As we approached the pass, I started noticing strange humming and vibrating through my skin. My shield was reacting to something, though I could discern no visible threat. If M’Tek had been with me, I’d have mentioned the strange performance of my shield, but no one else would understand what I was talking about. I concentrated on not reacting, as I endured the sensation of ants crawling under my skin one moment, and nothing the next. After several more flickers of excruciating activity, my shield seemed to vanish completely from beneath my skin.
For the first time since I was a girl of fourteen years, I felt the world around me without that ever-present prickling in my flesh. My first reaction was one of relief. That current was no longer pulsing through my body; the mild hum was absent from my ears. Sighing my relief, I turned to smile at Pet.
“The weather is cooperating with us,” I commented, suddenly exhilarated by the warmth of the sun shining down on the newly exposed skin of my face, and the cool breeze whistling across from the snowy summit of the nearest mountain. I gazed down at Faira, moving gracefully beside me, and wanted to caress her wiry fur without the barrier of my shield between us.
“I was afraid it might rain,” Pet replied absently. “Those clouds over there…” Pet gracefully lifted a hand to point out storm clouds southwest of us, but then abruptly recoiled her arm, pressing her hand across her mouth. “Deus! Lore, there’s a raiding party approaching,” she said in a tone of contained panic. I looked where she was staring. “Your guards must see them, and yet they don’t react,” she whispered, as if afraid someone would overhear.
“Fae see better than Vilkerlings,” I explained. I was not yet overly concerned.
“At night, certainly, but in full sun,” Pet started in a sharp whisper. “Lore, I know they see them, and yet do nothing. This isn’t good.”
I halted Sabea, intent on reaching Lord Roland quickly, to alert him. A second later an arrow shot past my ear. I searched the cliffs above us for the shooter, and turned, seizing the bow of my nearest guard. When I turned back again, another arrow was flying. This one found its mark, tearing through my side, embedding deep in my hipbone. Pain, like fire, burned through my body. I had seen where that arrow originated, and took aim before releasing my shot. A few seconds later, the archer fell from the cliff side.
“We’re being attacked,” I called out. Four of my guards surrounded me, their weapons drawn.
Within seconds the Borderling party was upon us. In the chaos of fighting, I forgot about my injury, pushing the pain to the back of my mind. The first of the guards in formation in front of me fell, and I drove Sabea forward to take up the vacated position. I looked to both sides, searching for Lord Roland, the captain of my guard, but I couldn’t find him. After the guard to my right fell, one of the Borderlings slashed at my leg, and searing pain stretched through my thigh muscle. I lunged forward, hacking at his arm, managing to sever his sword hand, effectively disarming him.
Another of my guards fell, and I found myself fighting alongside only two of my guards and some of my more capable guests. That’s when I noticed members of my own private guard attacking us alongside of the Borderlings. I fought on, only focusing on the enemies in front of me, as another arrow struck, delving deep into my left shoulder. After the initial shock, the pain faded. The warrior I was fighting fell, taking his horse down with him, and I turned my attention to another enemy.
Suddenly I was staring Kieran in the face. My rage nearly propelled me out of the saddle after her, as I attacked vehemently. Faira, who had been fighting beside me this entire time, lunged at Kieran, her teeth sinking into Kieran’s hand. Kieran grabbed Faira’s neck with her free hand, jarring it sharply, and in the next instant Faira fell limply to the ground. I screamed and drove Sabea forward while Kieran was still focused on Faira, and one of my blows struck home. Blood began spurting from Kieran’s neck, just below her helmet. Her sword fell as her hands came up to stanch the bleeding. Seeing her as no longer a threat, my attention shifted to Faira’s body, limp on the ground. I started to dismount, to check if Faira still lived, but suddenly Shiroane was at my side, forcefully holding me by the shoulder, keeping me in my saddle. Within moments I was surrounded by six members of M’Tek’s guard, as that horrific scene of butchery continued. I tried to drive Sabea forward, but Shiroane caught her reins, halting me.
“Let me through,” I screamed at her, focusing all of my energy on the battle blaring around me. The fury building inside of me needed an outlet. I focused to find a target.
