The Twelve Knights of Alleble had been traveling for hours. At daybreak, they had donned their cold gear and set out across a ford over the river on their way to the Grimwalk.
Aidan noticed the temperature decreasing as they rode closer to places ruined by the Prince. He was glad for the fur-lined breeches and surcoat.
The ground became pitted and hard. Old gray waste grass stuck out here and there like whiskers. Most trees were broken as if by wind or lightning.
Ominous gray clouds had rolled in as well, devouring every last trace of blue sky. The twelve rode slowly due to the uneven ground. The ever-present dreariness cast a pall over them, and no one spoke for quite some time.
Abruptly, Captain Valithor held up a hand and halted their journey. He gestured for the knights to circle their unicorns closely around him before he spoke.
“Alleb Knights, on the other side of the next ridge is the desolate land called Grimwalk,” he began.
“It can’t get any more dreary than this, can it?” asked Aidan, not intending to interrupt but accidentally thinking aloud.
The Captain sent a harsh look to Aidan but softened it immediately. “The half-dead lands from the Cold River to this point are indeed injured and bereft of anything green. But at least here we can still be warmed by thoughts of green blossoming things, strong root, and smooth bough. But gird yourselves, knights, for the Grimwalk will rob you of the hope of ever seeing a green thing again. It is poisoned with despair, which is the enemy’s most powerful weapon.”
Aidan swallowed.
“This is the most dangerous part of our journey,” Valithor continued. “For we will be out in the open in a treacherous land. The Prince should be looking for us in other places, but we must be wary. His spies are everywhere.”
“Captain, have you taken note of the weather?” asked Kaliam anxiously.
“I have. Indeed . . . it does not fill me with hope, though I still feel Acsriot was right in suggesting we go this way. Come now, let us travel on. We need to keep a steady pace to cross the Grimwalk by nightfall.”
Aidan wasn’t sure what to expect when he first saw the Grimwalk, but as they crossed the last rocky ridge and looked down into the vast valley below, Aidan felt as if every ounce of hope was sucked from his heart. He looked upon the sad land and wept.
It was miles and miles of dead land. Other than a few patches of leftover snow, the land was entirely black as if poisoned and rotten.
Here and there were icy pools of dark liquid that gave no reflection, and as their unicorns marched slowly forward, the ground crunched like the snapping of brittle bones left there to rot.
It was as if the loss of all things green and beautiful had created a horrible vacuum, and any who trod upon that barren land would be doomed to grow slowly cold, wither, and die. Aidan kept his unicorn moving.
Across the Grimwalk, far off in the distance, stood the menacing twin mountains called the Prince’s Crown. Aidan had seen them from another side, from another vantage point where there were living things and some hope. But there was no hope on the Grimwalk.
To the right of the two jagged peaks were smaller mountains, and eventually ridges and foothills. Tendrils of dark smoke issued up from behind these ridges, and Aidan knew that the Gates of Despair were there. He felt as if an icy claw were around his heart.
“Do not look, Aidan,” Gwenne said. “It will only drag your spirit down.”
Aidan tried to turn away, but he felt compelled to look. Echoes of a voice came from shadows of memory. Come to the darkness. You can hide there. Come.
Aidan stared at the height of the Prince’s Crown and then down at the mountains’ knees shrouded in a gray, unhappy mist. For the first time, he became aware that there was something there. It was far away, but he saw that there was an immense fortress. It seemed not built from the ground up, but rather hewn, gouged from the black rock of the mountains. There were dark towers, cruel-looking keeps, and sharp parapets. Here and there, like the empty sockets of a skull, were irregular windows and gates. And surrounding it all were massive, impenetrable-looking walls.
Aidan was drowning in despair when Gwenne reached out and touched him. Her hand was warm. He looked upon her. Her smile was warmer. And there was a trace of hope reborn in him.
“Remember,” she said. “Never alone.”
“Never alone,” Aidan repeated. And he found that it brought peace to his troubled heart. They spurred their unicorns lightly and began their crossing of the Grimwalk.
As the party of twelve continued, the temperature fell lower still. They were all bundled as tightly as they could make themselves, but the frigid wind found every open spot and bit at any exposed skin. In a day, they had gone from a comfortable spring in Alleble into the dead of winter, and the low, puffy clouds threatened to make it more wintry.
Aidan looked ahead at Captain Valithor who was talking quietly with Eleazar. “You have any idea what they’re talking about?” Aidan asked Gwenne, who was riding beside him.
