Esán pressed his lips tight, stifled the emotions churning inside of him, and strode down the hall. Behind him, Wolloh’s tap, step, drag died away. Teleporting to his empty room, he locked the door, checked that his wards were secure, and sank down on the bed. With eyes closed, he held out his hand and visualized the book on DerTah. His palm tingled. His eyes flew open. “Wow!” He held up the book and laughed. “I still can’t believe I can do that.” Resting his elbows on his thighs, he thumbed through the pages. “Now…who on DerTah killed that Fire ConDra?”
Much to Nomed’s disgust, he and TheLise had spent the morning giving Granier a superficial tour of Shu Chenaro. The man’s arrogance continued to annoy him. Only TheLise’s hand on his arm made him keep his temper in check. His dislike of the man grew in proportion to the officer’s inability to grasp the precariousness of his situation and in whose home he happened to be visiting.
Now, sitting at the luncheon table waiting for Wolloh, he observed TheLise from under half-closed eyelids. She tilted her head and smiled at the overbearing RewFaaran…that sultry smile that made men worship at her feet. Granier’s full lips remained uncommitted to a return smile, his expression stoic. A charming question…another smile. Nomed felt a growing anger. What’s wrong with me?
TheLise caught his eye. “Control yourself, Seyes .” Pursing pretty lips in a very feminine pout, she arched a well-shaped eyebrow and shifted sparkling, gray eyes back to their unwanted guest.
Nomed felt his scar pull the corner of his mouth into a sneer of astonishment. I’m jealous! Emotion propelled him to his feet. “I’ll go and discover what’s keeping Wolloh.” TheLise’s taunting laughter made his scarred cheek pulse.
In the hallway, he stood undecided. Where would Wolloh and Esán be? Walking briskly to help dissipate his unwelcome emotions, he headed for his mentor’s office. As he approached, an angry voice erupted from behind the closed door. A low and indiscernible reply brought it to a halt. The door flew open with a crack. Gidtuss stormed into the hall, his face as red as the sands of his desert home. Seeing Nomed appeared to exacerbate his anger.
“Your tishin’ nephew destroyed one of my Fire ConDra.” He glared back at his host. “Wolloh refuses to tell me how.” Swinging his gaze back to Nomed, he growled between clenched teeth, “I hold you responsible.”
“And Esán did this when?” Nomed gave him a look of distain that served to irritate the fuming Dreela even further.
“This morning. And don’t sneer at me, Seyes. I take this very seriously.”
“You mean Esán, who was in the midst of his training with the High DiMensioner, just happened to quench a Fire ConDra’s fire in the middle of Fera Finnero? Or…are you accusing our host of using the boy to do this dastardly deed?” His sarcasm appeared lost on the furious man.
Unaware of the dangerous path he trod, Gidtuss cut his eyes at their host who stood casually in the doorway. “He made him do it.”
“Calm yourself, Gidtuss,” drawled the High DiMensioner. “We will discover the culprit, and you may punish as you see fit.” Appearing taller than usual and assuming the air of the magnanimous host, Wolloh stepped into the hallway. “I have a guest to entertain.” He turned his back on the red-faced Dreela. “Come, Seyes, we have a game to play.”
Gidtuss called after them. “You will pay, Seyes Nomed. Mark my words. And you too, Wolloh.” He turned on his heels and marched away down the hall.
“What a very foolish man,” commented Wolloh.
“Esán destroyed a ConDra?”
“No, he did not, but he will find out who did.”
“And how will…”
“Seyes, luncheon is waiting.”
Nomed pressed his lips together, but could not quell the questions chasing themselves around his mind like a dog after its own tail.
16
ConDra’s Fire
Myrrh & Thera
M ira paced a restless path around her back garden. Without the insight from Elcaro’s Eye, she couldn’t know what was happening with the children—or anyone else. She fingered a pebble she’d picked up in her wanderings and tossed it from hand to hand. Where is Allynae? He should be here by now.
Near the barn door, Paisley and Jordett spoke in solemn undertones. They were as impatient as she was for her brother’s return. Tipping her head in a bird-like fashion, she strained to pick up a hint of his whereabouts. With a flip of her wrist, the pebble flew over the pond. Brushing the dirt from her hands, she stretched her four foot, ten inches of height to its fullest and focused on the trail leading from the Terces Wood.
