"Goodnight, Jace," said Aldreya.
"It's just Jace now, huh?" he said, giving her a wry smile. "No more uncle?"
Aldreya looked away.
With a chuckle, Jace left the tent.
"I realize he tried to enlighten me," said Vannas, "but it proves nothing. In battle, no one will get that close to me."
"Anything can happen," said Lannon, thinking back to his encounters with the servants of the Deep Shadow.
"But I'll be ready," Vannas insisted.
As the Squires lay down to sleep, Lannon pondered Jace's warning. Lannon's skill with the Eye of Divinity seemed weak lately, his energy low. If the Knights were relying on his power to any significant degree, they were indeed making a huge mistake. But Lannon suspected that Vannas was the bearer of hope now-the one who was expected to overcome the Hand of Tharnin and whatever other terrors awaited them. This should have eased Lannon's burdens, but all he could focus on was saving Vorden and Taris. It was a fact that countless Knights and Squires had been lost to the will of the Deep Shadow. Vorden was just another victim in a long line of them that spanned the centuries. This was normal business for Dremlock, but to Lannon it was deeply personal and gnawed constantly at his soul.
At last Lannon fell asleep, and his dreams were cold and dark.
***
During the night, Lannon awoke to find he couldn't move his arms or legs or utter a single noise. Flooded with panic, he opened his eyes to see a dark shape hovering above him. As his vision came into focus, he gazed up at a humanoid face with its mouth open wide to display two large white fangs. The face was attached to a dark and scaly serpent's body as big around as a man's thigh.
A Pit Crawler had slid silently in through the tent door, with some of its long body still outside, and it was paralyzing Lannon with its sorcery. A thin stream of dark, transparent mist shot from the beast's jaws and hovered around Lannon's face, its icy touch commanding him to lie still and wait for death.
Lannon fought to summon the Eye of Divinity, but the Pit Crawler's sorcery thwarted his efforts. The dark mist had frozen both mind and muscle. He could only watch in despair as the white fangs moved toward his throat.
Lannon fought like a madman to unlock the Eye. At last it emerged and seized the serpent, barely halting its descent.
The Eye probed the Pit Crawler, revealing a Goblin that lived to inflict death. It killed even when its belly was full, a quiet shadow that used sorcery to conceal itself and confuse others. It was an abomination that had been bred for ambush and assassination, and it loved its work.
Convinced he was going to lose the struggle, Lannon thought of his parents. He wondered how they could take the news of his death. It would likely ruin them, especially his father, who was in a fragile state to begin with due to the disease that ravaged his body and spirit. Lannon wasn't giving up-but he was definitely giving ground. Once again he found himself trying to hold back a much stronger foe, and once again the Eye of Divinity seemed too weak to save him. Slowly the Pit Crawler's pale fangs closed in on his neck.
Lannon realized the creature would likely try to kill the other Squires as well, before its work was done. He strove to scream warnings as he fought, but his vocal cords were completely useless. He imagined the Knights finding their bodies in the tent the next morning
With a furious effort, Lannon pushed the Pit Crawler away from his throat as he tried to break free. But the creature spit its dark mist again into Lannon's face, and his focus waned. The beast once again began to descend on him.
The battle raged on silently, until Lannon realized a way to save himself. He reached out with a small portion of the Eye and shook Vannas hard. It was difficult to split his focus, and it caused him to lose a bit of ground with the Pit Crawler. But the move paid off, as the Birlote prince awoke instantly and sat up, his eyes widening when he beheld the intruder. He yelled out a warning on instinct. The other Squires snapped awake, crying out in shock over what they saw-too stunned for a moment to reach for their weapons.
Vannas leapt to his feet, ordering Jerret and Aldreya to stay down. He yanked the White Flamestone from its pouch and its piercing light flooded the tent. The Pit Crawler quivered and hissed, as if the light were burning it.
"Die, spawn of Tharnin!" Vannas cried, and the Flamestone grew blinding, its light hammering into the beast. The Pit Crawler ignited into white fire, its burning husk hanging in the air.
Lannon shoved the blazing creature away from him with vicious force. Having no power left to resist his sorcery, the beast flew out the tent door, leaving only a few glowing fragments behind that quickly went dark.
Able to move again, Lannon rose and drew his Dragon-bone sword with a shaking hand. Aldreya seized the lantern (which thankfully had remained standing), and with a fearful glance at each other, the Squires stepped out into the cold rain to see that the Pit Crawler had been reduced to a charred shell.
But another terrible sight awaited them. Buke Songblade, the Blue Knight who'd been guarding them, lay dead in the wet grass, his face shockingly pale in the lantern glow. His sword was sheathed-indicating he'd been ambushed by the Pit Crawler and likely injected with its lethal venom.
As Knights poured from tents and gathered around, Lannon knelt in the grass, sickened. Aldreya placed her hand on his shoulder. His voice quivering with emotion, Lannon explained exactly what had occurred.
"It passed quietly through the middle of an army," said Vannas, "and nearly killed you, Lannon." His green eyes showed anger and fear.
Shennen groaned and knelt by Buke's body. "Only a Pit Crawler could have ambushed this Knight. Wretched beast!"
"We need to stay more alert," said Furlus, "rain or no rain. Had there been two guards, Buke might still be alive."
"Or two guards might now be dead," said Jace. "Regardless, we can expect more assassination attempts. Our foes know we will continue north no matter what, Squires or no Squires. Lannon and Vannas will face death again."
"It greatly disturbs me," said Furlus, "that they knew exactly what tent the Squires were in and were able to send the beast there. It was a very precise and well-executed attempt."
"Their spies watch our every move," said Shennen, pointing skyward. "And it wouldn't have been difficult to give the Pit Crawler Lannon's scent-which is left here and there during our journey-and then send the beast to sniff him out."
"And we nearly let it happen!" Furlus growled, smashing his fist into his palm. "Some Divine Shield this is!"
"If I may speak in our defense," said Thrake Wolfaxe, "the Divine Shield did its job, Furlus. Lannon is alive."
"But Buke is not," said Shennen, his eyes filled with pain. "It is at times like this when I hate being a Knight. I'm tired of war. When this conflict is over, I'm done. Enough good men have died because of my mistakes."
Furlus patted Shennen on the back. "No, my friend. Your fate lies on the High Council."
But Shennen only shook his head. "This is my last taste of war."
Chapter 15: The Wrath of Winter
The next day, as they rode into the Northern Bloodlands, the snow came. It quickly blanketed the forest of Mother Trees around them. The riders put on fur cloaks, and the pace didn't falter even as the snow piled up in the road. Thankfully, the snow and cold reduced the stench of the Bloodlands enough to make it bearable. The road, however, was badly overgrown with thick roots-as Rangers only cleared it twice a year-and the snow partially concealed these obstacles and caused the horses to stumble now and then.
They hoped the snow was temporary, but it held steady during their remaining voyage through the Bloodlands, until even the roots in the road were completely lost from view. Travel slowed significantly. The Knights had not anticipated winter arriving so early and with such vigor, but the Greywinds were up to the challenge. These huge horses-unique to Dremlock Kingdom-were almost unstoppable when it came to navigating rough terrain. The Knights knew that no blizzard, however intense, would halt their journey to the Bonefrost Mountains.