The World of Samar Box Set 3

by M. L. Hamilton

  Kendrick frowned and Muzik tensed with expectation. “A long wait, I don’t understand...”

  “Until Tarnow returns,” she answered.

  Kendrick and Muzik exchanged glances. The rain was falling in sheets and Tyla was drenched, yet she didn’t care.

  Kendrick reached out and took her arm, drawing her close. She allowed him to do so, but she watched him. “Tyla, Tarnow won’t return, and if he does we won’t be here. We leave for Temeron in the next few days.”

  “Send the guards away, Kendrick, so we might speak in peace.” The Nazarien hesitated a moment, but Tyla’s eyes narrowed on him. “Send the guards away, Kendrick.”

  Kendrick looked at Muzik, who made a quick wave with his hand and the guards retreated back into the castle, Muzik following close behind. As Tyla heard the last of their footsteps on the cobblestones, she led Kendrick into the gardens, Kian at her side.

  Once inside the cover of the trees, she turned to him. “I want us to understand one another. We took a pledge to bind us together, therefore we should express exactly what each of us expects from this bond.” She paused to give him time to respond, but he merely nodded. She sighed and continued. “Tarnow will return to Adishian whether he lives or dies, Rarick will see to that, but I can’t leave until I know his fate. Do you understand – I will never leave Adishian until he is dead.”

  “Tyla, you can’t stay. Rarick may come and then there will be no escape.”

  “So be it,” she said. “If you feel the need to leave before Tarnow’s return, then I release you now of your bond, but should you stay, I promise you this, Kendrick Andel, and you may be assured my word is good, once I know of Tarnow’s death, I will leave with you and I will go wherever it is you choose. Upon Tarnow’s death, I will grant you the loyalty I’ve given him these ten years past. Do you agree to this?”

  Kendrick was silent for a long while. Then he exhaled heavily. “All right, Tyla,” he answered, “I accept your promise and I’ll stay until news is heard of Tarnow’s fate.”

  She inclined her head to him then. He reached out impulsively and brushed his hand against her face, burying his fingers in her thick, wet hair. She untangled his hand from her hair and held it in her own. “Come, let’s find a dry place where we can talk in private. I think we ought to know more about each other.”

  He nodded, unable to speak, and allowed her to lead him back toward the castle.

  From the windows on the second story, Jarrett watched the entire conversation with a growing surge of jealousy. As they left the gardens, he closed the curtains over the window and lay back down on his bed, shielding his eyes with his crossed arms. He wished fervently now that he’d never looked out.

  CHAPTER 8

  The days flowed by in rapid succession. The rain continued to fall in torrents with little pause between each storm. The garden ran in streams, the mud so thick that even Tyla didn’t venture out into it. Few people left their homes to go to market. On the seventh day after Tarnow’s departure, the weather grew colder and the thick sheets of rain turned into flurries of snow.

  Kendrick and Jarrett spent most of the time preparing for the journey to Loden, aided by Muzik, who contracted some of the townswomen to make parkas and coveralls for them. The captain of the Blue Battalion intended to accompany them with a half dozen of his most able soldiers. The three of them figured that they should keep the party as small as possible to escape detection.

  Throughout the long, dreary days, they worked on the maps and traced the trails that they intended to take. Muzik knew most of the roads from Adishian to the border of Loden, he had even traveled some through the Grozik Mountains, but beyond the summit, they would be forced to rely only on the maps Tarnow had provided.

  Manx, one of the Council members, met with them at the close of the first week. He was the most familiar with the threat of Orahim and warned them that once they entered the Groziks they must be cautious for Orahim patrols. The Orahim were mobilizing under Rarick’s instructions and they’d chosen the Grozik Mountains as their rendezvous site with the Sarkisian forces. If the Orahim captured them, they’d be taken to Rarick.

  Tyla would take no part in these preparations. Her resolve to stay in Adishian until Tarnow’s death was as strong as in the beginning. As the days wore on and still no news came from the Adishian battalion, the three companions grew increasingly nervous, and Tyla became all the more adamant. She stayed in her room most of the time, allowing only Kendrick to visit, and even these visits were strictly controlled. The remainder of the time, Kendrick spent with Jarrett and Muzik. He and Jarrett never discussed Tyla; in fact, they rarely mentioned her name.

