Sentinelspire

Chapter Thirty

25 Tarsakh, the Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR) Sentinelspire

The door between the balcony and the room opened, and for a moment it was Lewan's mother who stood there, outlined by fire.

Death comes. When death comes for you, you must see clearly. You must not run. You must find your courage.

But then the dream faded. His mother was gone-many years gone-and it was Ulaan standing there, the thick fur coverlet from the bed wrapped around her shoulders, a dim, flickering light outlining her. Not the light of burning thatch and timber-she had lit a lamp in the room behind her, its yellow glow weak and guttering from the wind of the storm.

"What's happening?" asked Lewan as he struggled to bring his mind out of the dream and back into the world around him.

"The Fortress is under attack." Ulaan's voice held a slight tremble.

"Attack? I-?"

"Those horns are the call to arms," she said. "Please come inside, Lewan. We should lock the doors."

Lewan stood and gathered his blankets. He was dripping wet, his hair sodden and clinging to his forehead, and his blankets were heavy with water. How had he slept through such a storm? Still, his body felt strangely hot. Not fevered, for he felt strong and full of vigor. "Lewan, please come inside."

He did, and Ulaan pushed the balcony doors closed behind him. Lewan's mind still felt foggy.

The knob of the hallway door rattled, startling Lewan. Finding the door locked, whoever was on the outside pounded on the heavy wood. "Open!"

Lewan recognized Sauk's voice.

"Open the door or I'll kick the damned thing down!" said Sauk.

Lewan looked to Ulaan. She stood very still, huddled up to her chin in the blanket, a look on her face like a denned rabbit who can hear the fox coming down the hole.

"Stay here," said Lewan, though he wasn't sure where else she could go.

He walked to the door, raised the iron crossbar, and twisted the latch that opened the main lock. He reached for the knob, but the door flew open before he could twist it. The edge of it caught him in the knee as Sauk pushed his way in. The half-orc's skin was flushed, his hair and clothes wet, and he held his short sword in one hand.

"You're wet," said Sauk, looking Lewan up and down. "And already dressed, I see. Well and good. You're about to get wetter." He grabbed the front of Lewan's shirt and dragged him from the room.

"My boots!" Lewan protested.

"No time," said Sauk, and threw Lewan in front of him. When Lewan tried to stop, Sauk pushed him onward.

"Lewan!" Ulaan called. He looked back and saw her standing in the open doorway.

"Go inside and bar the door!" he said, then Sauk pushed him round the bend in the hallway. Even if the half-orc had not held two feet of naked steel in his hand, Lewan knew he would be no match for Sauk, so he went along. "Where are you taking me?" he asked.

"Out," said Sauk.

"Why? What's going on?"

"Someone made it inside the walls," said Sauk as they walked down the stairs. Sauk took them two at a time and saw to it that Lewan did the same. "Got through the guardians on the mountain and inside the tunnels. Took out the guards we set-either killed 'em or hurt 'em so bad that they wished they were dead." A feral smile lit the half-orc's face. A wolf's smile. "Only two people alive know the tricks of the tunnels and could do all that."

"I don't understand. Who-?"

"Me, for one."

"And the other?"

"Kheil."

"Kheil is dead."

Sauk snorted. "Berun, then."

"Berun died too. You saw it yourself."

They reached the main floor and Sauk forced them into a slow run. "That man cheated death once already," he said. "Looks like he's back again. Damned if Talieth wasn't right."

The obvious question hit Lewan then. "Why drag me out?" He gave Sauk's short sword a meaningful look.

Sauk stopped at the door. Hand on the lever, he turned and grinned at Lewan. "Kheil's a killer, a hunter. You want to catch a hunter, you put out the thing he's hunting."

"You mean bait," said Lewan.

"I mean you." Sauk pulled open the door and dragged Lewan out into the storm.

They were not alone. A group of five, cloaked against the weather, waited for them at the bottom of the stairs.

Talieth stepped forward and eyed Lewan, but she spoke to Sauk. "Did you have to drag him out bootless?"

