Page 15 of Burn Bright
I sat on my heels, and breathed out. "My father taught them to me. His father, and his father's father before him, and so on... My family has been in these parts for centuries, long before the Empire of Velides fell. They were here when Vashta finally succumbed and created the Well of Tears to fight theDarkness."
"My Darkness, or your Darkness?" he askedquickly.
I frowned. When one came down to it, there were similarities between his Way of Light, and my Old Ways. "Do you know the story ofVashta?"
Every child learned it at its parent's knee here inDensby.
"The patron saint ofhunters."
"The Huntress," I murmured, holding my hands out to the fire. "It is said there was a great darkness lurking in these woods once—theDarkness—and when the empire kept expanding, building its keeps and strongholds in the borders of the forest, they awoke it. It killed men and women in the night, leaving entire villages slaughtered by morning, their throats torn open. It murdered every man in one of the empire's finest cities, and turned the hearts of another city to pure evil. The people there killed and stole and raped, until finally the empire was at war with itself, and the capital city wasburning.
"And with every death the Darkness grew, both in itself and in the hearts of men. The emperor sent his finest warriors to battle it, but they could not see it. And they could not track it. Nor could they fight it. All they could do was bury the bodies of their fallen comrades as one by one they fell to its teeth and claws in thenight.
"The emperor grew desperate; he promised half the treasury to any man, woman, wizard or beast who could destroy it. And so, three of the greatest hunters in this area rode to his call. Vashta the Huntress; Rior the Silent; and Ermady the Fox, who had the gift of shapeshifting.
"They fought the Darkness for many days and many nights. Ermady fell, his blood soaking the earth, and from his body burst a mighty ash tree. Rior changed into a dragon and tried to burn the Darkness, but it surrounded him like a cloud of night and he plummeted from theskies,
"The only one left was Vashta. Carving a spear from the branch of the ash tree, she lit the head of it in the fires of Rior's ashes, and sank it into the heart of the Darkness. But their blood had bound them during the fighting; as long as Vashta lived, the Darkness could not be vanquished. Knowing this, she fell upon her sword, and when she fell, she took the Darkness with her. The creatures of the forest wept, and where her body lay the tears pooled, and swallowed her body whole. Thus the Well of Tears was formed. Or so theysay."
Silence
"My Darkness is a little different," Evaron mused, turning to survey his men as they set up camp. Nearby, Cas blew smoke from his tinder, nursing a small flame. He looked at us, clearly not liking what hesaw.
I scowledback.
"It is said that only those who turn from the Way of Light fall to the Darkness. A monstrous, demonic force that will blind your eyes—and your heart—to the Lightforever."
I shrugged. "I like minebetter."
Helaughed.
"I wonder where the origin of your story came from?" Evaron mused. "It's not the sort of story to spring from nowhere. There had to be some origin—some foul beast—that made people spin grand stories about itsappearance."
"They say the Darkness means ‘Death’ in the Old Tongue." I replied, feeling a little stung. He might as well have called us superstitious peasants. "It's dead now, thanks to Vashta and her companions. I suspect we shall never know. As long as we bear the mark of Vashta's protection, then the Darkness cannot touch ushere."
Evaron frowned, looking over his men. "Not all of us have thatprotection."
"No." My eyes fell upon Hussar, and a few others who'd not deigned to let me mark them. "Not all of them. But you do, my prince. You should be safe." I glanced up at the overhanging boughs of the forest. "From the Darkness, and hopefully from whatever else lurks in these darkwoods."
