When I pulled away, I vowed, “I will return quickly,rei kassiri.”
My love.
She closed her eyes, breathing deeply, and I knew that I could not waste another moment.
Mypyroki, Okan, raced towards me, as if sensing my need for him. When I swung onto his back, as mydarukkarsswarmed around us, I ordered Valavik, “Stay here. Find a break in the fog towards the west edge and get the horde out,lysi?”
He knew better than to argue. He understood that he was responsible for the horde in my absence.
“I will,Vorakkar.”
“And watch over her!”
Those words ground out from me as I looked at my Mina for the last time. Her green eyes seemed to glow as they met mine, knowing mingling with her pain.
“Go,” she whispered. But I heard her voice as if she’d whispered it into my ear.
“Darukkars!” I bellowed, wheeling Okan around towards the Dead Mountain, the Dead Valley spread before us, clear and open. It was a straight path, unhindered by fog. “Vir drak!”
The war cries rose up.
Fierce determination, unlike anything I’d felt before, rose up in me with them.
And we rode for the Dead Mountain.
Chapter Fifty-One
“Do not harm thevekkiri,” I growled, “unless they threaten your life. We need to be quick. Find ourdarukkarsand then get them back to the horde!”
The thunderous booms of dozens ofdarukkarsdismounting from theirpyrokismomentarily shook the earth. Before us lay the entrance to the Dead Mountain, that yawning, gaping mouth that led to blackness.
I cast a look over my shoulder though I had lost sight of Mina with the widening distance. All I saw was night behind me.
Yet, the fog had not returned. That alone told me she still stood strong. It lingered, high over our heads, even beyond the top of the Dead Mountain, like a thick band of clouds. I saw one or twodarukkarscasting it wary looks but I couldseethe strength of Mina’s barrier as it kept the fog back.
“Hurry,” I bit out, scraping the blade of my sword over myVorakkarcuffs, as Okan stomped beside me, discomforted by being so close to the Dead Mountain. As if my beast could sense something sickened about the place.
We surged into the entrance tunnel, silent and quick, heads constantly moving, eyes constantly scanning for the barest hint of motion.
I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know what we would find. Neither did thedarukkars.
The lower levels of the Ghertun’s kingdom were a mystery to me, though I remembered the path Mina had taken when she led me from the darkness. And so I retraced it, veering left towards a long tunnel to access the stairs that led us down. And down. And down.
One of thedarukkarsdragged a torch across the wall with a quick snap and a small flame burst to life, lighting our way. Dozens of booted feet on stone sounded and echoed but I didn’t worry that it would give us away.
Let them hear us, I thought.
Determination filled me. Every beat of my heart reminded me that precious time was wasting away. Every second we lingered was another second that myMorakkariwould suffer.Thatwas motivation enough to end this quickly.
A familiar floor greeted me. A familiar hallway, though it was deathly silent. I motioned for mydarukkarsto follow and we charged quickly down it, moving as one, inspecting every darkened space and empty room we came upon with efficiency and speed.
Soon, I saw the door that once led to my prison. The door was wide open, hanging off one of its hinges. I peered inside, my jaw tightening when I saw the dark stain ofvekkiriblood, where Benn had bled and pissed on the floor. I saw the table I’d been chained to, toppled over on one end since I’d cut through the stone leg with the blackened Dakkari steel chains.
No one was in sight.
With a churning gut, I motioned thedarukkarsforward, leaving that empty prison behind. I caught a multitude of different scents as we went farther down the hall, which led to a dead end. When we went back, I traced the scents up the staircase and down another long corridor. We passed a well, where I saw mold-ridden clothes tacked to the walls, as if they’d been hung to dry after washing. A basin was toppled over and when I peered into the well, I saw that it had run dry.
The scents I caught led to a room. A room where I saw torn hides and thin furs spread on the rocky floor. Another room just beyond that smelled of rotting meat.
