Reign of Phyre

by Nicholas Cooper

  “I’d very much like to, but that is not the order I was given.”

  “Enemy…of…I. Magicks you use. Yelia curse you all.” She attempted to make it seem nothing more than wriggling, but Kiern knew she was looking for the knife that Rhen had removed just before. Her face twisted with rage, before she calmed herself with a huff. “Fun?”

  “I did no such thing.”

  “Sen af buyn ghor as parit nyr voel cleia tin Euphyr. Not you…you one..you group. Kill me.”

  “No.”

  She huffed again. Kiern remained emotionless. He knew what she’d try to do. Realising her situation, she would attempt to anger her captor to the point that he would kill her against his own orders or throw caution to the wind and find himself on the receiving end of his own weapon, saving herself an interrogation, or a fate worse than death. However, Kiern expected this, and he would not allow himself to fall for her antics.

  “Shameful man. Volsn gerlit. Weak… and you dead …no Magick.”

  “Probably.”

  “No honour. No fair. No warrior. You owe death you life. Okay capture me? Volsyn gerlit.”

  “You ambushed us. I’d hardly call that fair.”

  “Marvishik Yeluni! Thousand warrior spit to you corpse!”

  “That sounds unpleasant.”

  She thrashed around at her bindings, her plan getting nowhere. But neither was Kiern. What was he doing? He’d bumped heads but wasn’t making any ground. She was alive and unarmed, which was more than he’d have liked were he in charge, but she wasn’t going to talk at this rate. He needed that extra step. He’d need to get on her side. As though reading his mind, Rhen jumped into the conversation.

  “I said your prayer, after they died.”

  “Who you? What prayer?”

  “I’m Rhen. I’m a Karzarki. I was in your position not too long ago, though a bit worse for wear,” he added, pointing to his ear, “and half an ear short.”

  “Why help no honour Yeluni?”

  “I tried escaping once. I… reconsidered. But they’re not all bad. They’ve saved my life on more than one occasion. I’m sure the men you came with would have had no reservations about killing me, even if I am not Yalean. But they fought alongside me, and if it wasn’t for them, I’m certain I would have an axe wedged in my chest. Maybe yours, even. Though, to be fair, if it wasn’t for them endangering my life in the first place after taking me prisoner, or breaking my hand…” he trailed off, looking at Kiern.

  “Well, turns out you might have Reilek to thank for that, and not us, it seems,” Kiern said, defensively.

  “I guess that’s what you’re going to be helping us work out…uh, what’s your name?”

  A long pause. “Levi.”

  “Thank you. And I did say the prayer to them, Levi.”

  She snorted. “What is prayer?”

  “Maleca ten Yelu uona”.

  Rhen was really coming into his own here, thought Kiern. Come to think of it, he’d have to properly thank him after. Rhen had saved his life back during the attack. He didn’t really want to, but it was an opportunity to get closer. He had already failed, but he could still try to make things better.

  He looked back to the Taeryen, Levi. Those words must have meant something to her, because her demeanour suddenly changed. “You said to eight?”

  “Seven.”

  “Who else captive?”

  “Just you.”

  “No understand.”

  Kiern caught on. He didn’t know much about Taeryen, but it was plain to see it in her eyes. “Your leader ran away.”

  “Liar. Poreja.”

  “I can show you the bloody trail he left if you really want.”

  “He did no….no, you lie.”

  Rhen backed up Kiern. “It’s true. I saw it. Reisch erm…he hit Reilek with an arrow, and I thought that was the end of Reilek, but it hit him in the leg. Once the battle was over, there was no trace of him, except a trail of blood. Imagine Reilek’s surprise…”

  She sat there in silence for a second then looked at her hand. Kiern saw a large scar on her palm from a straight cut. She brought it up to her forehead with difficulty and closed her eyes, forgetting about her current circumstances, if only for a few moments. Then suddenly she shouted, “Bastmyra! ...He run.”

  Kiern leaned back against the cart. He couldn’t help himself. “Hobbled, probably.” The sense of betrayal he felt at Reilek’s hands needed an outlet.

