The Wizard of Eventide by Jon Skovron

Author:Jon Skovron [SKOVRON, JON]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2022-07-12T00:00:00+00:00

34

The sun, Rowena decided, was a problem. She had never experienced it with such intensity before. Uaine was not known for its abundant sunlight, and neither was the Great Western Tundra. Even during the long trek from Gogoleth to Magna Alto, they had traveled under cover of night to avoid being spotted by imperial scouts.

Now they traveled south on the Advent Road in broad daylight, which was apparently what the imperial army was accustomed to doing. But this Aureumian sun was brutal and only got worse as they went. There were no clouds in the vast blue above and few trees to be found among the farmlands that comprised most of the countryside. While the sluagh gorta did not decompose, she had discovered that when they spent hours every day beneath the hot sun, they began to give off an odor so terrible that the imperials insisted on only marching upwind of them. This meant that every time the wind changed direction, or the road veered to one side or the other, they would have to stop the entire army and rearrange the units. Perhaps if Lorecchio had still been alive, he might have smoothed things over between the two groups. But without that buffer, tensions had grown noticeably high. There would be no great cooperation between them in the coming battle.

The unrelenting heat and sun affected Rowena directly as well. Her pale skin turned pink within the first hour of the first day of the march. She covered herself with robe and hood to prevent her skin from burning any further, but that made her even hotter. So either way she suffered every minute her pony trod slowly toward Raíz. Her one consolation was that she did not suffer alone. Sorcha rode beside her, grumbling beneath her own hood.

“This parched and blinding land…,” groaned Sorcha. “How do they stand it?”

“I believe it’s a matter of acclimation,” said Rowena. “In fact, I have heard the heat will be even more intense once we cross the border into Raíz.”

“How is that possible? It’s like some vast oven before us. No wonder our ancestors never ventured this far south.”

“You’re welcome to turn back and explain to the Tighearna that the mission he gave you was too onerous for you to complete.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” snarled Sorcha.

“I would like anything that spared me having to listen to your endless bellyaching,” replied Rowena.

They rode in silence for a few moments. But then it seemed Sorcha realized she was giving Rowena the silence she craved, and clearly that wouldn’t do.

“It will be interesting to see how you so-called Loyal Ones handle these Raízians that you are so fond of.”

“I only know one Raízian,” said Rowena. “And while I am perfectly willing to admit that I am fond of him, you know that I would never jeopardize the Tighearna’s goals for something so minor as personal affection.”

“Yes, yes, Mordha’s favorite, Rowena Viridomarus. But I wasn’t talking about you.”

Sorcha lifted her hooded gaze toward Blaine, who rode near the front of the Uaine unit.

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