Splintered Fate Read online

  Days blurred together as they traveled through the southernwoods, the grasslands and forests until they reached the northern mountains of Lana’s homelands. Donn would leave them whenever they came close to a town in order to gather some supplies. Otherwise they all stayed together on their path to Alogrin.

  Lana enjoyed the journey, the beautiful woods and forest that surrounded them felt like home. She felt safely concealed by the forest, finding comfort in the company she traveled with.

  Staring at the view from the mountain side, Lana rubbed her tender shoulder. It was a beautiful scene, peaceful even. The rising sun was casting a painting over the sky of blue, pink, and orange, blending around white streaks of cloud. The green of the rolling hills surrounding the mountain was beginning to show as the sun's rays crept up on them. In the distance a hawk was silently gliding in the sky amongst the hills.

  "I'm sorry about your shoulder."

  Lana flinched at the sudden sound, disrupting her moment of peace. She turned to Kaiden who now stood at her side, watching her hand as she rubbed her throbbing shoulder. He was worried about injuring her in their sparring practice the other night.

  Lana gave him a small smile, dropping her hand from her sholder. "It's no big deal." She didn’t want him feeling guilty over it, nor did she want to seem weak.

  The rising sun hit Kaiden’s blue eyes in the most perfect way, making them seem even bluer, sparkling like blue diamonds. He was so handsome, his light colored eyes, tanned flesh, strong arms. She had to remind herself not to stare whenever catching glimpses of him hunting, building fires, working with Alex, or even riding a horse.

  Peeling her eyes from him, Lana turned to the serene scene around them. Following her lead, Kaiden also looked out at the view but then turned his sights back on Lana.

  "What were you thinking of up here?" he asked. Such an easy question. If only it beckoned for an easy answer. Lana was trying to enjoy the beauty of the world while her mind began to race.

  "I was thinking of my people... It's incredibly beautiful and peaceful here, I almost feel guilty enjoying it.” She sighed. “I left them, my people, at a time when they need me. To go on this journey to maybe find help. I left them in danger, under the influence of great evil, for something I am not even sure of."

  Lana fought to hide the emotions that had suddenly surfaced. She had not told anyone what Ardin had shared with her about Arkhip. She worried for those she had left behind, hoping that her General could hold everything together in her absence. Not only that but she worried for the people she traveled with, how long could they be safe on this journey?

  Kaiden's hands reached around Lana's arms, turning her to face him. The pressure under his hand caused her shoulder to throb but she didn’t flinch, not wanting him to release her.

  "You are an amazing leader. All that you are doing is for your people. You could have stayed, buried your father, lead the war, which would have been the easy option. It is easy to hold on to what you had been given and not take risks. But you acted. You left a General, knowledgeable of war, in charge and left to go find help to fight a different war. To some day make a better life for the people of these lands. You are brave and a skilled fighter, getting better by the day." It astonished Lana how he could go from an easygoing lighthearted guy to serious so quickly.

  She stared at the Rami standing before her. Wanting to just fall into him, to let him wrap his arms around her, but she didn’t. She would not allow herself to fall apart. Her mind was racing with not only thoughts of her people but of Kaiden too.

  For this entire journey she had been trying to avoid the way her stomach fluttered when he smiled at her or the way she always seemed to almost lean towards him when he was near. But this couldn’t happen, not right now. For the two of them to care about each other would make them huge targets for their enemies and possibly end the only true friendship outside of Ardin she had left.

  "Thank you." Lana managed to say softly before turning to leave. She had to get away, return to the others.

  "Lana." Kaiden called for her. Her heart nearly skipped a beat with his voice saying her name.

  She turned back to Kaiden's blue eyes.

  "What do you think of Donn?" He asked.

  "Donn?" Lana almost didn’t understand, unsure of where this question came from. "I don’t know much about him. I met him the day... the day I saw you but I think he is a nice old man, perhaps a little strange. Why?"

  "Well, we have been zig zagging around this mountain for a week now. Doesn't Donn know where he is taking us?"

