Path of Blood

by Diana Pharaoh Francis

  Pain rent his soul. He shuddered.

  Wrongness. It was deeper, more profound than this one that had called him here. It hurt.

  He stood and went to the horse.

  The dissonance gnawed at him and he cringed from the slow agony building inside him. Beneath the shattering sound was an ocean of Silence. So vast. So total.

  ~A Song begins with a single note. You must sing back the Silence. Others will sing too.

  Juhrnus hesitated. Could he?

  But he must sing. He must coax the harmony.

  He mounted Indigo and began his journey to the heart of the Silence.

  Tapit retreated to his room. The siege had barely started and already he was at his tether’s end. He couldn’t stand the unending noise, the constant stench of so many people living on top of one another. It wore on him until he wanted to lash out with his magic. Even within the sanctuary of his tiny living space, the noise and smells permeated. He dragged his fingers through his hair. By the Demonlord’s sacred Darkness, he wanted free of this anthill!

  He could leave. It would be a small matter to get past the guards and into the tunnels. Lion was on the south edge of the valley. He could be free in the mountains in a matter of hours. His heart leaped hungrily at the idea, but he brutally snuffed the temptation. He could have his reward later. This was no time to lose his focus and abandon the hunt.

  He sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the floor between his feet.

  But these last months lying in wait would be for nothing if he couldn’t keep the Scallacians from attacking Mysane Kosk. Or if he couldn’t keep his own brethren from drawing on its power. Thanks to Tillen, Tapit had finally gained entrance to the Lord Marshal’s quarters and discovered where Reisil had gone and why. She’d gone to find a way to stop the uncontrolled wash of power from Mysane Kosk, while still preserving it. She hadn’t gone to find a weapon, as he’d thought. She’d gone to become it.

  He licked his lips, his hands going suddenly damp. He had to have her. He’d do whatever it took, even if it meant remaining in this demon-blighted anthill for another year. He closed his eyes. He’d make the cage himself. She’d never break free.

  But first, he had to stop the Scallacians and his fellow wizards from destroying Mysane Kosk and, if the witch woman was correct, the entire world.

  Tapit knew his brethren were on their way. They would have come hunting the moment they felt the massive burst of power set off by the Scallacians. Tapit had little time to devise a plan. During the summer, a large contingent of wizards had established a camp not far from here. The spreading magic of Mysane Kosk disguised their presence. The witch was the only one besides Reisil with the power to detect their nest, but she never left the valley. Even Tapit had had to work to find them. And that was his special talent.

  He stood, pacing absently back and forth. They’d be here within a day or two. With the witch taking down the wards, the wizards would be able to stroll right in and do whatever they pleased. With their backs to Mysane Kosk and drawing on its power, the wizards would be invincible. The Scallacians would be ground underfoot. Unless someone stopped them.

  And not even Tapit could do that. Even if he wanted to. He paused, the idea persisting. Did he?

  There was no way to get word to them, to warn them to abandon the attack. And if they did, everything would be destroyed. He’d never get Reisil then. But if he helped the witch woman . . . Tapit rubbed his long fingers over his jaw thoughtfully. His brethren would go after the Scallacians. Even without Mysane Kosk, the wizards would overwhelm the sorcerers. All he had to do was keep Mysane Kosk safe. Until Reisil came. He’d let her stabilize the spell. And then he’d take her. He smiled. Yes.

  Tapit began to go to the door when something stopped him. He halted midstride. A lightning touch brushed electrically across his innermost senses. A taste, a smell. He dropped to his knees, straining. He focused on the touch, trying to catch it again. His tongue slid out between his lips. Yes, there. He’d never forget that musky flavor, that rich, honeyed bite of magic. Reisil. There was a deeper intensity to her now, the difference between a promise and fulfillment, between a spark and a flame.

  He didn’t know how long he remained on the floor, savoring the essence of her that was his special talent to sense. At last he tore himself away and stood up. His body felt stiff and heavy. He shook his head to clear it.

  The witch was taking the wards down. His brother wizards were coming to fight the Scallacian sorcerers for their prize. Reisil was back.

  The hunt was on again.