"You said hurry," said Sauk. "I hurried."

"No matter." She looked to Lewan, her hood up against the rain. The lamps set to either side of the door gave off ample light, and he could see her face, could see the regal look she turned on him. It was not the look of a benevolent queen, but of a ruler ready and eager to pronounce judgment. "What happened on the mountainside today," she said, "what you saw, what you were told. We will speak of it later. At length. For now, you're with us."

"I won't help you capture him." There. Lewan had said it, though it took all of his courage. He half expected to be slapped, maybe even beaten to submission and tossed over Sauk's shoulder.

Instead, Talieth turned to face him and said, "I'm not out to capture your master, Lewan. I'm out to stop him from doing more foolishness. He's already killed several of my men. I'm hoping that your presence will be a… calming influence upon him."

"But," said Sauk, and he laid the full weight of one hand on Lewan's shoulder, "you are coming with us. One way or the other. Don't make it the hard way."

"Truly spoken," said Talieth, and she turned away. Her men followed in her wake. Sauk pushed Lewan after her, and he followed. For now.?+++++

The first sight of the Tower of the Sun only increased Lewan's fear. The physical layout of the Tower seemed unchanged since the last time he'd looked upon it. But something set Lewan's teeth on edge, almost as if the Tower hummed at an octave just out of his range of hearing. It had a…presence to it. Something inside that tower was watching him.

As they drew closer, Lewan saw the lights. Like bits of mist that glowed, the lights filled the garden in the courtyard below the Tower. Lewan had no gift for the arcane, but even he could recognize magic of this magnitude. Some of the lights were no larger than fireflies, but some were big as faces, and they seemed all too watchful as they wafted soundlessly through the boughs and climbed the Tower like sparks lifted by the heat of a fire.

"I don't like this," one of the guards muttered.

"Be silent," Talieth ordered him. She led the way round the wall to the main gate.

Six men stood before the entrance, and Lewan could see the eldritch lights reflecting off bare steel in their hands. Talieth walked up to them, and they bowed before her.

"Lady Talieth," said one of them-a pale-haired man with a rapier. His bow deepened, but he did not put away the blade.

"Erluk, is it?" said Talieth.

"Yes, my lady. At your service."

"Why are you here? Has the Old Man ordered you to stand watch?"

"No, my lady. When we heard the alarm-"

"You were to take your stations." She cast her gaze over the other men. "All of you. So I ask you again: why are you here?"

Two of the men looked down at their feet, but the others only stiffened, and Lewan saw one of them flexing his hand around a thick dagger. This did not bode well.

"Forgive me, Lady Talieth," said Erluk. "We thought it best to see to the Old Man's safety."

"You thought it best?" said Talieth.

"Yes. I did."

Erluk held her gaze, and by the looks her guards gave, Lewan knew he was not the only one to notice the omitted my lady.

"The Old Man rules the Fortress," said Talieth, "and the Tower is his inviolate domain. But order the blades of Sentinelspire. As you can see, I have brought men to guard the Tower. You men will go to your stations. Now."

"Our place is here," said one of the men behind Erluk. "Is it?" said Talieth.

Erluk opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, Sauk struck. The half-orc thrust Lewan aside and brought his short sword down into the space where Erluk's neck joined his shoulder. The sheer force of the blow slammed Erluk to the ground. His comrades were so stunned that Sauk's follow-through, a backhand strike, beheaded the man stepping away from Erluk before the others had even raised their weapons.

It was over in moments. Talieth's guards struck down three others, almost with ease, while a sole survivor fled for the open gate. He made it no more than a half-dozen steps before a dusky shadow hit him from behind. Taaki bore the man to the ground with her claws. Her jaws grabbed the screaming man by the back of his neck. Lewan heard the bone snap and the man went limp.

Talieth had barely moved through the entire confrontation. She looked at the six corpses lying in pools of blood and said, "Throw them in the foliage and take your positions. Lewan, you are with me."