Syman led the way eastward along the northern rim of the canyon, searching for a path down, which would allow them to reach the other side before the invaders had a chance to catch up to them. They had not traveled more than a league when he stopped where a fallen fargi tree had bridged the chasm. The ancient hardwood giant must have served as a bridge in the past because Syman could see where someone had mounded dirt at each end to allow access to the log. The fargi tree was huge and the diameter of the fallen log was several times his height, still, he did not look pleased with the prospect of riding a horse across it.
“What are you waiting for?” called Antello. “Let’s get across before they catch up.”
Syman ignored his friend’s impatience, dismounted and walked around the nearest end of the fallen tree. The log appeared to be well anchored and it certainly was sturdy. Perhaps he was being too cautious, Syman mused, but there were no visible tracks of anyone using it and the dirt mound should show some recent use.
“Look at the other end,” called Lyra. “It doesn’t look like there is much ground underneath it.”
Syman walked to the cliff and peered over the chasm at the far end of the tree bridge. There was a dirt mound similar to the one at the nearest end, but the canyon rim underneath it had eroded badly.
“It doesn’t look like much is holding the other end,” he stated. “We should keep going until we find a path through the canyon.”
“We could be looking for a path for leagues,” cried Antello. “This is too good to pass up. I am sure that it will hold us. Fargi trees last forever and I will even go first.”
“As much as I would wish to be free of your chatter,” frowned Syman, “I do not wish to be free of you. No matter how sturdy the tree is, unless there is solid ground underneath it, we will fall to our deaths.”
“That is a thought,” smiled Lyra. “If we could make it across and somehow disable it so the raiders could not follow us, we would gain a lot of time.”
Syman turned and with a scowl opened his mouth to berate Lyra for encouraging Antello, but stopped before the rebuke was uttered. “Are you really willing to risk your life on this tree?” Syman inquired. “Even if it held the weight, I cannot imagine riding a skittish horse over it.”
“Nor I,” Lyra grinned. “We have plenty of rope. Let’s tie a rope around Antello and let him cross. He can tie off the rope on the other side and we can hang on to it when we cross. And we will not ride the horses. I will walk each of them across after I have cast a calming spell on them. They will not be nervous and will walk calmly.”
“Then we can sabotage the other end so that the raiders cannot follow us,” beamed Antello. “It is perfect.”
“I cannot believe you two,” Syman said while shaking his head. “The plan is fine except for the first part. A rope around Antello will do nothing for him, except allow us to haul his body up after he dies. He would just swing into the rock cliff if he fell.”
“Nonsense,” laughed Antello. “First, I am not going to fall. The log is huge and I could run across it without any fear of falling off. Second, the log is not going to just instantly fall. If it does fall, I will feel it starting to go and I can run back before it tumbles. You can keep an eye on the other side and let me know if you see it starting to move.”
Syman stood shaking his head, knowing that his friend was going to cross no matter what he said. Antello thought he was invincible and all Syman could do was try his best to protect him.
Antello was already preparing the rope when Lyra came up beside Syman. “I think it will be alright,” she said. “I will go first if that matters to you. I would not ask Antello to do anything I wouldn’t do myself.”
“No,” Syman agreed, “Antello is the best one for the job. He is quick and sure-footed. I just hope nothing happens to him.”
Lyra nodded as she turned to the task of calming the horses. It only took moments to calm the horses, but when Lyra turned back to the log, Antello was already roped and ready to cross the bridge.
“Be careful,” Syman cautioned his friend.
Antello smiled in return and started walking along the log, over the perilous drop of the canyon. Antello did not look down but kept his eyes focused on the other end. Despite his comments about running across, Antello walked slowly and deliberately, as if testing the sturdiness of the bridge with each step. Time seemed to slow for the trio as Antello, dwarfed by the hugeness of the fargi log, slowly made his way to the center of the bridge. Suddenly, a cascade of dirt and small stones tumbled into the canyon from the far end. Antello immediately halted with one foot still raised. Syman shouted a curse and Lyra inhaled deeply and held her breath.