  She vented her frustration at Kiern, screaming something he didn’t understand that he could tell was not very polite. Reisch stopped the cart, no doubt questioning his decision to leave Kiern in charge of dealing with the captive. As if picking up on this, she spoke directly to Reisch who had already turned around. “You want I talk? Make fire and free,” she said, holding out her bound hands.

  “You do not give orders around here, especially not to the Commander,” Kiern said, feeling the need to reassert his authority over her.

  “Okay. You no make fire. I make. You want think you power to I. So good. Small man.” She cut her bindings with an up-to-this-moment concealed small knife before putting it back in a sleeve at the back of her calf.

  Kiern looked at Rhen who shared the same look of astonishment. Good job, you nearly got me killed, did you only sell blouses is what Kiern tried to convey in a single glare. He had to do something about this woman. The walking arsenal was undermining him in front of the Commander and making a mockery of him; of Reisch’s second. Realistically however, there were only three positions left, and Bairn who was under him was a much more capable man than himself. But Commander Reisch had given him this position to prove himself, and he was letting a prisoner whittle his authority away and therefore that of the Elsgard itself. He picked up his sword and was about to prevent her from standing up but Commander Reisch just put a hand on his shoulder and seated him back down again. Let her do it, his eyes seemed to say. As his arse was planted back down, he suddenly realised that she had bested him; he made a rash decision in losing himself to anger, and she was going to make him pay the price for it had Reisch not intervened.

  So, he sat there in silence, regaining his composure. Her eyes scowled at him, a viper denied its next meal. He kept his distance, humbled and angry at himself. He watched this determined woman have her bindings cut and begin to gather kindling by herself. Well, not entirely by herself. Rhen, who could recently be trusted with sharp objects, went off searching for some larger bits of wood to assist her. She hardly seemed to notice.

  Finally, there was fire. She sat there, looking into the flames for what seemed an eternity. She began to chant in an almost low hum. Are all Taeryens fire-worshipping axe-wielding beastmen? he asked himself, noting that though the sample size was small, all fitted the description.

  Kiern looked towards Reisch, as if asking to do something, but he stood there, his arms crossed, just looking at Levi. Eventually, she raised that scarred hand to her forehead, and then rested it on her lap. She reached into the fire for a large stick, and wrapped her hand around it, clenching with all her might. She winced in pain, but did not flinch, did not say a word. All Kiern could think was why?

  Rhen verbalised that thought, as he ran to get water from a nearby stream, and all she said was, “Get away road, I talk.”

  -------------------------------------

  Lawbreakers who have caused harm and suffering to the people Taer’lyn shall repay the people by being of service to the people for the remainder of their lives, regardless of how long that may be.

  Varn the Lawgiver

  Levi

  All she wanted was a cause to die for. She had that cause in Reilek, and now that had been taken away from her. She wasn’t supposed to live. You lose, and then you die. What was she supposed to do now?

  “Talk,” said the underling, refusing to take his eyes off her. He had watched her like a hawk as they relocated deeper into the trees and started a second fire. He was young and dumb, and felt the need to prove hi
mself to the older one.

  The night was really cold. She was freezing under her furs, though she would not show it. She was not alone. The Karzuki had wrapped himself up in what seemed as many layers as he could find, and huddled around the fire, rubbing his hands together as if to stave of frostbite. No wonder Karzuk never invaded the north.

  She could understand his discomfort. Before Karzuk went conquering east, they had never had to deal with the icy cold, and even though she was raised in the icy north, she still had the sense to layer up. But these Yeluni were wearing the same as what they’d wear in the peak of summer. They sat patiently on a log without so much as a shiver. It was unnerving.

  “Nartenis run, but no go far. He can no go home.” This unwieldy language was hard on her tongue, as were the words she had to say. But he wouldn’t last more than a couple of days in this weather, and that fact alone allowed her to speak.

  “Nartenis? What’s that? Ah, Reilek, your leader?” said the idiot.

  “Leader, yes. Nartenis.”