  Chapter 37

  The burst of power from Mysane Kosk took Reisil’s breath away. With her spellsight, she could see waves of rippling magic spreading into the sky. They feathered outward, flickering and pulsing.

  “What was that?” Yohuac asked.

  The Scallacians? The wizards? Reisil had hoped they’d return long before Honor was under attack. Her stomach twisted.

  “We’ve got to hurry.”

  They were close now, only a league away. They set off at a jog, scrabbling up the steep slopes and sliding down the other side.

  ~Wait.

  Baku’s voice sounded thick and fuzzy. He was only a few yards away. Reisil and Yohuac stopped, panting.

  ~There are sentries.

  Sentries? That meant—

  ~Show me, she said to Saljane, flicking a worried glance at the tendrils of magic unfurling in the air like stranglevines. Be careful.

  The goshawk leaped from her perch in a birch tree and winged away toward Honor. Reisil and Yohuac hunkered down between two boulders, waiting. They drank from Reisil’s water sac, the water warm and stale.

  ~See.

  Saljane pulled Reisil into her mind.

  “By the Lady,” she whispered.

  “What’s happened? What do you see?”

  “The Regent has come. Honor is surrounded. There are so many men!”

  Saljane circled and swooped lower. Bloody bodies littered the shorn fields. “There’s been fighting. There’s a fire at Bear. I don’t understand. The wards—” She broke off suddenly, her hands knotting. “Oh, my Lady . . .”

  Yohuac’s hands closed around hers. “What is it?”

  Reisil pulled out of Saljane’s mind and stared into his golden eyes. “Mysane Kosk is twice the size it was when we left. All that—” She waved her hand at the lights flaming above. “There’s going to be a rupture soon. If the sorcerers or wizards attack one more time, it’ll release the destruction Nurema saw in her visions.”

  “What do we do?”

  As if she knew. His faith in her was childlike in its absolute totality. Reisil rubbed her forehead with a shaking hand. The trouble was, she had only the beginnings of a plan. But to get even that far, so much depended on everything going right. And if it did, what did she do next? She pushed the thought away. She’d figure that out when she got there. First things first.

  She drew a deep breath, squeezing Yohuac’s hand. It was strong and comforting, like holding sunlight. She stood, pulling her pack over her shoulder. Inside were the moon rinda. And floating in her mind was the shape the copicatl had shown her in Atli Cihua.

  “We go inside Mysane Kosk now. Everything began there. That’s where it has to end.”

  End without destroying it and the nokulas. She thought about the wizards, the sorcerers, and the nahuallis. Another attack might rip open the hole between Cemanahuatl and Kodu Riik. The resulting torrent of magic would be impossible to halt. Reisil rested her hand on Baku’s neck.

  ~Baku, I want you to go to Honor. Find Nurema. Tell her she has to keep the wizards and the sorcerers from attacking Mysane Kosk. Whatever it takes, she must hold. And hurry. We are going to need you. We’ll meet you in the valley.

  Reisil felt a finger-brush of pleasure at her trust before the coal-drake launched himself upward. Twigs and pebbles spun into the air as his powerful wings pumped. Reisil watched him go.

  And now to do something very difficult.
r />   ~Saljane.

  But Reisil didn’t have to say the thing she dreaded. After her atavistic journey across the jungle to Atli Cihua, her tie with Saljane had become so instinctive and intimate that speaking had become more habit than necessity.

  ~Go. I’ll wait. She sounded both reluctant and fierce.

  ~I love you. Fly strong.

  ~Be careful.

  Then she felt Saljane dig hard talons into her mind. For a moment the sensation was agonizing. Her entire body twitched with the effect. The pain faded as quickly as it had come. But the sense of someone holding tight to her remained. And there was something else. She felt the wind on her wings, the rush of the air, the taste of the sun. Saljane was Reisil’s link to Kodu Riik. She was the anchor to guide them back out of Mysane Kosk. If their bond was strong enough. If they weren’t killed in the effort. If she could heal the damage caused by the wizards.

  But first she had to convince the nokulas to help.

  Kebonsat galloped across the field that separated Lion from Eagle, leaping over scattered bodies. All of them were Regent’s men, sent to test Honor’s defenses. There had been a collapse and he didn’t have time to work his way through the alternate tunnel routes, even if they were still open. The yellow pennant he carried showed a red gryphon inside a green ring. It signaled that he belonged to Honor.

