Prophecy of Thieves [chapter 17.1]

Despite the yellow morning sun warming the path laid before them, an ominous chill slithered down Amani’s spine. They were entering the Kiertsk Mountains at last. For the miles ahead, they would encounter no other villages. No other settlements to rest their cold and weary bones.

It wasn’t the lack of shelter that frightened her, though it was alarming. It was the purpose behind that lack of shelter. If the Styrkish—who were far more acclimated to the harsh climate than anyone else—couldn’t survive in the mountains, how were they expected to make it to Zvezny Pyk with enough strength to steal the sword? How was she expected to evade Zain?

Amani unclenched her gloved hands from the reins of her horse and stretched her fingers. A gust rustled the thick furs of her new coat and stabbed shards into her cheeks. A layer of sweat was beginning to coat her skin from beneath the various layers of clothing, and Shadya pulled at her thick collar, panting. While the clothes were uncomfortable now, in days, Amani knew they would all be shivering in the shadows of the night. If she even survived that long.

Amani shook the thought from her head. Regardless of Zain’s previous mercy—no, it wasn’t mercy, but perhaps a deferral—she knew he wouldn’t hesitate again. That only reinforced the matter of her vigilance. She couldn’t—wouldn’t—let Zain hurt her. For Shadya.

She glanced to the side and met her sister’s eyes. They glimmered wickedly, her back straightening atop her horse. A warm cloud of air puffed from beneath Shadya’s nose, a sign of her vitality.

Shadya turned back to the road, a smile tugging at her lips. To her, this trek was an adventure. The prospect of coming face-to-face with a dragon was not frightening, but rather invigorating. She still possessed the curious naivety of children despite her unconventional raising, and it was that which Amani strove to uphold, for she had lost the innocence of childhood long before existing memory.

If Amani died, not only would Shadya be abandoned and vulnerable, she would lose the mindset of a conquerable world. All that’s left would be the crushing darkness of reality creeping around every facade of beauty. The road into the Kiertsk mountains wouldn’t be a winding stone path surrounded by magnificent pines and spotted with snow. It would be the danger of the knife at her back; the possibility of a fall from the steep cliffs; the numbed and prolonged death cold could bring.

Amani turned away, her jaw tightening. She would survive this trek and the rest of the journey. She would face Zain head-on if the need arose. She would lie, scheme, and cheat her way through life just as she always had if it meant survival. No matter the cost. Her soul had long lost its chance to enter the Sahmma and greet her gods upon death, destined for eternal limbo, but Shadya’s had not.

“So,” Ren mused from a step behind her. He leaned back in his saddle, resting against the pile of supplies tied to his horse. “Anyone want to take bets on how we will die?”

“How are you supposed to win that bet when you will be dead?” Rieka asked, running a hand over her braid. It was the first time she had spoken since their breakfast that morning. Amani wasn’t at all surprised by her silence. She had obviously been cast away by her people—though Amani didn’t know why—so revisiting her home from which she had been banished was undoubtedly difficult.

“I will gloat in the afterlife,” Ren said with a shrug. “So what will it be? An avalanche? Freezing to death? The jaws of a dragon? Maybe the gods are just aching to make our lives interesting and we will encounter a barbaric, cannibalistic man who was raised by wolves.”

“We aren’t going to die,” Kai said, his voice strong. Though he obviously didn’t believe his words, he said them with a conviction Amani respected.

“That’s not entirely true,” Rieka responded, releasing a hand from her reins to adjust her newly shined axe swaying from her hip. “You can’t know if death will take us. It’s random and undestined.”

There was a quiet grunt of disagreement behind Amani, and she glanced over her shoulder to find Zain’s brows furrowed.

“Regardless,” Kai argued, his jaw tight. “We can still prevent it.”

“Against an avalanche?” Rieka rolled her eyes. “I’d like to see you try.”

“So, do you bet on an avalanche bringing our end?” Ren asked Rieka.

She gave him a look of mockery. “I think your end will be by my axe.”

He grinned. “Lovely morning thoughts.”

Amani turned away from them to watch the passing woods. She didn’t wish to speak of death. Not when it breathed upon her neck.

The pines along the road were tall, their tops reaching for the skies. Even in the deep forests of Arlan they had passed through, she had never seen trees so large. Styrka breathed danger at every turn, which was undoubtedly why its inhabitants had grown as strong as they were. Arlan had no need for paranoid warriors when its only threat was its own people.

Amani often repressed her memories of Bahajad, but her homeland came to mind now. It didn’t have the militaristic strength Styrka did, but it far surpassed Arlan. If there was one thing her mind refused to forget, it was the marching of Bahajadi soldiers, dressed in their smooth, silk uniforms, as they turned their eyes away from her cries for help.

She shoved those thoughts away. They were of no use now, not in the slopes of the Kiertsk mountains. Bahajad, with its hot sun and sandy plains, was far from the frigid mountains she was entering.

Something cold landed upon her nose, melting against her skin. Amani jolted and glanced up at the sky. A flurry of white was beginning to fall.