  “You didn’t know his name? And why can’t he return home?” The underling chucked another log onto the fire. The heat of the fire stung her hand, the seared flesh continuously throbbing in agony, but she had no regrets.

  “No name after become Black Wolves.” Or a home.

  “Black Wolves? What is that? He was exiled?”

  “Your word no I understand. Don’t know exiled.”

  “Erm, told he could never come back.” He made no attempt at hiding his interest. She was glad her listening was better than her speaking; any more effort required to understand the annoying sack of meat would result in someone getting stabbed.

  Fine, what was holding her back? There was nothing left in protecting the bastmyra that demanded her loyalty. “Black Wolves …how you say…dead men no but yet dead? Dead warriors. Ten warriors is pack, and Nartenis lead. We help Taer’lyn until die, but never come home. Alive or die.”

  “Ah, so common thieves, murders, the criminal dregs of society. You lot get rounded up and sent away to be useful.”

  “Man kill I brother. I kill man. Law is good. I can. But, man is…how say… village king. No law help. I must choose slave to his son and Black Wolf. I choose Black Wolf.” And speak to me like that again and I’ll pretend you were my brother’s killer.

  The man shifted uncomfortably on the log. He was less immune to her icy glare than the weather, it seemed. “What are these Black Wolves, exactly?”

  “Black Wolves make Pack. Ten people is Pack. Many train. Many die. Black Wolves hunt. Hunt and help Taer’lyn. Never return.” She wondered if perhaps it was a bad idea to tell a Yeluni all this information; she felt no obligation to defend the coward, but some information was about her homeland. But a Black Wolf was never supposed to be captured alive, nor deserted. She was unsure what she was doing. But, without a cause, honesty didn’t seem to have any consequences. There was no inherent good or bad if there was no cause. Honesty was just honesty. Besides, she doubted the Yeluni this far south were plotting against Taer’lyn.

  “I see. So, Reilek can’t go back because he is a Black Wolf, too?”

  “Nartenis can go back. Pack die, need more Pack. Must ask Elders. Reilek can no. We mission must win. No lose. Win or die. Or both.” She sighed. In not killing me you have deprived me of a purpose to live for. I cannot find a new Pack, I cannot return home. I have lost my path. I am farslen, I am wanderer. She desperately wanted to be able to speak freely, but the Yupiran tongue was inhibiting her.

  The man sat there in contemplation, as though he was unsure what he should do with her. He was not alone in that regard, as she also had no idea what she should do. ‘Captured’ was not part of any Pack’s vocabulary.

  The silence that had lingered was eventually broken the Nartenis of the Yeluni. “Well, I will not have it said that we killed an unarmed captive. Nor am I stupid enough to arm you and risk having any more of my men die. So, we are at an empasse. You will ride with us in the meantime as a captive, until one of us comes up with a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

  Levi quickly judged him to be calculating just like her Nartenis, but seemed more honourable. It counted for little, she mused, and might be his downfall one day.

  Understanding some of what he said would also be of use to her one day. How do you give an arm to someone? And to kill men with it? She recognised few words in what he said, and even less in understanding. “I no like…captive,” she said, knowing that the underling would feel the need to speak up and assert himself.

  “Unfortunately for you, you ha-”

  “Have no choice,” she finished for him, with a bored face. Inside, she was smiling, knowing she used the right words, demonstrating his predictability – a weakness. The Commander said something in his native tongue to the sack of meat; probably something about letting her quip go.

  The Karzuki, who had been quiet, spoke up. “You know, perhaps with a little bit of negotiating, we can work something out here. Levi made it obvious that being a wanderer is not a good thing for a Tyrellian. She can’t return home - she has no Pack. We can’t keep her a captive forever. She needs a cause to die for. Now, despite wanting my trust, I only have a vague idea of what cause you Yaleans have since you have never really told me…” He trailed off again, as though the realisation only showed itself after he had verbalised it. “Anyway, we both have something in common now. Reilek is an enemy to me, to the Elsgard, and to Levi. How about we start with that and work something out?”

  “First,” said Reisch, “tell me about your mission, if you would, Levi.”