  He heard shouts from the top of the wall as he approached. The gate swung wide enough to allow him entrance and slammed shut behind. Kebonsat was already swinging off the horse. He ran to the building that housed both Metyein and Emelovi. The heart of the new Kodu Riik.

  He burst into the meeting room, not bothering to knock. Inside, Metyein was poring over maps and lists. At Kebonsat’s clattering entrance, he lunged to his feet, his face hard with concern.

  “What’s happened?”

  “I’ve a message. From Baku.”

  For a moment there was shocked silence.

  “She’s back?” Metyein’s eyes flashed with hope.

  Kebonsat nodded. “Baku said we need to keep the sorcerers and the wizards from attacking Mysane Kosk. He was very clear. Whatever it takes, we have to hold them back until Reisil can do whatever she’s going to do.”

  Metyein sank slowly back down in his chair. “Chodha.” He sat for a moment, gazing at the tabletop. Then he visibly gathered himself. “All right. Send for the others. Soka, Thevul Bro-heyek, Edel, Emelovi, and Nurema. And better bring those wizards the Guild sent. Tillen, too. Have them here in an hour. Did Baku say what Reisil was going to do? Or when?”

  Kebonsat shook his head. “It’ll be soon. He was in a hurry.”

  “All right then. Get going. I’ll draft a plan.”

  A kind of fatalistic foreboding closed around Kebonsat as he retreated. Any plan Metyein devised would mean the devastation of Honor.

  The meeting was already under way when Kebonsat returned. Everyone had gathered except Nurema and the Guild wizards from Patverseme. They were making their own preparations. When he’d located her, Nurema had looked at him with an odd, knowing look as he argued with her to obey Metyein’s orders and attend the meeting.

  “Ain’t nothin’ he’s gonna say that’s gonna change what we’ll do. We’re gonna try to shield Mysane Kosk. We won’t be able to hold long against what they’ll throw at us, so you toddle off and tell his Lord Marshalship that we’re his last line of defense. He’s gotta keep that attack from coming. Now leave us be so we can get ready.”

  Kebonsat slid inside the door, remaining standing. The only open chair was next to Emelovi. She tolerated him now, but he couldn’t bear the way she pulled herself away when he was too close, the way she carefully avoided touching him, the way her voice turned to sandpaper when she spoke to him.

  But it was almost over. Reisil had returned, and for good or for bad, soon he’d no longer be tied to this place, to Emelovi. The knowledge sliced his soul. He didn’t know where he’d go, what he’d do. He’d find Ceriba, of course. He’d send her home. Or Metyein or Emelovi would take care of her. After that? He no longer had a name or a country.

  Pain flailed inside him. He grappled it, wrapping it tightly inside a cocoon of control. Not yet not yet not yet. But soon. He would let it go. There would be no more pain.

  “Nurema’s not coming. She and the Guild wizards are working on shielding Mysane Kosk,” Kebonsat said when Metyein asked. “She says they won’t be able to hold long, so we’d better keep them distracted.”

  “All right then.” Metyein took a breath and gazed around the table, locking with each pair of eyes for a measuring moment. “Here’s the situation. Reisiltark has returned. That’s the good news. However, she has asked us to keep the wizards and Scallacians from attacking Mysane Kosk so that she can do what she has to. So we will. We’ve taken the wards down. Honor no longer has any magical protections. It may be that the most we can do is throw bodies at them until they get too tired to fight. If so, that’s what we’ll do,” he said grimly.

  “I’ve got a plan sketched out, but before I tell you what I have in mind, there are some things you need to know. A few of you know most of this already. But everyone here should know the whole of what we’re fighting for. And what we’re fighting against.

  “When the wizards cast their spell here during the war, it created a powerful well of magic that has been spilling unchecked into Kodu Riik. This magic is the source of the drought, the plague, and the nokulas. Every one of the nokulas was once either a man or a woman or who knows what else. Each one wandered through the blight-circle and was changed.” He paused. “Iisand Samir is a nokula. The ahalad-kaaslane Sodur is a nokula. There are many more.”