“They often speak of deep things,” she said. “But my guess is they are becoming more concerned about the weather.”
“Why? Is it going to storm?”
“Yes,” she replied, pointing skyward. “Look at the clouds. Do you see how dark they are? And notice the slight purplish color. I am certain that a snowstorm’s coming.”
“Snow?”
Gwenne pointed to the dark castle at the foot of the Prince’s Crown. “The Prince has many dark powers, Sir Aidan, and his heart is cold and violent. Some of the most terrible storms occur in this land, and it snows here often.”
Just then, one of the pack unicorns began to tug at its reins.
“Easy, easy!” yelled Eleazar. Farix rode up to help try to calm the steed.
“Something has her spooked,” Farix said.
“Is it any wonder, in such a place?” asked Eleazar.
They were able to restrain the unicorn, but only to a point. She still seemed uneasy. In fact, all of the steeds became restless, as if they might buck at any moment. Aidan had no idea what he would do if his unicorn started to buck.
No words were spoken as their party of twelve rode on.
It was utterly silent. The chill breeze had stopped completely. Even the clop of hooves seemed muffled. And it seemed to Aidan that their pace had slowed down considerably. He rubbed his eyes.
How long have we been riding? he wondered. It felt like an eternity, and Aidan was exhausted. He shrugged his shoulders. He wanted to rest. Maybe they would all take a break soon. He felt so sleepy. And there was a strange smell.
A hand grabbed Aidan’s arm. “Aidan!” a voice said.
“Aidan, wake up!” It was Gwenne. “Aidan, wake up! You’ve got to move! Captain Valithor, come quickly! Aidan, please move!”
“Look alert, thou fog-pated slowcoach! Get your arms moving, RIGHT NOW!!” Aidan felt a roar of heat surge through him, and there were Captain Valithor and Gwenne. Their eyes were wide, and then they broke into relieved smiles.
“The stilling, Aidan. It is happening,” Gwenne cried. “It almost took you!”
“Hear me, Knights of Alleble!” Captain Valithor’s voice rang out. “We must push forward as fast as we can! Watch the ground for ruts, but get the unicorns moving! The stilling has come—”
Several of the unicorns reared. Mallik fought to stay in the saddle. Eleazar shouted, “Farix, get her up! Get her up now!”
Farix wheeled his steed around to the pack unicorn that had been so restless earlier. It was beginning to slowly kneel several yards back.
Farix grabbed her reins. “Get up, Girl! Stand!” he called to her. But it was too late.
Aidan watched in horror as the unicorn went to her knees. She swayed drowsily and lay down. The unicorn became unnaturally still. Her eyes were wide, lids rimmed with blue. But she was no longer breathing.
Aidan realized that he, too, had almost died. He spurred his unicorn and hugged himself to keep warm. Immediately, the wind kicked up, and snowflakes began swirling down from the angry sky.
In a matter of minutes the ground was dusted in white.
“Faster, Aidan!” Gwenne called, and she was riding beside him.
“I’m trying, Gwenne!” Aidan spurred his steed again, and it responded with a burst of speed. Rigid icy flakes cut into Aidan’s eyes and stung so fiercely he had to turn his head to the side as he rode. Through waves of howling white, Aidan discovered that there were some living things on the Grimwalk after all. A pair of moon-rascals peeked over the edge of an opening in the ground. While the first moonrascals Aidan had seen were as black as the rock of the Prince’s Crown, these were downy white and blended in with the snow that poured all around them. In a moment, they disappeared, apparently into their tunnels beneath the surface.
“Gwenne,” Aidan called out. “I just saw a couple of moonrascals!”
“What?” she called back. “I can barely hear you!”
“Never mind!” he yelled, his voice quick-frozen and stolen away by the wind.
Captain Valithor was just a gray shadow in the swirling white landscape ahead. At last, he halted the group and motioned for the others to circle around him. The Captain’s bushy, snow-flecked eyebrows furrowed in deep concern as he began to speak.
“We dare not stop for long, my good Knights of Alleble!” he yelled hoarsely over the wind. “The stilling, I fear, is just the first assault of a fierce storm that could wreak havoc on our mission, and I—”
Kaliam interrupted. “You don’t think that a Tem—”
The Captain raised his hand to silence Kaliam. “Do not say it! But we must be ready if it comes! We must decide now!” roared the Captain. “Either press on or turn back, for there is no shelter on the Grimwalk!”