No one moved until the last of the stones hit the bottom of the canyon. Lyra exhaled as Antello placed his foot down and continued walking, more cautiously than before. Once again, the dirt cascaded into the ravine and Antello froze waiting for the stones to drop. Sweat beaded upon Antello’s brow and for a moment he began to doubt the wisdom of crossing the bridge. Three fourths of the way across, Antello fought the urge to dash the distance and dive to the opposite rim. Antello’s legs began shaking as fear coursed through him and he fought to control his emotions. Stopping completely, he bent down and grasped his legs with his hands. He ignored Syman’s shouted questions about what was wrong and concentrated on calming himself. He flexed his arm muscles and then his leg muscles to force the shaking limbs to know their master. Slowly, his limbs responded and submitted to his will. Steady once again, Antello straightened and stepped forward. He began whistling a favorite tune and imagined that he walking the ledge outside the Academy which he had used many times to avoid Master Caulder’s attention when he sneaked off to play. His distraction worked well and Antello found himself over the southern rim of the canyon. Wiping the sweat off his brow, he turned and bowed to his friends on the other side.
Antello quickly secured his end of the rope around a standing fargi tree and signaled the others that it was tied. Lyra took the reins of one of the horses and started to cross. Antello had not meant to indicate that it was safe to cross and he scampered to the rim of the canyon to examine the footing of the tree bridge. He cursed silently as he caused stones and dirt to tumble in his haste, but Lyra appeared not to notice. With a casual attitude, she led the horse across, talking to it as she proceeded. Neither the horse nor Lyra seemed to recognize the danger of their crossing and Antello wondered if Lyra had cast the calming spell on herself. Lyra arrived quickly and Antello saw Syman leading another horse across as soon as Lyra got off the bridge.
When Syman arrived he handed the reins to Lyra. “You two see what chances we have of sabotaging the bridge,” he ordered. “I will get the other horse.”
Syman returned across the bridge and Antello bent to examine the log. “It is a lot sturdier than I thought,” he murmured to Lyra.
Lyra joined him and examined how the log sat on the rim. “Perhaps we will not be able to drop it into the canyon,” she agreed.
“We have to,” frowned Antello. “The raiders can move quicker than we can. All they have to do is follow our trail and we have to stop to figure out which way to run. This is our chance to stop them.”
“What does it look like?” Syman asked as he led the last horse off the bridge. “Are we going to be able to move it?”
“I may be able to burn it,” offered Lyra, “but fargi trees do not burn easily. They have been noted for surviving forest fires with only their bark blackened. If I knew how to cast a fireball we might stand a chance of penetrating the thick bark, but my fire starting spell is no stronger than a torch light.”
“Maybe we should use our time wisely and get moving,” suggested Syman. “If we can’t stop them from following us across, then we cannot afford to stay here talking about it.”
“But this is our chance to buy time,” argued Antello before his mouth stopped moving and gaped open.
Syman followed Antello’s gaze and saw the invaders charging along the opposite side of the canyon. “Get your bows quickly,” he shouted.
Syman ran and swiftly untied the horses and led them farther into the woods. There was a chance that the invaders had not noticed them and had instead focused on following the trail. Shouts from across the ravine dissipated his hopes and he tied the horses to a tree.
“Don’t shoot until they are half way across,” Lyra instructed. “I will see if I can get the log burning. Even if it doesn’t burn, it may make them think twice about crossing.”
“We can hold them off here until they are all dead,” Antello grinned. “This is even better than shoving the bridge into the ravine.”
Syman shook his head as he took up position behind a tree. Lyra scrambled to the end of the log and Syman saw tiny flames shoot from her fingertips into the wood. Doing a quick head count of the opposition, Syman frowned at the results. There were at least forty of the invaders visible and the line stretched into the forest.
Tiny wisps of smoke rose from the log where Lyra worked. The invaders sat astride their horses and looked over at the trio as if deciding on the best plan of attack. Nobody attempted to cross the bridge.
“What are they waiting for?” exclaimed Antello from behind his tree. “Maybe we should start shooting at them now.”
