The Sworn Knight by Robert Ryan (novels to read txt) 📕

images came to him then. The thrill of the chase, noseto the ground. And then the discovery that the quarry had separated. The houndhad followed one trail, then raced back to this hollow and followed the other.The girl had gone one way with two men, and the young man had gone another witha woman.

That woman would be the lòhren, and he sensed her behindthis. By all accounts, Faran and Ferla would not have separated. Those two werejoined at the hip.

But why? Was it merely to hinder him? That could be.

The dog kept howling, and Savanest casually backhanded it,sending it reeling. At the same time he pulsed searing pain through the stone,and the were-hound whimpered. That too was annoying, but he dared not punish itfurther. Too much pain could kill, and he needed it alive just now.

This was his fault. He had sent the creature on the scent ofthe whole party. He had not specified any in particular to follow, but all ofthem. He should have anticipated that they might split up though.

Did this mean that they knew he was on their trail? Perhaps,but he was not sure how. They must just guess it. But was that the only reasonto split up? He did not like not knowing. There might be something else goingon, but he had no way of determining how important that was. No, he did notlike that at all.

Who to follow though? That was the question. Or should he dividehis force and try to follow both groups?

He squatted beneath the shade of a bush and thought. The mendid likewise, laying themselves down to rest. Some even prepared to sleep. Theywere soldiers, and took advantage of a break whenever one was available.

The hound glared at him, its dark eyes glimmering. Savanestpaid it no heed.

It was a time to be careful. Lindercroft had made errors,and now his body lay in the earth atop a mountain. Savanest would make no suchmistakes. All along, the target had been Faran. That had now changed.Certainly, he must be killed. So too the lòhren with him. She had provedslippery though, as all lòhrens were.

But it was the girl now who mattered most. She waseverything, and she was where his future lay. If he captured her, his futurewas secure. What would it matter then if the others got away?

It would not, he decided. So he would send the hound afterthe girl. And he would keep his force united. He would need them all, and hisown magic, to succeed. Lindercroft had been killed, and he had a greater force.But he had not possessed a were-stone. With that, Savanest knew he couldtransform his entire company of soldiers. Then, it would not matter howaccomplished the girl and her companions were at fighting. Swords and skillwere no match against the claws and fangs of were-beasts.

He stood, his decision made, and he was happy with it. Yetit had cost him time, and that was precious. Sofanil was out there somewheretoo, seeking the same glory he sought himself. If he found the seventh knightfirst…

That did not bear thinking about. It must not happen, andspeed now was the important thing. He had the girl’s trail, and he would followit relentlessly and drive the men hard. If he wore them into exhaustion, itwould not matter. The transformation would revitalize them.

But he must prepare the way. She was dangerous, and theirfinal confrontation would be perilous. She also possessed magic. So, he musthamper her. And he knew how. Fear would drive her to make mistakes and increaseher vulnerability. Fear was something he was accomplished with, especially as aweapon, and he knew how to instill it into her.

Smiling to himself, he ordered the men to stay where theywere. Not that they were likely to ever follow him.

He walked a little way from the hollow, and sat downcross-legged on a patch of short grass. For what he did now, he needed peaceand quiet. He let the tranquility of the plains wash over him, and he put asidethoughts of the battles that had once been fought here.

His breathing slowed and deepened, and he entered ameditative state. For what he did now, he would need magic. The battle magicthat he was most familiar with would not serve him. This was a magic of themind and consciousness. This was spirit walking, and it was something theMorleth Stone had led him to. Aranloth had never taught him such a thing, andprobably did not know it.

Anger ruffled his calm, and he pushed thoughts of Aranlothaside. Indeed, he thought of nothing. He was alone in the world, and his bodywas heavy. Very heavy. So heavy, in fact, that his spirit rose above it,floating upward like an eagle drifting on a column of hot air.

Savanest opened his spirit eyes. It was not daylightanymore. Nor was it night. All about him the world was gray and muted as thoughtwilight had descended. Yet there was no sun. For that matter, there was nomoon nor stars either.

He was alone. Nothing living was here. The men were closeby, and he sensed them, but it was like they were not quite a part of this newworld. They were merely shadows.

All the men he could sense, and he knew which was which. Thehound, he could sense also, and even more strongly than the others. His spiritform swept toward them through the air, and the were-hound growled but theothers were oblivious to him.

Savanest rejoiced. This was power undreamed of, and he lovedto spirit walk. It gave him a sense of freedom. In some ways, his power wasgreatly lessened. He was no longer a physical presence in the world, and hecould not touch or feel anything, but some part of his magic could, if only ina simple way.

But that was all he needed now. He could not follow Ferla,not in the sense that he could in his body. But she was not that far away, andmerely by thinking of her the world blurred and darkened. There was a sensationof movement, and when things stilled again he was in a different place.

He could sense