Dreams of the Oracle

Chapter 33

The wagon stopped abruptly. Ashur glanced around at the men crammed together on benches that lined both sides. No one had spoken a word since Mansin had talked of Abdiel. Even now as the wagon came to a halt no mouths moved. The men silently filed out of the wagon. No one smiled or joked or looked at one another.

Ashur stepped out of the wagon and into a shadowy forest. Rays of daylight stabbed through the trees here and there. He looked around at the empty stretch of road and the Janin lining up in front of Dain. He and Segurant stood slightly apart from the men lined up in front of the wagon.

Ashur glanced at the Iron Hand but Segurant was watching the forest. He looked calm and relaxed but the light flickering across the swirling marks on his hand said that they were not in a safe place. Ashur looked back over at Dain, The Sword. He was murmuring something to each of the men in turn. After he had finished, the men broke into small teams and vanished into the trees.

Dain stepped up to Ashur and Segurant flanked by two other Janin. His cold eyes were alight with excitement. His hand stroked the hilt of his sword. He stepped close and whispered,

"Have your daggers at the ready boy. Tonight we hunt the shadows!"

Ashur nodded silently and began following him and the other two Janin into the woods. As he followed, running his hands across the hilts of the six daggers across his chest, he couldn't help but remember his father's message:

Watch the shadows.

The Janin moved slowly through the trees. Their feet padded silently across the forest floor. Ashur watched their casual stealth and was reminded of his father once again. He tried to imitate them but his feet seemed unable to match their skill. He glanced over at Segurant.

The other man walked as he always did. He made no attempt to sneak through the shadows of the trees. He walked with his metal hand raised and his eyes flickering around them. He walked as though expecting an attack at any time.

They moved at a steady pace for a time. No one spoke a word. Dain would occasionally make a hand gesture to one or the other of the Janin. The man would disappear for a short time and then return to the group. Ashur watched the trees. He wondered how far they were from the Rashakas. Then, abruptly, Dain stopped and looked straight at him.

"Do you smell it lad?" he whispered.

Ashur looked at the man in confusion for a moment. Then he realized that the air had changed. He could just smell the musty scent of rain on its way. Suddenly, the sky darkened with massive black clouds. The rays of light that had fallen like beacons, vanished. Ashur watched in astonishment as the light faded and the wind began to pick up. The air was damp and cold against his skin. The trees became great black obelisks and the colors of the world faded into black and gray.

Ashur had never seen such a sudden change of weather even in Bordertown. He remembered that the Janin had talked of arranging rain at the meeting. He breathed in a breath of cold wet air, he hadn't realized how abruptly it would happen.

He heard a thunderclap some distance away. At this point they might have been walking through the forest at night. Light had all but disappeared leaving a kind of gray haze that settled against the encroaching darkness. Another thunderclap sounded, much closer than the last one.

Ashur kept his hand on the hilt of one of the daggers. Then, the Janin all stopped. For a moment Ashur thought that they had reached the Rashakas. He whipped his long dagger free and peered out ahead of them searching for an enemy. Then he realized that the Janin were pouring their canteens over the blades of their knives.