“It’s snowing!” Shadya exclaimed, reaching up to catch the flakes. She was the only one of them who expressed excitement. The rest all glanced between one another in concern. If it was snowing now, it would no doubt escalate.

An avalanche wasn’t what would end them. Amani was sure of that. But the possibility of a blizzard… She pulled down the fur cap upon her head and turned forward. She would survive. She would survive no matter the circumstances.

…

Despite Rieka’s warnings about caves, they found one and settled in it before nightfall. The snow was falling heavily by then, so any shelter would’ve been an opportunity they couldn’t pass up. Regardless, Rieka demanded they examine the entirety of the cave first, checking for signs of life.

Passing her inspection, they all dragged their horses inside and unpacked their belongings. What had seemed like a large space before was cramped with seven horses and seven people. Despite the cold numbing their skin, they all agreed a fire was more risk than it was worth. From the effort of having to find and gather wood to the possibility of being seen by the wildlife on the slopes… They would stay cold.

Amani helped Shadya unpack her bedroll and wrapped her in both their blankets, rubbing her arms to warm her. Shadya shook, her teeth chattering, and no longer watched the snow with awe.

Amani followed her gaze to the head of the cave. It was only a blur of white, the snow masking any dimensions of the space beyond. She had never seen a storm like it.

“How long do these storms usually last?” she asked Rieka.

Rieka turned her eyes to Amani, her brows lowered. Her grey irises reflected the snow, making them glow in the darkness of the cave. “Why does that matter?” she barked.

“It matters because the longer we are trapped in here, the longer we postpone reaching Zvezny Pyk,” she responded calmly.

Rieka rolled her eyes. “It should clear up by tomorrow.”

“But then the road will be piled with snow,” Kai commented.

“And?”

“And it’ll make our journey all the more difficult.”

“It’s just a bit of snow. Get over yourselves,” Rieka scoffed, plopping on her bedroll.

A bit of snow… Amani turned back to the blizzard raging just outside the cave. A bit of snow could mean death. It could mean frozen limbs and going astray, lost in the maze of endless white. Amani tightened her hold on Shadya.

The prince reached into his bag and began to pass out rations of dried fruits and meats. When Amani got her portion, she nibbled on the fruit, her bones aching from the cold. Shadya nudged her, holding out one of the blankets.

“I’m okay,” Amani murmured.

“Take it,” she insisted. With a sigh, Amani wrapped the blanket around one of her shoulders, taking the other end to tuck Shadya into her side.

Eyes prodded her skin and Amani glanced up, meeting Zain’s gaze. After a beat, he turned away.

“The peak…” Kai said, his voice deep and resonant in the otherwise sinisterly silent cave. “How should we go about entering it?”

Silence met his words. Without accurate layouts, they had hardly attempted to form any plans. Amani suspected fear prevented them from focusing on the upcoming heist. While stealing the false layouts in Aryotsk had been a success, it had been so mostly upon luck. Now, without any knowledge to assist them, they had to execute a far more difficult heist. The probability of success—let alone survival—was low.

“There will no doubt be multiple entrances,” Rieka murmured, her brows furrowed in thought. “Besides a dragon protecting it, there will be a series of caverns and halls to make reaching the sword all the more difficult. Splitting up will make us more vulnerable,” she mused. “But it’ll allow us to explore more areas in a smaller amount of time. We’ll also have a better chance of finding the sword before possibly getting lost within the mountain.”

“Only you and I have weapons,” Kai reminded her. “If we split up, even into just two groups, it’s an invite for death.”

Amani’s eyes drifted back to Zain. She knew he carried a weapon, despite still having yet to see it. She wondered if he would reveal it for the sake of the heist. Regardless of his end goal in their quest, she knew he wanted to attain each artifact just as much as the rest of them.

His face showed no signs of emotion beyond cold calculation. He was planning too, though if his plans matched those the others mulled over was the question.

“If I find the sword, I could slip in and grab it before I’m caught,” Ren said, peering at the others. Amani had yet to see him speak so seriously. She knew the trip into Aryotsk had shaken him, and it seemed he wasn’t ready to leave his life in the hands of chance again.

“No matter how good of a thief you think you are, you can’t avoid a dragon,” Rieka argued. “Their senses are far superior to ours. It would smell the fear on your skin before you got a step in the sword’s direction.”

Ren huffed a sigh. “I’m the best choice we have in getting that sword.”

Rieka scoffed. “I know this land. These mountains. If anyone has hope of getting it, it’s me.”

“Why do you think no one has stolen the sword?”

“Because it’s well guarded and no Styrkish citizen would bother to.”

“No,” Ren said with a shake of his head. “It’s because everyone sends warriors to get it, expecting to battle a dragon. Send a thief and you may have some success.”

“Bullshit,” Rieka barked. “The dragon is dangerous and you have no chance of evading it—”

“Stop.”

They all turned, not to Kai, but the prince. He leaned forward, his elbows braced on his knees. The shadows from the moon pooled beneath his cheekbones and over his eyes, giving him the appearance of the dead.