The next arrow flying toward me fell short. I scanned the action in front of me, noticing an archer high in the cliff wall. I sighted her with the bow I’d taken from my guardsman, and released an arrow. It struck near her, but she didn’t fall. I sent another, and a moment later she fell from her position on the cliff. I scanned the cliff face, found another target, released an arrow, and watched that archer fall. I sighted three more in quick succession, efficiently removing them as threats.
The sounds of metal striking metal became slightly less overwhelming as I focused, scanning the cliffs, searching for another archer, and taking aim. When I found one, I quickly aimed and managed to release my arrow first, but missed. He turned, sighting me, releasing his shot a moment after my second arrow took flight. I hit my mark and he crumpled where he stood. The arrow he’d unleashed landed harmlessly two feet past Sabea’s flank.
Scanning the cliffs I spotted another archer, but she was running with extraordinary speed along a difficult path. This creature I watched could not be human. Instantly I knew; I was watching the witch Sim’Nu. I struggled to lock my aim on her, but she was moving too quickly. I released my arrow, but missed, and then she was gone, escaping into a cavern, unscathed. I quickly scanned the cliffs for more archers, finding none.
I turned my attention to the action around me, noticing the Vilken and Borderling bodies on the ground, some moaning and jerking about, others perfectly still. The sound of metal hitting metal had dissipated, and hoofs no longer thundered around me. The fighting had all but ceased. In dread, I searched for M’Tek. Relief flooded through me as I found her, the side of her face splattered bright red with blood, at the far side of the field. She held Lord Roland to the ground, as she busily tied his hands behind his back. He was bleeding heavily from the side of his head. One of his ears was missing. Shiroane watched me, her expression one of caution.
“We need to see to those arrows, my Queen,” Shiroane said.
“Where’s Pet?” I asked. “She was beside me when we were attacked.” I scanned the crowd, finding her still form crumpled on the ground, the brilliant copper tones of her hair catching the sunlight. “Pet!” I called, driving Sabea forward. I dropped from Sabea’s back, quickly falling to my knees to lean over Pet. An arrow pierced through my friend’s stomach. She was curled up, both hands pressing her gut in an attempt to stem the bleeding. She reached for my hand, entwining her slick, bloody fingers with mine.
“Lore,” she managed, her beautiful golden eyes focusing on me. I could tell it hurt to speak, as blood seeped from the corner of her mouth. “Thank Deus you’re alive.” I started to move away to find M’Tek, but Pet’s grip held me.
“I’ll be back, Pet. I’ll bring M’Tek. She can help you,” I promised.
“No. Don’t leave me,” she choked out before coughing fiercely, splattering dark blood on the ground beside her. “Please, Lore. Stay with me. I need to tell you…”
“I’ll be back. I promise,” I interrupted, easing my bloody hand from her grip.
When I tried to stand again the ground seemed to shift beneath my feet, as if it were made of something soft. My right thigh refused to support me, and I fell hard. Within moments, M’Tek knelt down over me. The first thing I noticed was that her white hair was stained bright red with blood spatter. My eyes trailed over her face to notice drops of blood on her narrow nose, and smeared across her brow and cheekbone, from where she’d wiped it from her eyes. One eyebrow was stained dark with blo
od.
“Be still,” she said gently, as she worked at the arrow in my hip. “Steel yourself, Lore. This will be excruciating.”
“No. I’m fine,” I said sharply, shoving her away. “Tend to Pet. She’s hurt.”
“You’re both hurt, my love,” M’Tek said. “And you didn’t help yourself any by falling on this arrow. I’m afraid you’ve nicked an artery,” she observed. “You’re losing too much blood. If you let me remove this, I’ll see to her next,” she assured me.
M’Tek’s jerking movements as she attempted to dislodge the arrow sent searing jolts of pain through my hip and leg. I focused to endure the nearly unbearable torture. M’Tek almost lifted me from the ground as she pried the arrow back and forth in the joint, still failing to remove it. Finally, she stood up and placed the sole of her boot against my upper thigh, and using all of her strength wrenched the arrow back and forth.