“These are not untrained students playing a game,” explained Syman. “They know we are waiting to cut them down and they have no real reason to cross the bridge.”
“What do you mean?” quizzed Antello. “If they don’t cross the bridge, they cannot get to us.”
“They do not need to get to us if we are not going anywhere,” Syman sighed. “There are plenty of them. I bet that they will send some onward to find another way across while some of them keep us occupied here. Let me know if you see any of them leaving. That will be the time for us to run if Lyra has not managed to start it burning by then.”
The invaders continued to sit and wait. A small group of them gathered around one man, clearly their leader, and talked as casually as if they were sitting around a campfire. One of them must have spotted the tiny wisps of smoke Lyra was making because he shouted something and pointed. The head invader came to life with shouts and pointing and movement rippled through the invaders as if someone had kicked an anthill. Six invaders dismounted and grabbed bows while half of the dark clad riders galloped eastward along the northern rim of the canyon, obviously searching for another way across.
“Darn!” shouted Syman. “We are not going to make it this time. Antello, I want you to get Lyra out of here. I will stop these men from coming across, but you have got to get her moving quickly.”
“Maybe she will get the fire started,” objected Antello. “Besides, if we both shoot at them, she will be safe.”
“Move!” demanded Syman as the first barrage of the invaders’ arrows began raining down upon the end of the bridge.
Lyra looked around nervously as she heard the thuds of the arrows landing. She was shielded from a direct hit by the massive log, but she was also stranded without any way to move and the fire she was trying to start was just not working. Her spell could not generate enough heat to penetrate the fargi tree and get the wood burning. She looked towards Syman and Antello and shook her head. Syman held up his bow and indicated for her to make a run for it when he started shooting and she nodded.
Syman was not the best archery student in Master Caulder’s class, but he was a good shot and had a strong pull. He had his arrows laid out before him for quick access before he started shooting. He did not aim for anyone in particular but proceeded to fling arrows quickly into the ranks of the enemy bowmen. All he needed to do right now was give Lyra a chance to run into the woods so she could get free with Antello.
Antello had two horses ready and stood on the reins while he joined Syman’s attack with arrows of his own. The combined attack scattered the enemy archers long enough for Lyra to dash into the trees.
“Thanks,” Lyra panted. “I’m afraid the fire idea will not work.”
“I gathered as much,” Syman said. “Go with Antello quickly. Move fast because another group of invaders is looking for a way across the canyon.”
Lyra looked at Antello and the reins for the two horses he now held. Slowly, realization of what Syman was doing registered. “No,” she declared. “I am not leaving you to die in my place. We shall all leave together.”
“There is no time for this,” growled Syman. “I can hold these men here while you two get a head start, but I can do nothing about the other group. Any more delay and you will be throwing away not only your own life, but Antello’s as well. When I have held them here for a while to give you a head start, I will run and catch up to you. It is not me they are after and given a choice, they will go after you.”
Lyra knew they would go after everyone. They surely had enough men to spare. But as she started to argue, Antello grabbed her and shoved the reins of her horse into her hand.
“There are times when we must trust each other,” Antello stated. “This is one of them. Get on your horse and let’s ride. The sooner we leave the sooner Syman can leave and if he doesn’t join us by nightfall, I will beat the sense out of him when he does catch up to us.”
Lyra laid her hand softly on Syman’s shoulder, but he ignored her as he reached for another arrow. Lyra turned with tears in her eyes and mounted her horse. Antello was already mounted and together they turned and galloped into the forest.
There was a narrow trail leading away from the log bridge and Antello led the way along it as they galloped deeper into the dark forest. The shouts of the invaders and the song of Syman’s bowstring faded quickly into the distance and were replaced by the sound of the relentless pounding of their horses’ hooves as they charged away from the ravine. Tears poured down Lyra’s cheeks and her eyes swelled closed. She wiped them constantly and was still barely able to follow Antello.
Lyra’s mind began to drift as she wished that she would wake up from this horrendous nightmare. Her mother. Her father. Master Caulder. All of her friends and fellow students. Now Syman. Why? When would it all stop? Why was this happening to her?
