but he also knew that killing it would accomplish nothing, so he didn’t want to reveal his ability before it became necessary.

Besides, the animal itself was innocent. It was merely being used, much the same way the goddess looked through the eyes of unsuspecting people. He actually rather liked ravens, although they were often quite noisy.

Richard was happy to find that the snowshoes made for much easier progress over the snow. They weren’t perfect, but they worked. Rather than his legs sinking in with each step, he could simply walk on the surface almost as well as he could on the bare ground.

He didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of it the day before as they had struggled to make their way up the mountain to the notch he’d spotted. He guessed that he was letting himself become too focused with worry of what was going on and with what he had been hoping would be their way out. He supposed that he simply wasn’t thinking straight.

He reprimanded himself that such lapses could be fatal. They were in a lot of trouble, more trouble than any of the others realized, and he needed to think clearly. That was the only thing that was going to save them.

He wasn’t concerned about leaving the rest of them back at camp. He knew they weren’t in danger there. The danger was in that fortress town built across the pass. That was where the spider waited at the center of this web.

They had discovered that to the left of the fortress town in the pass the boundary blocked their way. He needed to see if there was a way around the pass on the other side so that they could make it to the Wizard’s Keep without having to go into that fortress. He had to know if they had a choice or if the boundary continued on to the right of the town.

As the day wore on, he continued to push, making more progress than he ever could have if he had let Kahlan and the others come with him. Kahlan never complained about the physical challenges, but with her being pregnant it was difficult for her to push as hard as she would like to or as hard as he could alone. Before she had become pregnant with the twins, he would never have had any doubt that she could keep up with him. At times, if anything, he had trouble keeping up with her. But he knew that now she couldn’t.

When he finally made it above the tree line, he stopped and turned back to see the raven sitting on a bare limb, watching him. He turned and started ahead, panting with the effort and the thin air at this altitude.

After a time, he paused and with a hand shielded his eyes from the bright sunlight as he scanned the mountainside. While the place he spotted was far from ideal, and he knew it likely wouldn’t be a way they could cross the mountains, he headed for the spot anyway, because it would serve his purpose to confirm what he suspected. In such a life-and-death situation, he dared not leave any stone—or escape route—unturned.

It was sometime in the mid-afternoon when he had to remove his snowshoes to start climbing bare rock that had been blown mostly clean of snow by the howling winds. At least those winds were now calm. It was hard climbing, but he was able to keep going without stopping to rest. Some of the places were so high that he had to jump and grab an edge with his fingers and then pull himself up. After such places, he had to lie on his back and catch his breath in the thin air.

His legs ached, and the altitude was not only causing him to become easily winded, it was starting to make him feel sick. The answer, he knew, was to reach the place that would tell him one way or the other what he needed to know, and then he could start back down.

As he pulled himself up and over the top of another ledge, he saw that the way ahead was relatively flat and would be a lot easier walking. As he started across, he could see trackless forests of trees crusted with snow blanketing the slopes beyond, on the way down. It would be impossible to climb down the cliffs on the other side of the place he had reached, but that wasn’t important for now, so he kept going.

Partway across the broad ledge, he abruptly had to stop when the air all around him lit with green light. Another careful step and the wall of green appeared all around him.

It was the boundary he expected to find but had hoped he wouldn’t. He found no joy in confirmation that he had been right.

Richard backed away from the boundary until it became invisible again and he could see beyond, then sat down on a knee-high section of ledge. He put his face in his hands, disheartened at the discovery. He had known the boundary would in all likelihood be there. Finding it removed all hope that they could avoid what he knew waited for them in that fortress built across the pass.

When he looked up, he spotted the mountain lion sitting on its haunches some distance away, its color making it blend in well with the rock. When their gazes met, the animal rose up, stretched, arching its back with its paws stretched out in front. Long, sharp claws came out from its paws as it stretched, scraping across the rock. The big cat stared at him the whole time.

Richard lifted his sword a few inches to make sure it was clear as he stared back at the sleek creature. He let the weapon drop back in its scabbard, sending a clear message of his own.

“Tell your mistress that I’m coming for her,” he called out to the mountain lion.

The creature stared at him for a moment longer, then turned and trotted off.

Richard knew who it was going back to.

He now knew for certain that they had no choice.