“I’m sorry, Lore, but this arrow’s embedded in your bone,” she said just before it finally dislodged with a cracking sound, releasing a massive wave of agony through my leg.
She held the arrow up it front of her for a moment, studying the strange barbed shape of the head, before dropping down next to me again. I watched as she took a small knife from the inside of her boot and quickly sliced her hand open. She waited as her palm filled with blood, and then tipped her hand to pour the blood into the open wound in my side. The pain was instantly dulled, allowing my shoulder and thigh to gain my attention. Seconds later, M’Tek turned her back to me and began speaking in a soothing voice to Pet. I sighed, relieved when I heard Pet’s quiet response.
The arrow in Pet’s stomach was apparently easier to remove than the one in my side had been, because within a very short time, M’Tek was again causing searing pain to shoot through my body, this time from the arrow lodged in my shoulder. Shiroane appeared, offering assistance, holding me down while M’Tek pried the arrow out. I was close to fainting, and shut my eyes to wait as the pain dulled. I felt her hands on my thigh next, and within moments, that pain was blunted as well. I might have been healing at that point, but I was also exhausted. I could no longer keep my eyes open.
“Drink this,” M’Tek commanded, pressing a water pouch filled with some acrid tasting substance to my lips. I complied, the bitter flavor coating my tongue as I was then left mercifully alone.
I didn’t open my eyes again for some time, a couple of hours at least, possibly more. When I regained consciousness, I found myself surrounded by activity. Some of the bodies were tied across the backs of horses, while others were being piled on top of each other. I searched the area for M’Tek, locating her only a few feet from me. She was tending to Sabea. When I sat up I very nearly passed out again. M’Tek must have heard movement, because she turned from Sabea to watch me, that little crinkle appearing in her brow again. She held the torn remains of the leg of my breeches in her hand and was using it to clean an ugly, gaping wound on Sabea’s golden chest.
“How are you feeling?” M’Tek asked. “Are you lightheaded?”
Apparently she had found no time to wash up, because she was a gory sight, still covered in an impressive amount of blood, some of it, likely, mine. I focused to clear my head, and then slowly managed to stand up. My leg tingled strangely as I put weight on it, but I felt no pain. I looked down at my exposed thigh, noticing the tight silver line across the muscle, as if I’d been stitched up with fine silver thread. It took a moment before my head cleared and I felt able to walk, but then I limped my way over to M’Tek and Sabea, with no pain at all, only a strange, nearly numb, tingling deep in the muscle, as if it were waking. I patted my mare’s neck gently, noticing more wounds, though not as deep, covering her shoulder.
“How did you know I needed you?” I asked M’Tek.
“We had only just returned to the palace when another scout arrived,” M’Tek replied. “He told us Borderlings were gathering near the pass.” M’Tek shook her head. “I never imagined the attack would be this brutal,” she admitted. “You could have been killed. And your shield is clearly useless now,” she added.
“My shield isn’t useless, M’Tek. It’s gone,” I replied. “Sim’Nu stripped it from me before the battle.”
“She was here?” M’Tek asked, sounding unsettled. “Of course, she had to be.”
“I saw her up there,” I said raising my hand to point at the cliffs above us. “I shot an arrow at her, but I must have missed. I’m willing to bet she’s in one of those caves. If we found her, do you think we could kill her?” I asked. “Is she mortal?”
“I don’t know,” M’Tek replied. “But I can’t risk any more of my guards today,” she added. “I lost four, among them, Galina, one of my younger guards,” M’Tek said. “She would not have been with us if I’d had any idea what we were riding into,” she said, staring at the blood-covered rag in her hand. “Her father, K’Ven is a close friend of mine, the general in charge of my southern army. He’ll never forgive me for failing to protect his daughter. Honestly, I’ll never forgive myself.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, my gaze trailing over the pile of dead Vilkerlings and Borderlings. “You saved my life again,” I commented, and M’Tek stepped closer to me. She reached for my hand, squeezing it gently.
“You scared me. You might have died,” M’Tek observed. “Shiroane said when she tried to stop you from fighting, you began shooting the archers hiding in the cliffs.”