  "I don’t know, but I don’t think he is dangerous.” Lana paused at the thought before adding, “He warned us of your brother."

  "Who we never even saw."

  "You think he lied?" There was an uncomfortable feeling that accompanied this conversation. Lana did not like where this was going.

  "I don’t know why he would, what his reasons may be, but I don't trust him."

  "He hasn't given me a reason to question his intent." Suddenly she felt the need to defend Donn.

  "But what is his intent? Why is he helping us when it’s dangerous to do so?"

  Lana was beginning to feel agitated, she liked the old man. A part of her found him mysterious and maybe a little dangerous but she had grown to trust him. He would never harm them. She believed that.

  "He is one of my people... He grew up in Gorthyn. I think he knows a lot and perhaps pretends not to but I don’t think he is trying to mislead us, certainly not act as a threat to us."

  “I know you are fond of the children, especially the little girl and her little Aorra, but children can be used as a tactic to mislead.”

  “Donn wouldn’t do that!” She snapped.

  “Can you be certain?”

  “That’s enough. Do you have some sort of proof?” Lana grew angry. Kaiden did not respond. “Enough of this unless there is evidence suggesting that Donn shouldn’t be trusted. What are your intentions for helping, Kaiden?”

  Kaiden stared at her with no response. She did not wait for one before turning to head back to the group. The sound of his footsteps followed her back to the camp.

  Lana couldn’t help but begin to think over the past several weeks in her mind. Analyzing everything that had to do with Donn. The truth was that the old man was a total mystery to her. He never shared much yet seemed wiser than she had initially thought. But she had always felt safe with him and before this day she didn’t think she had a reason to question him. Could she really have been so gullible? Lana wished Kaiden had never said anything to her of his distrust of Donn.

  When Lana and Kaiden finally joined the others there was a silent heaviness in the air that was impossible to ignore. Immediately Lana began gathering her things. Following her cue, everyone sprang to action, packing and doing his or her part to get going.

  Over time the group had created an unspoken routine to quickly get everything, mount their horses, and get going. They had become quite efficient in the art of getting on the road. As a team they worked well together, she had thought they trusted eachother.

  Once everyone was ready and on horseback they began making their way around the mountainside. The group rode in complete silence. Even the children were oddly quiet. Lana figured that they could feel the tension that had suddenly wrapped around the group. Even Ardin had extraordinarily not asked about it.

  Lana tried to think of things to say to break the thick silence but nothing good came to her mind. Her mind constantly wondered back to questions about Donn. How much could she trust him?

  About mid-day Kaiden's voice was the first to break the heavy silence. "Where are we going Donn?"

  "To Alogrin," Donn simply responded.

  "Then why are we walking all over this mountain and in no particular direction?" Kaiden said as he brought his horse to a complete stop. “My brother is not the only good Rami tracker around.”

  Everyone stopped moving along with him. Lana turned her horse around to face them all
. Nadina looked up at Lana with furrowed brows before turning to Donn. Ardin came back from upfront and stood next to Lana’s horse, looking between Donn and Kaiden.

  Lana could feel her cheeks blush with heat at the uncomfortable feeling of the conversation.

  This is what you have been brooding about to yourself all morning? Ardin's gentle thoughts came to Lana's mind and she realized that she had closed him off.

  Kaiden doesn't trust him, I never questioned Donn's intent before. Lana replied to her Aorra.

  A small slow smile spread across Donn's face and Lana was genuinely shocked by the old man’s reaction. "It's about time you two realized!"

  Everyone's gaze focused on the old white bearded man sitting atop his mount, waiting for an explanation. Lana sat on her horse, dumbfounded. Was Kaiden right? She asked herself, shocked. She could see by the children’s confused reactions they too did not know what was going on.

  The sound of steel being unsheathed rang in the air, pulling everyone's attention to Kaiden who was now holding a sword and now on foot.