  As the second week passed, they began making regular visits to the outer wall of Adishian, searching for any news that might have come or any sign of either a Sarkisian garrison or the Adishian battalion. Still there was nothing.

  On the fourteenth day since Tarnow’s departure, they stood on the bulwark of the northern wall and surveyed the desert that stretched before them. Guards in heavy parkas shuffled past through the growing mounds of snow, their breath frosty white in the glow from the watch fires. The snow fell in such heavy torrents that visibility was nearly zero, but still they stood and gazed out.

  Jarrett shivered and pulled the hood of his parka closer about him. Kendrick turned and regarded him for a moment in silence. The Terrian’s arm had healed, but as their time in Adishian had worn on, he’d grown more taciturn. What surprised the Stravad most, however, was that Jarrett and the Adishian Queen had spent an almost obsessive amount of time together that first week after his recovery, even Kendrick had been envious, but that had ended abruptly and they now seemed to avoid each other. If Jarrett happened to take supper with the Nazarien in the dining room, Tyla wouldn’t leave her chambers and vice versa. Finally Jarrett had ordered supper be brought to his room every night and Kendrick couldn’t persuade him to do otherwise.

  “It’s getting colder, isn’t it?” he said, when the silence became oppressive.

  Jarrett stirred and turned toward him. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

  “It’s getting colder.”

  Jarrett nodded. “I don’t relish the idea of making this journey in the dead of winter this way, but I guess Rarick chooses our time for us.”

  They fell silent again and stared out at the ivory white landscape. The guards passed them once more, their breathing heavy in the cold winter air. Kendrick shook the snow from his parka, although he was beginning to wonder why he bothered. It was falling so heavily now that it quickly gathered again on his shoulders.

  “You’ve been awfully quiet lately. Is anything wrong?”

  Jarrett smiled wryly. “Is this part of your Nazarien training?”

  “I was just concerned.”

  Jarrett laughed. “I’m fine, just anxious to put an end to this entire expedition. I’ve been away from Terra Antiguo for nearly three months now and we’ve spent an entire month in Adishian. We’re trapped here and can’t even make good on the promise we took because Tyla Eldralin is as stubborn as her father was and refuses to leave.” He paused. “But I suppose you’ll leave this journey a little richer than before.”

  Kendrick tensed. He knew what the Terrian was hinting at, but he didn’t think he had any right to address this subject with him, even in passing. “What exactly do you mean?” he said guardedly, hoping that his voice carried enough of a warning in it.

  Jarrett looked away and his breath came in thick white clouds. “You’ve captured the heart and the hand of the fair Tyla Eldralin. I don’t suppose any greater feat has been accomplished by a Nazarien,” he said, his voice laced with bitterness.

  Kendrick opened his mouth to respond, but Jarrett suddenly placed his hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Kendrick, I didn’t mean what I said. I’m anxious to be going and frustrated with Tyla. Every day I expect to see Rarick ride through the main gates with his garrison and then we’ll all be in for it.”

  “I know, but
my hands are as tied as yours. I’ve addressed this with Tyla on a daily basis, but she won’t budge. I don’t know what else to do.”

  “Then perhaps we’re going to have to abduct her,” Jarrett said with a cynical smile. Without another word, he brushed past Kendrick and descended the ladder that led to the bulwarks. Kendrick watched him go and then turned back to the snow covered plains beyond the outer wall. He knew in his heart that Jarrett wasn’t frustrated with Tyla just because she wouldn’t leave. Something had happened between the two of them to drive them apart and Kendrick wanted to know what that had been.

  He waited for a few more minutes, then descended the bulwarks himself. Pulling his parka closer about him, he headed for the castle. Once inside a servant was waiting to take the damp parka. He slipped out of his waterproof boots and deposited them before the fireplace in the large parlor, then moved upstairs. The castle was warm and dry, a nice change from the bitterly cold storm that brewed outside. Before he’d left the citadel, he’d heard some of the soldiers talking about an approaching blizzard and he secretly hoped they were right; he’d rather have a blizzard pass them by while they were still in Adishian, rather than on the trail.