“Suddenly half of your guards appeared, creating a barrier between the battle and me,” I replied. “I had to do something.”
“Those are not my guards anymore,” M’Tek said. “Shiroane and the other five will be joining the three loyal Vilken guards you have remaining, and escorting you and your surviving guests back to Vilkerdam Palace,” M’Tek replied. “They’re now the private guard of the Noge Queen. They refuse to call you, or themselves, Vilken,” she added with a wry smile.
“But Shiroane is one of your closest friends,” I said, preparing to argue with her.
“I imagine that’s why she offered to protect my future queen,” M’Tek replied. “She can’t relish the idea of being trapped among Vilkerlings for the next year. In fact, my entire guard offered to be reassigned,” she added. “Apparently, you earned yourself some admirers with your insane attempt at getting yourself killed,” M’Tek observed.
“We were surrounded. I had no choice,” I said defensively.
“Deus! Of course you had a choice, Lore. I gave you the fastest horse my stable has ever produced,” M’Tek pointed out, obviously exasperated with me. “Sabea is not a war horse. She could easily have carried you to safety.” I nodded. “Instead you used her as a blunt instrument, allowing her to be hacked at with swords and shot with arrows.”
“You think I should have abandoned my guests, and my guards, and even Pet?” I asked incredulously. “I removed the archers, M’Tek. If not for that more of my party would be dead.”
“It’s hard to do the right thing sometimes, Lore, but when your guards turned on you, you should have left your guests, and even my cousin. I would have been devastated if I lost Pet, but your death would not have prevented hers,” she said. “If we hadn’t arrived when we did, you’d all be dead, with or without the archers. So, the next time you’re attacked in this way, you run.” I shook my head. “You run as fast as Sabea will carry you.”
“I can’t do that,” I replied. “I’m not a coward.”
“Sometimes you’re truly infuriating,” M’Tek snapped. “Why do you refuse to understand? Everything depends on you, Lore. Everything,” she emphasized sharply. “Until you understand, I won’t be allowing you to travel without me again.”
“You won’t allow me?” I asked, challenging her. “What makes you think you could stop me?”
“You’ve agreed to be my Queen,” she pointed out. “I have certain rights.”
“What rights, specifically?”
“I love you. That should earn me some consideration,” she said. “I’m the
one who’s sick, Lore,” she added, lowering her voice. “And I’m far older than you. I have a right to die first. Grant me that at least. Don’t make me stand by your crypt in my last days,” she added.
“I’ll do as you ask,” I said, meaning I’d run if confronted again.
“Thank you,” she whispered, taking a step forward, wrapping me in an embrace, and crushing me against her. She kissed my forehead, and then released me, turning back to Sabea. “Now, let me finish with your horse,” she said gently. “I need to stitch her chest.”
“Go ahead,” I replied, taking a step back.
“I know what I just said about never allowing you to travel alone again, but I have to return to Lareem today. I need to see to these prisoners, and escort Galina’s body back to her family. I trust Shiroane to keep you safe until I’m able to come to you. And I’m sending you off on Twyneth,” M’Tek added. “He’ll watch over you as well.”
“All right,” I agreed. I might have argued about the change of horses, but I could tell Sabea’s injuries were too great for the long trip back to Vilkerdam. “How long before you can come to me? I don’t want to be apart from you any longer.”
“I’m not certain,” M’Tek replied. “I assure you that I’ll be at your side as soon as I possibly can be.” As I watched, M’Tek retrieved a needle and string from a bundle in her cloak, which was draped across my saddle, still on Sabea’s back.
“Twyneth has a few scratches you’ll need to tend to, but nothing as dire as our beautiful girl. Sabea has several really nasty wounds,” M’Tek observed with irritation. “I removed three arrows from her flanks, and she has another gash on her shoulder that will need a few stitches.”
When she started stitching the flesh of Sabea’s chest, the mare’s gentle brown eyes grew large and she flinched away from the pain. M’Tek placed a hand on her neck and spoke softly to the mare before continuing. When she was finished, I studied the neat stitches, as M’Tek moved on to the wounds left by the arrows.
The Changeling Page 22