The percussive sound of galloping horses announced Allynae’s appearance at the edge of the trees. Next to him rode a subdued but angry soldier.
Jordett strode to her side. “A spy?”
“Beyond a doubt.” The apprehension haunting her now had a name.
The chaos of four horses arriving at the barn cut off any further discussion. A grim Allynae dismounted and handed Paisley the reins while Jordett helped the secured soldier off his mount.
“I’ll take care o’ the horses.” Paisley cast a look of concerned curiosity in the direction of the uniformed man.
“Thanks, Pais.” Allynae joined Jordett and the soldier. “Where do you want our guest, Mira?”
“Take him to the kitchen. I’ll join you shortly.”
While she considered her next move, Allynae and Jordett escorted the man across the garden and into the cottage. Lorsedi’s soldier and the taut anticipation exuded by the Terces Wood heightened her sense of impending doom. “The trouble’s just beginning, Paisley. Keep your ears and eyes open. More soldiers are on the way.”
“Can we stand against ’em, Mira?” A dark cloud of worry swirled around his towering height.
She smoothed gray hair back from her face. “We must find a way, my friend. Deal with the horses and then join us in the kitchen.”
Midway across the garden, Mira paused. Closing her eyes she shifted to Almiralyn, the Guardian of Myrrh, and continued to the back door.
“I can leave you hog-tied, or you can behave and I’ll release your hands. It’s your choice.” Allynae’s voice as she entered the kitchen held a note of distrust.
All eyes focused her direction.
The change from Mira’s dumpy roundness and flyaway gray hair to Almiralyn’s tall, slender body and white-blonde braid coiled into an elegant bun at the nape of her neck inspired a nod from her brother and an appreciative smile from Jordett. Summoning her full power, she traversed the short distance to the soldier and looked down at the awed surprise registering on his face. “You will behave, will you not? I think you know it would be foolhardy to try anything unwise.”
Gathering his dropped jaw back into a stern-lined grimace, he offered a single nod.
“Please, Allynae.” She indicated the ropes at the soldier’s wrist with a gracious lift of her hand.
Allynae worked the knots lose, coiled the rope, and placed it near at hand on the tabletop. He remained on guard beside the chair.
Assuming a warrior’s inscrutable expression, Almiralyn motioned Jordett forward. “This is Major Jordett of the Peoples Progress Planners in Idronatti on the planet of Thera. He has some questions for you. I suggest that you answer them truthfully.”
A stern, military Jordett dissected the younger man’s face with cold, impersonal eyes. “What is your name and rank?” Cordiality, like a kid glove, encased the command in his question.
The man folded his arms and glared. As Paisley’s massive frame appeared on the back porch, his gaze flicked to the doorway.
“There is no escape for you,” Almiralyn looked down at him. “Please answer the question.”
“I have nothing to say.” He dropped a hand to rest on the seat of his chair.
Jordett’s next question sliced through the strained atmosphere in the kitchen. “Why are you still in Myrrh?”
The soldier stiffened and slumped forward. In one fluid movement, his chair flew sideward into Al
lynae’s knees, and he slammed into Jordett’s chest. With the instincts of a cat, he recovered his balance. Before anyone could move, booted feet pounded down the hall and out the front door. Paisley launched his big body into the back garden, while Jordett and Allynae hastened after the soldier.
Almiralyn surveyed her empty kitchen with a bemused smile. It’s been a long time since I’ve engaged in battle. I should have seen that coming . Shifting to her white and gold bird, she soared out the open kitchen window in pursuit of Lorsedi’s runaway soldier.
Behind the curtain of falling water at Demrach Gateway, Sparrow followed Merrilea up a narrow, rocky incline. Her heightened senses informed her of the presence of seven soldiers. A mix of RewFaaran and PPP approached quickly. Merrilea’s lost lite-stick had alerted them that someone had hiked up the trail ahead of them. She pressed forward with increased urgency, grateful for One Man’s presence at her back.