  He went directly to Tyla’s room, as he had at this time every day since Tarnow’s departure, and knocked at the door. The door opened and Kendrick stepped inside. Tyla didn’t speak to him, but crossed the room and took a seat once more in the window. Kian lay before the fire and lifted his head to regard the Nazarien as he entered.

  Kendrick crossed to Tyla’s side, taking a seat. “How are you today?”

  She looked at him and then her gaze shifted to the window again. “I’m fine, Kendrick. Merely waiting as is the rest of Adishian.”

  “Waiting for Tarnow’s return?”

  She shrugged. “Either that or Rarick’s coming. I’m not sure anymore which will happen first and I’m not sure I care.”

  Kendrick frowned. She’d been in a state of depression for many days now, but he hadn’t seen her as hopeless as this and it disturbed him. He placed his hand under her chin, turning her face until their eyes met. “Tyla, every day I’ve come to you and I’ve told you that we should leave before Rarick arrives, but you’ve declined. I know you fear him, why won’t you just give in and then you’ll never have to worry about him again?”

  She moved his hand away. “You don’t understand, do you, Kendrick? I’ll never be free of Rarick as long as he or I live,” she said. “He’s my curse as he was my father and mother’s.”

  “But you can break away from that curse, if only you’d leave.”

  “No, he’d never free me of it. Even if I go to Loden, he will find me there. Don’t you understand – he wants what I have, he wants my power, and he won’t stop until he gets it.” She fixed her gaze on him and then leaned back against the window. “It’s been like this for as long as I can remember. My brother told me that even when I was a baby, I could do things that others couldn’t. I could make people see things that weren’t there, terrible things. Tarnow believes that Rarick knew I’d be born with such power, and he thought that if he could raise me as his own, he would have that power for his use.”

  Kendrick leaned forward. “I’m confused then, Tyla. How can he use a power that only you possess unless you give it to him?”

  She looked down at her clasped hands. “Have you ever loved something so much that you would do anything to protect it?”

  Kendrick studied her bowed head, the way the light struck her ebony hair, the line of her cheek, and the curve of her jaw. He felt a choking sensation whenever he looked at her, and for the first time in his life, he thought he understood exactly what she meant. “Yes,” he answered simply.

  “Whenever I used my ability in front of others, Rarick would get furious. He didn’t want news of my existence to escape Sarkisian and so he’d punish me...brutally.”

  “Do you mean he beat you?”

  “Sometimes, but most often Kalas took the blame. In all honesty, Rarick liked beating Kalas more than me because he gained two things whenever he did it. He made Kalas fear him and he made me promise to obey him to save my brother.”

  Kendrick reached for her hand and folded it in both of his own. “I’m sorry, Tyla.”

  Tyla met his gaze. “You haven’t heard the worst of it yet. You asked me how he can use my power unless I give it to him. Well, I did...often.”

  Kendrick frowned again. “I don’t understand.”

  “Of course you don’t.” She pulled her hand free and leaned closer to him. “You don’t know what I’m capable of doing, Kendrick.”

  Kendrick drew away a little. There was a strange emerald gleam to her eyes. “Tell me,” he said, aware his voice sounded meeker than he wished.

  Her eyes drifted to the snow outside the window. “There were times from my earliest memory that he would come to the tower with some person – prisoner, vagrant, whatever he could find. He would tell me to use my curse on this person, inflict pain or fear...or something, and I would refuse. He would have a guard start beating Kalas, and Kalas would whimper or cry out or simply cringe. It would go on and on...” Her voice trailed away. “Until I did what he told me to do. Until I caused the other person harm.”

  Kendrick’s mouth opened, but nothing came out.

  She met his gaze again, her eyes shining. “Like I said, I don’t ever remember a time when these episodes didn’t happen, but I also remember when they stopped. When Tarnow brought me here. I won’t leave Adishian until Tarnow’s gone. I can’t, so please, please stop asking it of me.”