Her thoughts reeled and mental pictures of the Academy, both before the attack and after, flooded through her mind. She saw her father lecturing and smiled at him. She saw Rhodella standing with her hands on her hips, scolding Lyra about playing with swords, and smiled. She saw Syman lying on the grass behind the Academy with his hands up begging for mercy from her, and smiled.
“Lyra!” screamed Antello. “Get yourself together. We have to keep riding.”
Lyra opened her swollen eyes and looked about. Her horse was standing peacefully, well off the trail, and Antello was next to her. She must have let the horse go where it wanted to. Antello was frantic and Lyra silently scolded herself.
“I’m sorry,” Lyra apologized, straightening her posture and regaining control of her horse. “I will pay attention. Lead on.”
Antello looked at her sadly and nodded. Without another word, he turned and headed towards the trail. Lyra followed and wiped her last tears from her eyes. She did have to maintain control of herself if she was to survive and regain her father’s freedom. Rhodella had not promised her an easy time of it, but she had instructed Lyra about what to do, and Lyra realized that she must shove aside her grief if she was to succeed.
Antello picked up the pace again as soon as he was sure that Lyra was going to follow him and soon they were charging through the forest once again. Antello kept a fast pace, slowing periodically in an attempt to let the horses regain their strength. The forest grew darker and Lyra wondered if the sun was going down or they were just getting deeper into the darkness known as the Sakova. So far they had not seen any of the wild animals or savage humans that the tales spoke of, but the Sakova was huge and she was sure that they would see both before their trip was done.
Suddenly, Antello halted and held up his hand for silence. Lyra was practically beside him when she stopped and she looked at him curiously. Antello seemed to be peering at one particular spot and Lyra followed the direction of his gaze. The woods were fairly dense here with a scattering of both the ancient fargi and the more common sevemor. The land rose gently in the direction Antello was looking and the side of the hill was covered with a low brush, which Lyra could not identify. The leaves were large and bright green and the bushes appeared to be connected by vines as if they lived in communities or groupings.
“I thought I saw someone or something move,” Antello whispered. “Maybe we have just been riding too hard.”
Lyra cocked her head and suddenly she realized that she was experiencing complete silence. There was not a sound in the forest. No crickets, no birds, no lizards scurrying under the brush, nothing.
“I think the sun is setting,” Antello added. “Maybe it is time to find a hiding spot for the night. The horses have had enough for the day anyway.”
Lyra said nothing as they started moving again, slowly this time. The trail had ended a long time ago and Antello just picked his way through the trees and bushes. She wondered if Antello even knew what direction they were traveling. The trees were so tall that you could only see the sun at the height of the day and she figured the stars would not be much better. The forest looked the same in every direction. Sometimes there would be small hills or little depressions in the level of the ground, but that information meant little to someone who had never traveled here before. She could only wish that they were not hopelessly lost.
Antello suddenly made a right turn and she followed him, not asking what he was up to. He rode for a short distance and over a small hill and then dismounted.
“We will sleep here for the night,” he announced. “It will be hard enough for them to track in this dark forest in the daytime. It will be impossible for them during the night. Just in case, I turned off the track we were heading and I will go back on foot to make sure that there is no sign of us turning off in this direction. Even if they continue tracking through the night, they will miss us.”
Lyra just nodded as she dismounted and took the packs off the horses. Antello disappeared over the hill as she fed the horses the last of the grain they had brought with them. She looked around for a source of water and the forest looked the same in every direction. Shaking her head, she waited until the horses had finished the grain and then gave their drinking water to the horses. Their own food supplies were also diminished and she wondered if they would end up starving to death after all they had been through.
Lyra spread two blankets out for them to sleep on and laid out some bread and dried meat for dinner. It was the last of the bread, although they had some dried meat and cheese left. They were supposed to get supplies as they traveled through cities, but that plan had expired at Gatong when they found out the Imperial Guard was searching for her.
Antello returned and sat on his blanket, eating the food Lyra had left there for him. “He will get away,” assured Antello. “You wait and see. I am doomed to have him at my side for the rest of my life. It is preordained, you see. He will get away.”