“We will not split up within the mountain. That would be too risky, and finding our way back to one another would prove near impossible,” he said. Despite the cold shaking his shoulders, his voice was strong. Steady. More so than it had ever been. “Once we find the sword, Kai will be the one to grab it. He has a weapon, but Rieka’s is larger. She would be better off distracting the dragon while the sword is stolen.”

“Distracting the dragon?” Rieka shook her head in disbelief. “You all are fools.”

Ren lifted a hand, grinning maniacally. All eyes turned to him warily as he dug around in his pack. He lifted a thick, red stick triumphantly, a fuse poking out of the end.

“Where did you get that?” Rieka barked, snatching the explosive from him.

“In the armory within Aryotsk. The prince hid it in his armor before we left,” Ren said. “Could come in handy when distracting a dragon, I’d say.” He leaned back, pleased with himself.

“Yes…” the prince mused, his face brightening minutely. “That could be very useful.”

Ren smiled broadly, his eyes alight with mischief.

Rieka shrugged and tossed the explosive back into Ren’s lap. “Okay,” she grunted. “We distract the dragon. And what about after?”

“After Kai has the sword, he can end the beast,” the prince said, meeting her eyes. “The sword is said to possess magic that grants the bearer strength.”

“That’s a lie.” Rieka crossed her arms over her chest. “The sword was forged to grant the people of Styrka strength as a whole, not just a single man.”

Kai was shaking his head before she finished her sentence. “No, the legends claim the sword was a gift from the gods to grant the king strength against his enemies.”

Rieka curled her lip in obvious distaste. “What other nonsense did the Arlanian clergy pull out of their ass?”

Ignoring her, Kai only said, “Arlan began as a large empire encompassing both continents. Upon its creation, a king was granted five gifts by the gods. The Sword of Strength, the Tome of Secrets, the Tree of Life, the Kiss of Death, and the Crown of Power. With those gifts, he ruled a prosperous empire.”

“Ridiculous—”

“But obviously, maintaining such a vast empire was difficult, so before the first king’s death with no heirs to resume his throne, he brought forth five of his most trusted advisors to rule over five provinces of the land. Arlan was never meant to split, but the lords became greedy and rebelled against the mainland of Arlan and the man the first king had appointed to rule it. They split off and took the artifacts with them.”

“No, no, no.” Rieka waved a hand in dismissal. “The first people of the world were born in the Kiertsk mountains of Styrka. They were gifted from the stars, lives granted to rule the world of their creation. The first Chief of Styrka struggled against the violent natures of man, and humanity, meant as a gift, became a curse. Many people died fighting one another in search of power, security, and survival. The stars wept from the loss and from their tears forged the Mek Syly, or what you Arlanians call, the Sword of Strength. It unified the people and granted them strength to prevail. To protect themselves. To use it against the very creature meant to protect it would invite the wrath of the stars.”

“The stars hold no power,” Kai argued. “It’s but a sword that was touched by the God of War and Strength.”

“Or so your clergy told you. And they were wrong.”

“Okay, okay,” Ren interrupted with a nervous chuckle. “Let’s not get into a religious debate. You’re both right, yay, okay, now back to stealing this sword.” He turned to the prince, ignoring the obvious anger brewing between Kai and Rieka. “If Kai gets the sword and Rieka fights the dragon, then I will help them get there.”

Rieka scowled, ready to retort—no doubt about his lack of use—but Kai nodded begrudgingly. “But… Where does that leave you all?” he said, glancing between the rest.

Rieka spoke first. “They stay outside of the mountain. They’re…” She turned her judging eyes to Amani to emphasize. “Useless.”

“Not useless,” the prince reiterated, unperturbed, or perhaps oblivious to her insult, which encompassed him. “We would not be able to bring the horses and supplies into the mountain regardless. It would only slow you down.”

Ren nodded, the gears turning behind his eyes. “Zain, Amani, Shadya, and the prince can lead the horses around the mountain. If what Rieka said about the multiple entrances into the mountain is true, then that would mean there would be an exit near the back side of the peak.”

“Only three to face a dragon, not to mention any potential guards…” Amani muttered. “It’s dangerous.”

“Like you would be of any use in the mountain regardless,” Rieka said, rolling her eyes.

Ren, on the other hand, gave Amani a slight grin. “We’ll be faster with only three.” He rubbed his hands together with what no doubt was the building adrenaline that predates a thief’s heist. “I’ll enter the cave a day before we attempt the theft,” he said, nodding. “Get a feel of the layout.”

The prince’s brows furrowed. “You will not have any protection—”

“I won’t need it. I’ll just get in and out fast: memorize as many halls and turns I can to get an understanding of the general direction we need to take. And what dead-ends to avoid.”

“That’s a good idea,” Kai agreed, tearing off a chunk of his food.

Ren waggled his brows. “Of course it is.”

And it was a good idea. This plan, though incomplete, was fairly stable. Despite that fact, trepidation climbed up Amani’s spine. She and Shadya wouldn’t be alone with Zain like they were during the Aryotsk heist—this time they had the prince. Glancing towards him, she found his body slumped in exhaustion—brought about no doubt from the prolonged social interaction. The thought was in no way comforting.