  Kendrick shifted his gaze to the floor, watching the dog where he lay at their feet. Something bothered him about her story, something very important, but he couldn’t quite grasp what it was.

  “I’m still confused. Why would he ever let you out of his control? And why would he let you become Queen of Adishian, especially with Dolan as Tarnow’s closest advisor? Surely he had to know that someone would recognize you.”

  “And what if they did? What could they do about it? By the time I came to Adishian, it was too late. I wasn’t about to leave Tarnow or my brother, and I’m female. Your order may have become a little more lenient about marriage, but women are still regarded as less than equal, aren’t they?”

  “Not Talar Eldralin’s daughter, Tyla. You would have been granted safe haven in Chernow.”

  “As what, Kendrick? Another pawn. Do you really think the Nazarien could have known about my power and allowed me to let it stagnate?”

  “They could train you to use it properly.”

  “Like they did my father?”

  Kendrick narrowed his eyes. “What do you know about that? Did Dolan say something?”

  Tyla smiled grimly. “Dolan and surprisingly enough, Gallia. She drank heavily in the last years I was in Sarkisian and occasionally she would call Kalas and me to her chambers. She always wanted to tell us something about our father.”

  “I’ll admit the Nazarien weren’t successful with your father, but with you they might have been. You’ve learned to control it yourself, haven’t you?”

  “To a lethal degree.”

  Kendrick suddenly grasped the thought that had been eluding him. “If Rarick wants your power so badly, why did he let you live here in Adishian for ten years? What made him agree to Tarnow’s marriage proposal?”

  She exhaled heavily. “I tried to kill him.”

  Again Kendrick couldn’t answer. He stared at the woman in front of him, unable to reconcile this cold, emotionless sentence from the woman he’d seen heal Jarrett.

  She gave him a rueful smile. “I told you you don’t understand. I’m sorry you’ve gotten mixed up in all of this.”

  Kendrick shook his head. “It’s a lot to process.” He narrowed his eyes on her again. “If you tried to kill him, how come you weren’t successful? You seem to believe you have the ability.”

  She laughed. “I have the ability, Kendrick, whether you want to believe it or not.”

&nbs
p; “I didn’t mean to offend you,” he answered quickly, then felt that it was a strange answer for the topic they were discussing. “It’s just that Rarick’s death would make a lot of things much easier.”

  “I agree.” She shrugged. “I wish I could explain it. I can read anyone’s mind, I can even exert control over their actions, I can move things, I can cause pain, and I know that I can kill, and yet, none of it works on Rarick. I have hammered and hammered at his mind, but the only way I can explain it is to say that there’s a steel cage around it, protecting him from me.”

  “How can that be, Tyla? He’s not Stravad.”

  She closed her eyes briefly. “I don’t know. If I did, Rarick of Sarkisian would be dead.”

  * * *

  A knock sounded at the door. Jarrett looked up from the book he was reading, then closed it and laid it on the table beside his chair. He crossed the room in a few long strides and pulled the door open.

  His eyes widened in surprise. Tyla was standing on the threshold. She met his gaze, then dropped her eyes to the floor.

  “I was wondering if you’d care to take dinner with us tonight. Nothing formal, just Kendrick, Muzik and myself.”

  Jarrett’s fingers tightened on the doorframe, but he kept his features neutral. He didn’t want to sit at the same table with Tyla and the Nazarien. He didn’t want to be reminded that Kendrick now had a claim that he would never know, and yet, how could he refuse her?

  “Fine,” he answered, swallowing against the lump in his throat.

  She gave him a small smile, then stepped back. He moved into the hallway and closed the door. She led the way toward the dining hall and he forced himself to stay one step behind. It prevented conversation and helped remind him that he was a subordinate.

  Like the rest of Castle Kazan, the dining hall showed neglect. It was clean, but the table was scarred, the floor unwaxed, and the tapestries frayed. Muzik and Kendrick rose at their entrance and a handful of servants bustled into motion, pulling out chairs for all of them.