Something snagged her pant leg. She swore softly and twisted to look over her shoulder. “My foot’s stuck.”
One Man knelt and slid his hands around her ankle. Your hem is caught . A muffled expletive behind him ricocheted up the tunnel. Whipping out his pocketknife, he cut the coarse fabric. “Go! ”
Filled with a burning desire to put distance between herself and a fast approaching enemy, Sparrow scrambled forward. Like a physical hand gripping the back of her neck, she could feel the soldiers closing in. A bubble of panic burst in her throat. If I’m captured, the ramifications for all concerned will be disastrous . She swallowed her fear. Panic will only get us caught.
Not far ahead, she found Merrilea at a fork in the trail.
“They’re almost here,” Sparrow whispered. “Hurry.”
One Man joined them, breathing heavily. “I rolled a big rock across the path, but it won’t keep them long.” He peered into the darkness. “Which way?”
Merrilea took off down the right-hand fork. At first level and smooth, it became steeper and more irregular as it wound upward. Finally, she came to a standstill at a wall of tumbled rocks.
“I may have gotten us trapped,” she said in a whisper filled with misgiving.
One Man stepped ahead of her. Testing the stability of a large stone, he began to climb. Lithe and confident, he hoisted himself up onto a boulder and reached down. Merrilea grasped his hand and clambered up beside him.
Sparrow fought the urge to bolt after her and waited her turn. A noise down the trail told her that the soldiers had found the fork.
“Sparrow .” One Man’s hand reached for hers.
She grasped it and leveraged her way onto the boulder. The hair on the back of her neck twitched. “They’re here .”
“Go! I’ll catch up. Don’t stop, and don’t look back. Get your mother to safety .”
Quiet as a cat, he jumped to the trail below.
“Go, Sparrow .”
Forcing herself to move, she climbed the rocky incline after Merrilea.
As much as she hated to leave him behind, she had no choice. She would be a weapon for the PPP…and for the Largeen Joram if she were caught.
Merrilea’s hand grasped her arm. “Where’s One Man?”
“Stop in the name of the PPP.” The barked command provided the answer.
Merrilea shoved her up the precarious embankment. “We have to get you out of here. One Man can take care of himself.”
Above them, light filtered down through a jagged crack. Sparrow climbed silently toward it—grateful for Merrilea—scared for One Man on the trail below.
The RewFaaran soldier careened across Almiralyn’s front yard and dashed for the trees, heading with unerring accuracy for the portal in the Terces Wood. Almiralyn flew above him, her eyes glued to his running form. Below her, Allynae and Paisley plunged through the underbrush in pursuit of their escaping prisoner. Gemlucky erupted from the barn with Jordett on his back and galloped down the trail that led to Demrach Gateway.
The soldier dodged onto a track leading through a thick stand of trees and picked up speed. If he maintained his pace and stayed out of Jordett’s path, he would beat the men to the portal. Almiralyn streaked skyward. She would be waiting for him.
Landing in the clearing, she shifted to Human and took up a position in front of the gateway. The men raced in her direction, each pounding step sounding an alarm throughout the woods. The soldier burst into the open, sprinted across the clearing, and plunged into the underbrush on the far side. Twigs and small branches snapped beneath his feet as he ran. Allynae and Paisley stopped, half hidden in the trees, their footsteps no longer adding to the cacophony of running sounds. Gemlucky’s hooves beating the ground like a drum thundered closer. As he reached the clearing, Jordett reined him in and cast a questioning look in her direction. A thick silence settled over the forest.
An expletive in a foreign tongue exploded the quiet. Feet pounded back toward the clearing. Another bellowed howl elicited a snort from Gemlucky. Jordett dismounted and took up a protective stance by her side.
Paisley and Allynae started forward. Almiralyn shook her head and focused her attention where the soldier’s last cry had been heard. Their gaze, she knew, followed hers.
“What now?” Jordett asked in a soft undertone.
“Wait.”
The soldier’s next cursed expletive was cut short. He had stopped running and could be heard stumbling through the underbrush.
A black panther broke free of the trees, its long, supple tail whipping the air. Golden eyes gleamed in the diffused light. Behind it, the soldier, white-faced with alarm, was herded into the clearing by three more predatory cats.