  "What kind of game are you playing, old man?" He sneered, approaching Donn with several quick strides. There was anger coming off of him in crashing waves. It tore at the silent awkwardness that had been following them, turning it into a storm of unease.

  Lana's eyes grew large, in shock at what was happening. Ardin quickly acted, jumping between Kaiden and Donn's horses growling a small warning towards Kaiden.

  Alex, who had been sitting in front of Donn, had wide eyes of shock. He stared at the sword in Kaiden’s hand as if he were in a trance, unable to pull his eyes from the weapon.

  "Put the sword away, Kaiden." Lana said sternly as she climbed off of her horse, leaving Nadina on top it. Her eyes never left Kaiden. He spun to face her, but kept his blade pointed towards Donn.

  "You have got to be kidding me, the old man basically just told us he had been lying, we can’t trust him and you are protecting-”

  "You are scaring the children, now put it away!" Lana cut him off.

  "It's all right, the boy has reason to mistrust me, if holding that sword makes him feel safer..." Donn interjected as he too dismounted his horse, leaving Alex, and turned his gaze towards Lana ."You know that hawk you have been seeing?"

  Lana nodded, unsure of how he knew that.

  "It's an Aorra, Alogrin’s council is probably debating on whether to let us in or not, they eventually will but in the mean time we must keep moving to keep away from Garin."

  "If that is even true, when were you going to tell us this?” Kaiden said with an edge to his voice.

  Donn shrugged, "no one asked."

  "And you did not feel like volunteering the information?"

  "No fun in that."

  "So you do not know where Alogrin is?" Lana asked.

  Donn smiled "Oh I know where it is... Right here." He raised his hands gesturing to the whole mountain they were riding on for days. "I just don't know how to get in," he added lowly, almost as if he meant to think it to himself.

  Staring at Donn, who was now scratching his white head, Lana shook her head in disbelief. She hoped that they had not been traveling all this time following a crazy old man. A sudden queasy feeling came over her at the thought that all that time may have been just a waist.

  "You said you have been there!" Kaiden almost screamed at the frail old man in frustration.

  Donn let out a small giggle. "But I have... beautiful place it is... I just never knew how to quite get there.”

  Lana watched Donn as he spoke. Is he crazy? She asked, mostly to herself. Ardin did not reply.

  Everyone stood still for a moment, unsure of what to say or do next. Then Ardin suddenly turned away from the discussion. Alert, he looked into the forest. A faint growl rumbled in his throat.

  I don’t think we are alone. He said to Lana.

  She could feel the urgency in her Aorra and not a moment later the ring of her sword being drawn filled the air. All eyes abruptly turned to her.

  "Ardin think's we are being watched." Lana answered, to everyone's questioning eyes. A low growl came from Ardin's chest, vibrating though him. The hair around his neck stood. Kaiden turned his attention to the forest around them, sword still in hand and no longer pointing towards Donn.

  "Garin?" Kaiden whispered in question.

  "No" Donn replied, taking a few steps forward till he stood beside them. "Your brother is a few days behind us."

  An unfamiliar voice came from the dark forest as a figure came into view from behind the trees. "What in the land's name are you doing, Donn? Trying to bring a princess here. You are making quite a mess." It was a Madonian man approaching with seemingly unwashed shaggy dark brown hair. He was clothed in brown fabric. The hilt of a sword he wore on his hip shinned in the light. The man was about Lana's height and thin.

  "Bredin, how nice of you to finally grace us with your presence, I was beginning to think that bird of yours had become blind or dumb… perhaps both.” Donn replied to the strange man, yet again shocking Lana by his harsh response. In their time together he seemed rather docile, never impolite or coarse. Maybe she didn’t know him after all.

  Ardin scanned the forest and growled again. We are surrounded.

  Turning her head, Lana surveyed the woods surrounding them but she couldn’t see or hear anyone. Bredin shifted his attention to Lana, noticing her scanning the forest around. When she brought her attention back to him she realized his eyes were locked on her.

  "Smart little princess. Yes, you are surrounded."