  Up until now, she had only a few moments of doubt in telling these foreigners whatever it was they wanted to know. She was never going home again, and her Pack was slain. But for some reason, this felt like exposing herself. But if she was content with dying, what had she to lose? After all, the mission was given by the Bastmyra. “Find Seekers, kill seekers. Stop you find shield.”

  “What?” said the Karzuki, incredulously, “I was acting on my own. The only person I told this to was Yaren, who ended up face down in the Togris thanks to Reilek. So how is it that both Yalea and Tyrellia tracked me down?”

  “Ah, you traitor son in Desari.” Traitor? Trader…damn it. “Trader.”

  “Lady, you’re making more questions than answers.”

  “You no understand Black Wolves. Black Wolves is die. No, death gooder. You no think, no question. Follow Nartenis. Listen order and do order. You question no to me, to Reilek.”

  “But you were with him. He must have told you something. Information is vital in any mission.” The Karzuki was searching for something. Chances were he still blamed himself for his friend’s death, and either wanted proof that he had been careful, or careless in the desert.

  “He travel in you Pack. How can I know?”

  The Karzuki seemed frustrated, knowing she was not entirely forthcoming. “Then how do you know I was a merchant’s son? You obviously know some things, so tell me. You said you’d talk. So talk.”

  “You also captive. You no order I. But if I no tell you, maybe help Reilek. So I tell you.” Was this really a good idea? “Join Black Wolves, two thing change. One no more think you. You now Pack. Two you share thinking.”

  “Yes, yes. Oh, the camaraderie, yes that explains it all. Now I know how having never met either of you before you knew who and where I was. I’m sure Yaren can now rest easy.”

  The boy hiding inside the man was coming out with all his sarcasm and snark. Fortunately for her sarcasm transcended language barriers. These people were not showing any courtesy in simplifying their choice of words.

  “Shut up.” Oh, he annoyed her to no end. Men always went on about how difficult women are. She was giving him the answer and he decided to interrupt and use that tone? She didn’t have to give an answer. Living with a bunch of men had given her some rough habits, but what annoyed her most was their own ignorance when it came to dealing with problems.

  The boy looked a
round to his captors for support, but he found himself alone. “That um, came out a little rough.” She crossed her leg and gave him a glare that said I’m waiting.

  “Sorry.”

  “I continue? We have bond. Nartenis no together and he can give order. No use voice.”

  “Ah,” said the underling, “your hand.”

  “Oh, soooo smart.” Though she could beat this one in a fight, his real talent probably lay elsewhere. It had to be. She would back herself to probably beat him there, too. He was quite an easy read.

  “Yes, hand. Farsum. Um, how say…mind bond. Hand touch head and close eyes. But I stop.”

  “You closed it off in the fire.”

  “Good boy. I see Reilek. He run. Blood. On road to Verni. He kill traveller with cart. Keep body. He plan say he attack by…Sons or Khisgevi. He change by who ask.”

  The Karzuki spat. “Coward.”

  “I agree. He must die. He can no run. He Black Wolf. He know failure is no possible. He say to all Pack. He made that fate. He leave Pack to die. So I burn bond. No bond with Bastmyra.”

  The Commander stood up and threw the last of the wood into the fire. “Well, you’ve given us a lot to think about. For your cooperation, I will say this: you have lost your cause; you are a wanderer. If you believe that you can find your way in this foreign land and make a new life, find a reason to live, I will free you here and you may go unharmed. If you wish to kill Reilek, we will help you, as he is now a problem for us too.”

  “I have reason to live.”

  “Then we shall part ways here.”

  “I hunt and kill Bastmyra.” This man had given her a cause after all.

  The Nartenis grinned. “I thought you might say that. Welcome to the Elsgard.”

  There was one last thing she needed to do. She calmly walked up to Ken or whatever his name was, and before he could react, punched him as hard as she could in the gut. He keeled over, the wind knocked right out of him. His gasping pleased her. She followed through with a backhand across his face. At least this swing reached its destination. “You die before but you lucky. It fair. Now, Nartenis, I join Elsgard.”