The lead panther shifted form. Almiralyn smiled. Voer the Pentharian, deep blue, half Human and half Reptilian, his thick braids cascading over his shoulder, bowed and extended a tattooed hand. Gold rings in his right eyebrow and ears glistened. His strange tattoos glowed.
In the way of his kind, she placed her right hand on his and her left hand on her heart. “Welcome, my dear friend.”
He rested a long-fingered hand on his heart. “We come to serve the Guardian of Myrrh.” The warmth of his smile, faded into a warrior’s seriousness. “This man is a spy?”
“He is indeed,” said Allynae, striding from the woods with Paisley.
Color filled the clearing as Yuin, Stee, and Jeet shifted to greet their friends.
Almiralyn observed the expression on the soldier’s face. The odds had changed, and not in his favor.
Held firmly in Stee’s grip, the soldier observed blue, green, red, and orange Pentharian shake hands with Human men and pay respectful homage to Myrrh’s Guardian. He knew Pentharian by their reputation and shuddered. I must get word to the Largeen Joram.
The creature holding his arm turned piercing gold eyes to stare into his. Never in his RewFaaran life had he been so terrified.
At the foot of the rockslide, One Man faced a stern young officer. In the dim light of the lite-stick he held in his hand, a PPP insignia blazed on his uniform hat. Behind him in the gloom, more enemies loomed. With luck they would think he was the only explorer.
“Who are you?” the officer demanded.
“Name’s Eno Namman.” He kept his voice steady and his face blank. “Have I done somethin’ wrong?”
“What are you doing here?” The question contained a threat.
He allowed his mind to appear unprotected and answered. “I live in the valley and enjoy explorin’ the area. Today, I decided to relive younger times.” Maintaining a reminiscent façade, he indicated the space with a wave of his hand. “When I was a boy, I used to hide here with friends to avoid doin’ chores.”
Another officer pushed his way forward. “Who is with you?”
One Man noted the RewFaaran uniform. He let his gaze travel to the PPP officer. “You no longer in charge?”
“Answer the question.” The RewFaaran shoved his face within an inch of his nose.
“I’m alone.” A mind probe tingled in his head. He smiled a benign and witless smil
e.
The RewFaaran officer growled, “You and you, take him back to camp. Secure him so he doesn’t try anything stupid.” Glaring at the remaining four soldiers, he barked an order. “Explore this cave from end to end and make sure he isn’t lying.”
One Man allowed himself to be led away from the rockslide—away from Sparrow and Merrilea.
Trussed to a hard wooden chair in a stall in Almiralyn’s barn, the captured soldier could not take his eyes off the blue Pentharian. Ropes at his wrists and ankles cut into his flesh and kept him alert. Based on what he knew about the mercenaries of ReTaw Au Qa, he could not be certain that he could continue his stoic silence. How much time before I die?
“You know my race by reputation.” Voer appeared relaxed and cordial. “Our venom is deadly. It can stun or terminate in an instant. We don’t kill in our true form, nor do we injure the innocent. “However, my friend, you are in Myrrh as a spy whose job is to bring harm to those I care about. Consider how that makes me feel. Consider what I can do to remedy this—beginning with you. Answer my questions, and you will remain unscathed. Refuse and…”
The Pentharian shifted. The soldier held his breath as a panther circled his chair, inhaling his scent as though memorizing it for future reference. A damp black nose sniffed his face. The smell of rancid death spilled from its cavernous mouth—choking him—clogging his throat with sticky warmth. His muscles contracted to the point of trembling. A low growl pressed him against the chair. Bile rose like swill to fill his mouth. Again, the low growl rumbled deep in the muscled throat. It burst through bared teeth and exploded into a resounding roar. Huge fangs snapped the air close to his face. Golden eyes beneath heavy black lids locked onto his. A paw, claws unsheathed, came to rest on his chest. The golden eyes opened wider. Cloth ripping reverberated in his head. Razor-sharp claws grazed his exposed skin. A drop of warm blood left a trail down his chest. Silent screams collided in his brain… “Just kill me.”
The UnFolding Collection Two Page 13
