Skye explained what they had learned about Morgassa and her horde. Mira and Twitch listened with wide eyes.
“How long before she reaches the capital?” Mira asked when Skye was through.
“The Rogue Knight estimates she’s nine or ten days away from Merriston,” Minimus said. “She doesn’t hold to a straight path. She weaves around to hit any nearby towns.”
“Is the Rogue Knight keeping track of Morgassa?” Skye asked.
“He’s aware of the threat,” Minimus said. “He knows she is using figments to change people. Last week he sent a couple of his knights to investigate.”
“And they came back?” Skye asked.
“He’s never lost a knight,” Minimus said. “We’re not easy to bring down. Any of his men could defeat the greatest champions of Elloweer.”
“How did he find such talent?” Skye asked.
“He’s a unique man,” Minimus said. “Unique men follow him.”
“How much do you know about him?” Skye pressed.
“More than I can tell,” Minimus said.
“What can you tell?” Cole asked.
“The Rogue Knight is the truest person I know,” Minimus said. “I’m proud to serve him.”
“How old are you?” Jace wondered.
Minimus laughed. “Why? Because you’re all taller than me? Don’t worry, it’s a common question. Some people assume I’m a child. I’m more than twice as old as any of you besides Skye. I have never been endowed with great stature. But I embrace my humble proportions. Hence my name, Minimus, and my title, the Halfknight.”
“You named yourself?” Dalton asked.
“Nobody knew I would be so tiny at birth,” Minimus said. “That name would have been quite a coincidence. My parents were both of normal size. They had me and then a brother. He was a dwarf as well.”
“Is he a knight too?” Jace asked.
Minimus chuckled. “In his own way. Like I noted before, we all have different strengths. But my size has advantages. My opponents tend to underestimate me.”
“Are you going to eat?” Cole asked. “We’re all chowing down on the food you brought.”
“I had enough on my way here,” Minimus said. “I’m content. Part of my vow to the Rogue Knight stresses that I keep my armor on while in public. My true identity must remain secret. None of us go by our given names.”
“Do you think you could give me some lessons with a sword?” Jace asked. “Maybe I could become less useless.”
“So long as we journey together, it would be my pleasure,” Minimus replied. He stood. “And I will keep watch during the night.”
“You can’t watch all night,” Twitch said. “When will you rest?”
“I’ve always been able to cheat sleep at need,” Minimus said. “I’ll let you know if it starts dulling my edge. Tonight, sleep well. I’ll rouse you if danger approaches.”
“I’ll lay a seeming over us that will last through the night,” Skye said. “To any onlooker, we’ll appear to be bushes and small trees.”
“You can make that hold while you sleep?” Dalton asked.
“I use some of the same principles involved with a long-term seeming,” she explained. “It will only be good until around sunrise unless I strengthen it.”
“Rest sounds good,” Twitch said, yawning. “That was a long ride.”
“It’ll be a longer one tomorrow,” Skye said.
“If nobody ever visits the Lost Palace,” Cole said, “how do you know where we’re going?”
“Nobody goes there, but everyone knows the way,” Skye said. “We just have to find the Red Road.”
“The what now?” Cole asked.
Sky gave a half smile. “You’ll see.”
The next morning, the sun seemed to rise from all directions, but it never crested the horizon. Instead, the warm twilight persisted throughout the day.
They reached the Red Road two hours into their ride. The trail had almost dwindled to nothing, then all of a sudden they arrived at the start of a broad, smooth road made of seamless red pavement. Maroon curbs ran down the sides. No cracks marred the surface. It looked like it could have been built the day before.
They stopped the horses just shy of the road. It continued as far as Cole could see.
“You see why I wasn’t worried about missing it?” Skye asked.
“You knew our trail became the road?” Cole asked.
“I thought so,” Skye said. “If I had the wrong trail, we could just have cut back and forth across the area. The Red Road runs a long way and is hard to miss.”
“Why is it here?” Dalton asked.
“Nobody knows,” Skye said. “The popular theory is that the torivor’s influence maintains it. The road runs perfectly straight for miles and leads directly to the entrance of the Lost Palace.”
“Do we ride on it or next to it?” Twitch asked.
“Why not ride on it?” Jace asked.
“Trillian can’t see beyond his domain,” Skye said, “but some believe he can see this road.”
“Then we ride next to it,” Mira said.
Skye directed her horse over to the side of the road and began paralleling it. The others fell in behind her.
As they proceeded, Cole couldn’t keep his eyes off the road. It seemed so out of place in this unpopulated wilderness.
“What if we run into Red Guards?” Twitch asked. “Do we have a plan?”
“We’ll try to bargain with them,” Skye said. “We want to use them to contact Trillian.”
“They might just want to capture or kill us,” Jace said.
“If they want a fight, I’ll give it to them,” Minimus said. “The rest of you use seemings and run.”
Something about the Red Road forbade the idle conversations they had enjoyed the previous day. Cole supposed it made Trillian the torivor seem more present. At the end of the road they would reach his palace.
Trees or heavy shrubs sometimes made them veer well away from the road. Although riding on it would have physically been easier, nobody suggested it.
They broke for meals a couple of times. Finally, the light began to fade from all horizons. Skye moved a good distance from the road and made camp. Minimus again volunteered to be the sole sentry.
On his back, Cole gazed at the stars and thought about Jenna. What if he had already missed her? What if she was in Sambria? He could have ridden through the village where they were keeping her without knowing it. If so, he might travel to all the other kingdoms without finding her.