  Is he talking to me? Princess? Lana thought as she tightened her grip on her sword. Who does he think he is?

  "I am Lana Casteel, member of the Madonian council… not a princess."

  Bredin did not acknowledge Lana's response and instead turned to Donn, speaking in a hushed tone. Lana could feel the anger rise within her. Who did he think he was, to outright ignore her like that? She did not like this Bredin.

  Donn and Bredin spoke a for few moments while Lana and Kaiden exchanged uneasy glances and scanned the perimeter around them. Bredin whistled and men suddenly emerged from the forest, surrounding them.

  "My men will blindfold you and take you into Alogrin.” Bredin spoke to Lana and Kaiden.

  "How are we to leave the city if we do not know how we entered?" Kaiden asked.

  "You, Rami, will leave whenever we let you."

  Kaiden raised his sword to one of Bredin's men when they tried to approach. Ardin added a low growl.

  Slowly, Lana scanned the men around them, she counted maybe ten men and that’s just what she could see. More men could still have been hidden within the forest. There was no getting out of this. She had no idea how many more men they had, plus this was what they came for. Donn trusted these people enough, but did she trust Donn?

  What do you think? Lana asked Ardin.

  I don’t trust him nor the situation, however if they wanted to kill us they would have tried by now. Many do not know that Alogrin exists. Outsiders do not normally enter the ancient city. So I suppose they are extremely careful when they do.

  Lana sheathed her blade and took a step towards Kaiden who was staring intently at the men around them. She could see the strength in his stance, the fearlessness in his eyes. There was no doubt that he was ready to act if need be.

  "Put your sword away." Lana spoke calmly to Kaiden. His blue eyes looked at her in surprise, she continued before he had a chance to retaliate. "They have us outnumbered, Alogrin is a secret, nearly a myth. They don't know or trust us. It is understandable why they would want to keep the entrance protected and a secret."

  Kaiden looked uneasily into Lana's eyes and to her surprise sheathed his sword without a rebuttal.

  "Wise of you to listen to the little princess, Rami." Bredin spoke lamely.

  Lana had to bite her tongue at Bredin’s remark. She was beginning to hate the man in their very short time together.

  "What about Ardin?" Lana asked gesturing to the ha
ndsome white wolf standing alert next to her.

  "Your two Aorra's go in there." Bredin replied to Lana and Nadina nodding toward a small wooden box on wheels that was pulled up from the woods by a horse. It looked too small for Ardin let alone for him to share with Nila too. Lana turned to Bredin in disbelief. As if reading her mind, he added, "All we got” with a shrug.

  Growling in protest, Ardin spun to face Lana. Absolutely not! I am not leaving you outnumbered. I do not trust them. His voice entered her mind and Lana turned to see her Aorra looking up at her before showing his teeth to the surrounding men.

  I too don't like this... but we are surrounded. You said so yourself, if they wanted to kill us they could have already.

  Ardin took a protective step closer to her. Having me separated and locked up would risk less of their own men in a slaughter. I wouldn’t be able to protect you in time.

  This is a risk we have no choice but to make. We chose to travel to Alogrin, this is the price of entrance. We will still be traveling together.

  Ardin released a small whine. Lana brought her hand to his nose. He moved his body so that her hand ran over his head. She could feel the apprehension within her Aorra. They were never separated like this, by force.

  Very well. He said as he turned from her and walked to the wooden box, followed by Nila.

  Lana looked over to Nadina and wondered if she and her Aorra had a similar conversation.

  Donn placed a hand on Lana’s shoulder, bringing his lips to her ear. “You will be before the council of Alogrin and all their advisors when you first get there. This will be your best chance to get them to help, you must use your time wisely. Draw them in. The council doesn’t normally gather with outsiders.” He whispered to her and then turned, walking back to Bredin.

  "Our horses will attach to yours, keeping you with us." Bredin said as Lana walked over to Nadina. The girl stood bravely, seeming on the verge of tears but holding back.