No one spoke. Aidan looked into the eyes of every Glimpse in the circle—though Acsriot had drawn his hood down to shield his face from the wind.
There was steely determination in their eyes, and Aidan knew they would not turn back.
“Then valiant knights,” bellowed the Captain, “we ri—”
A brilliant, blinding flash of purple lit up the Grimwalk, followed by a deafening clap of thunder.
The blast startled the unicorns, and most of them reared back on their hind legs. Aidan wasn’t a very skilled rider, and he fell right off and landed hard on the frozen ground. It was difficult for him to stand back up, for his armor was heavy and he was disoriented from the fall. Many of the other knights were struggling to settle their unicorns, and Aidan hoped he would not be trampled. Mad with fear, they stamped and thudded closer. Captain Valithor, who alone had managed to quiet his steed, rode in front of the terrified beasts. He seemed to have some way with the unicorns, and they became calm again. For the moment, Aidan was safe. He yelled out to thank his commander, but Captain Valithor had already ridden a few paces ahead.
There the Captain seemed to be staring through the strengthening storm in the direction of the mountains. Lightning flashed again, bathing the Captain in eerie purple light. The thunder followed, crashing and echoing terribly off the mountains.
Aidan finally made it to his feet. The wind wailed, but there was another sound. It was a peculiar deep humming sort of noise— growing louder each moment.
The sound became louder still, and Aidan thought it was like the roar of an enormous freight train barreling their way. The Captain turned abruptly and rode back to the other knights.
“It’s a Tempest!” he bellowed. “Fly back! Fly back to the Cold River! Ride reckless and do not stop! A Tempest is upon us!”
Aidan’s thoughts raced. A Tempest!! He looked around for someone to help him.
Before anyone could act, however, the roar of a dragon pierced the commotion of the storm. Acsriot rode quickly away from the others, stopped, and turned toward them. Aidan was shocked. Acsriot was laughing.
“Enjoy the weather, you fools!” he shrieked, and a white dragon materialized from the clouds and swooped down. The winged beast fought the wind to hover above Acsriot before finally grasping his outstretched arms and lifting him from his saddle. Aidan watched in horror as the blue flicker in Acsriot’s eyes burned away and kindled to bright red, and the dragon whisked him away into the sky.
Captain Valithor drew Fury from its sheath and slashed the air as he roared. “Mark my words, Acsriot!” he yelled. “You will fall by my sword for this treachery!”
Aidan realized then that Acsriot had betrayed them all along. Betrayed them before they even left Alleble when he suggested they travel the Grimwalk. Betrayed them when he left camp late the night before, no doubt to meet a spy of the enemy. Betrayed them so that the dark Prince could conjure some perilous storm to waylay their team where there was no shelter.
Aidan turned and looked through the blowing snow at the horizon. It was dark, but there was something there, something enormous. Lightning flashed, and Aidan saw a menacing shadow growing in the distance.
Again, Captain Valithor’s voice rang out. “Ride for your lives! The Tempest is upon us! Ride!”
Lightning struck again—jagged, violent streaks in the sky. In the fierce but momentary flash of light, Aidan saw the unmistakable form of a tornado—only it wasn’t like the ones he’d seen on TV. This one reached down from the sky but then went sideways like an immense steamroller of wind and snow. With each streak of lightning, Aidan watched as the Tempest churned closer, devouring both the sky and the ground as it came.
The deep, continuous roar of the Tempest shook the ground and rattled Aidan’s armor. The swirling winds pelted him on all sides with snow, ice, and frozen debris. The unicorns bucked and galloped in terrified circles, and the knights fought for control. The wind blew so fiercely that no one could hear anything but the storm. The only Glimpse Aidan could see was Gwenne. Her unicorn was going berserk with fear. Aidan knew he had to help, so he ran toward Gwenne, dodging the poor unicorn’s frantic kicks. He reached up for Gwenne’s belt and pulled her off the unicorn. She fell heavily on top of him.
As they struggled to their feet, another flash of lightning showed them that the Tempest was closing in, ripping up the Grimwalk and everything else in its path. They were doomed. They were in the middle of a vast wasteland with no shelter. But then Aidan had it! The moonrascals! Without a word, Aidan grabbed Gwenne by the arm and dragged her in the direction he thought the moonrascals had been. He was right! There were two small openings in the ground where the moonrascals had burrowed. One looked like it might be barely large enough for a person to fit through. They had no choice. The Tempest was there. Hoping it would protect them from the deadly storm, they each dropped down into the tunnel.