  Thevul Bro-heyek, the Head Steward, and his assistant looked shocked. Without giving them time to ask questions, Metyein continued tersely.

  “Left alone, eventually the spill of magic would rip apart Kodu Riik and the rest of the world. But destroying Mysane Kosk is no answer. That would just speed up the process. You’ve all seen the blight-circle and how it expanded after a single sorcerer attacked. But the Regent is determined to destroy Mysane Kosk. That’s what he’s come for. But he may be surprised. Mysane Kosk is an enormous source of magical power. Now that they have seen it, the Scallacians may not be so willing to cooperate. But the wizards aren’t going to just stand by and let them have it. Neither side will let it fall into the other’s hands. That means they’ll try to destroy Mysane Kosk if they can’t keep the other from having it, which brings us back to the original danger. And then one last problem. The nokulas aren’t going to sit idly while their home is attacked. Honor is going to be the killing field in the battle between the Scallacians, the wizards, the nokulas, Aare’s army, and us.”

  “But the wizards aren’t here,” Tillen broke in nervously.

  “They will be,” Edel said darkly. “Don’t doubt it.”

  “So what do you have in mind?” asked Thevul Bro-heyek.

  Right to the point. Good man, Kebonsat thought.

  “Reisiltark went to try to find a cure to our problem. We need to buy her some time. And let me say again, the fate of not just Kodu Riik but the entire world rests on whether we succeed or fail. If it takes every last one of us, then the price is not too high. Do you understand?” There were nods all around.

  Metyein unrolled a parchment that contained a map of Honor.

  “First, Emelovi and Kebonsat. I want you to leave. You’ll go out through Hawk’s northern tunnel. You’ll be on foot. You won’t get far, but that doesn’t matter.”

  Kebonsat’s eyes narrowed, and Emelovi looked ready to spit.

  “I’ll not run away and hide,” she said hotly. “I’m here and I’m not going to have you rolling me up in cotton wool.”

  Kebonsat’s icy voice sheared across hers and her lips snapped shut in fury. “You’re going to use us for bait.”

  Metyein nodded. “Aare wants Emelovi. And he wants you. The idea of his sister running off with a Patversemese ganyik is the only thing that might distract him. He’l
l be after you as soon as he finds out. With luck, it will delay his attack on Mysane Kosk.”

  “When will you tell him?”

  “I’ll send a man out to get captured. Nurema will spell him. He’ll talk, eventually.”

  And buy them more time. Kebonsat nodded.

  “Aare will kill him,” Emelovi said, her voice high and thin. “He’ll torture him. We cannot do that. I won’t allow it.”

  Metyein turned to her, his face grave. “We all must sacrifice, if this is going to work. My man knows what he’s facing. He volunteered, anyway.”

  Tears slipped down Emelovi’s cheeks, but she did not object again. Kebonsat’s heart swelled with fierce pride for her. She looked frightened, but the fear didn’t dominate her. She lifted her chin resolutely. She’d grown since she’d been here, shed her timid subservience. She would rule Kodu Riik well, he thought. And no matter whom she married, she would rule. Emelovi had chosen, now. Not to stand up to Aare, but to protect her people and her land. In the end, it came down to the same thing. Kebonsat meant to see she had the chance.

  “In the meantime, I am going to visit my father,” Metyein declared.

  “What?” Soka lunged to his feet, his chair clattering over backwards.

  “I am going to see my father,” Metyein repeated. “He doesn’t know what danger we’re in. If I can convince him, then he might help us. I have to try.”

  “Then I’m going with you.”

  “I wouldn’t have anyone else.”

  Soka made a guttural sound, but made no reply.

  “What about the rest of us?” Thevul Bro-heyek said.

  “You and Edel are going to coordinate our defense,” Metyein said. “Tillen, I want you and your assistant to make people understand what we’re fighting for. Spread the word. Tell them Reisil has returned; tell them what’s at stake. Make them believe.”

  He turned back to Thevul Bro-heyek and Edel. “Tillen has been indispensible. If you have questions about anything, he’ll know. And his assistant—” He looked at the gray-eyed man apologetically. “I don’t recall your name.”