Lyra did not even nod. She lay down and closed her eyes, falling asleep almost instantly.
Lyra was not sure how long she slept and it took a moment for her to realize what had woken her. She sat up and looked over at Antello’s blanket and found him gone. The sounds pounded into her head, louder with every step and her eyes frantically searched the dark for Antello, but he was not to be seen. She knew what the sound was and what it meant and she felt a shiver shoot through her body. The invaders had found them in the dark.
She sat for a brief moment trying to reorient herself in the dark. Finally, she located the horses and from that piece of information, knew the direction of the track they had made through the forest. She grabbed her sword and crouched by her blanket, facing the direction of the small hill they had rode over, and waited for the invaders to appear.
Unmoving and silent, she listened to the sounds of the horses. Eventually, it dawned on her that the invaders were not coming closer. As Antello had expected, they continued along the track, not noticing where Antello and her had turned off. She crouched in silence until the sounds of the horses faded in the distance and then collapsed on her blanket with a sigh. Moments later Antello appeared out of the black night.
“I counted twenty of them,” Antello whispered. “Not sure which group it was, the ones at the bridge or the ones that went in search of another path across the canyon. We need to arise early before they backtrack and find where we left the track.”
“Why didn’t you wake me?” Lyra asked.
“I knew they would go on by,” Antello grinned.
“More likely you knew that if they didn’t go by, it wouldn’t matter if I was awake or not,” Lyra countered as she curled up in her blanket and went back to sleep.
Antello stared at her for a moment and shook his head. This was not the fun-loving Lyra that he knew. He couldn’t blame her for her attitude, but still he wished for the old Lyra back. Antello lay back and drifted off to sleep moments later.
Hours later, Lyra opened her eyes and stared up at the giant trees stretching up above her. The sky was light, but not bright. She guessed it was probably early morning and she slowly sat up listening for sounds of the invaders. As she sat up, her mother’s ring rolled down her chest and onto the blanket. She reached for the chain around her neck, which the ring was supposed to be strung on, and found it missing. She reached out and snared the ring and pivoted onto her knees, searching the blanket for the chain. She searched the entire blanket and the ground around it and could not find the chain. She noticed that her sword was not where she left it, but was farther away from the blanket. Anger built inside her when she realized that Antello had been messing with her belongings. She rose, grabbing her sword as she did, and walked over to where Antello lay sleeping. With the sheath still on the sword, she placed the tip at Antello’s throat. Antello came awake instantly with a look of horror on his face. The look faded to puzzlement as he gazed up at Lyra.
“I do not like people going through my belongings while I sleep,” she growled. “Where is my chain?”
Antello pushed aside her sword and sat up. “What are you talking about?” he hissed. “Why would I go through your belongings? What chain?”
Lyra frowned down at Antello for a moment and then whirled and ran to where she had left the packs. Swiftly she opened each pack and looked inside.
“Someone has been here while we slept,” she declared. “They have gone through everything. I don’t see anything missing except my chain though.”
Antello jumped to his feet. “My pin is missing,” he howled. “Master Caulder gave it to me for winning a competition. They took it right off my sleeping body. What is going on?”
Lyra stood staring off into the woods. “I don’t get it,” she muttered. “Two small insignificant items taken and nothing else. No weapons. No food. No tools. Not even the horses. Do you think it was Syman and he was trying to tell us he is alive?”
Antello shook his head. “More likely his ghost telling us that he still cares and watches over us,” sighed Antello. “If he were alive he would have woken us. It cannot be the invaders, or they would have killed us or taken us. I cannot believe that anyone could waltz in here and take something off me without me waking up. It had to be either a spirit or some crazy animal that likes shiny things.”
“Yes,” agreed Lyra as she shoved her mother’s ring on her finger and felt her throat for the chain one more time. “Whatever it was, we had better be moving before the invaders start backtracking and find us standing here talking.”
Antello and Lyra gathered up their belongings and loaded the horses for travel. Within moments they were mounted and heading as close to south as Antello was capable of determining.