The Channel (The Gifted Book 2)

by C. L. McCourt

  "Daen Mallaur. These are my companions, Randell and Taulin."

  One of the warriors drew his sword. "Prince Taulin of Laundan. He spies on us!"

  The commander stepped forward and placed his hand on his man's arm. "Lower your sword, man. The prince isn't going to hurt anyone." He turned to Taulin. "Are you?"

  Taulin shook his head slightly but didn't say anything.

  The commander studied Taulin's face, trying to read his intent. "So tell me, Prince Taulin, why are Laundan warriors attacking travelers in Taulomi? Are we next? Is your father trying to start a war?"

  Taulin stood still as a statue, his face expressionless as he thought about how much to tell him. "They're not Laundan warriors. I'm here investigating the attacks."

  The commander was quiet for a moment, watching the prince carefully for any sign of deception. "Whether that's the truth or not, it's not my call to let you go. Until there's proof that Laundan isn't attacking Sentran, consider yourselves prisoners. Men, tie them up. Haurld secure their horses."

  Crap! Now what? Rhea needed to think. She needed to intervene, but how? She watched the warriors strip her friends of their weapons and tie their hands behind their backs before placing them in a circle near in the center of the camp. Their horses were tied with the others, on the northern edge of the camp, near where Rhea sat observing.

  She watched as Sedare's reins were tied to a rope suspended between two trees. He lifted his head and snorted before nodding his head down and up again.

  Haurld who tied the horses laughed. "Would you look at this one? Something has him riled."

  The other warrior waved him off. "He's just spooked. He'll calm down."

  Haurld wasn't convinced. He stared out into the falling darkness, trying to see what the horse sensed. Rhea watched him strain his vision, but he finally gave up. Before settling in next to the campfire, Haurld approached his commander. "Sir, what about the other rider? He could still be out there."

  "Take three men and find him. The rest of you, keep watch." The commander turned and headed for his tent. He needed to write a message to the queen.

  25

  Attack

  Rhea studied the camp activity, trying to discern the best way to reach her friends without someone running into her. She wouldn't be able to move quickly to avoid someone as she would make too much noise and be noticed. It looked like she would have to circumvent the camp and come in from the west, between the tents, as most of the activity was on the east side of the camp, near the fire.

  She slowly stood, deliberate not to make a sound. She took two careful steps towards Sedare who still stood with wide eyes and ears alert. She held her hand close to his nose. "Shh. Don't give me away."

  Sedare calmed his body language, comforted in the fact that Rhea had acknowledged him.

  She stroked his forehead. "I'll be back." She carefully stepped to her right, towards the tents. The leaves under her feet crunched with each step. Crunch. Another step, crunch.

  She had never noticed before now just how loud one's footsteps were in the woods. With each step, she stopped and checked to see if anyone had heard. She turned after the first tent and slowly worked her way to her friends, the whole effort feeling like it took forever.

  She was thankful for the talking and the shuffling of the warriors' feet as they went about their business. Their movements kept the warriors from hearing her.

  She squatted down next to Daen and whispered in his ear. "Now what?"

  Daen cleared his throat. "Commander!" Daen waited for the commander to step from his tent before continuing.

  "This is the last time you will summon me. What is it you want?"

  Daen acknowledged the commander's statement with a nod. "What do you plan to do with us?"

  "You'll be taken to the guard station in Cauhill. If what you say is true, you'll be released soon enough."

  "May I ask when you will be taking us there?" Daen quickly asked, before the commander slipped inside his tent again.

  "No! Be quiet." He stepped back into his tent.

  "I'm sorry I missed the two on patrol," Rhea whispered into Daen's ear.

  He shook his head. "Don't worry."

  "What do you want me to do?" Rhea asked.

  "Start by loosening our ropes," Daen whispered. "Randell, are you getting anything from the commander?"

  Randell leaned towards Daen. "He seems honest enough."

  One of the warriors stepped closer. "Stop talking!"

  Daen and Randell stilled as the warrior stood over them, inches from where Rhea was crouched beside Daen. She held her breath, afraid he would hear her breathing, or worse yet, her pounding heart.

  When the warrior stepped away, she proceeded with her attempt to loosen the ropes, but they were too tight. Then she realized, even if she got them loose and they got away, the warriors would come after them. No, they needed to be freed by the commander.

  "I have an idea. Hang tight." She stood and moved slowly towards the commander's tent. The path was fairly clear of loose leaves as they'd been packed down by the frequent comings and goings of the commander and his men.

  She moved the tent flap just enough to slip inside, hoping the subtle movement wouldn't draw any attention. The commander was sitting on a stool at a small field table, writing in a journal. She needed to get his attention but not just hand herself over. She hoped her idea would work.

  Assuming apparitions weren't something he saw every day, she was going to try and shake him up, make him fear her, a little. Then, she would have his undivided attention for a moment, and hopefully, that would be long enough to make her request before he called for her capture.

  Just as she was preparing herself for the confrontation she was about to have, she started to hesitate, wondering if her idea had any merit. With a silent sigh, she pressed forward as she didn't have any other ideas.

  Stepping further into the tent, she called to her little helpers to repeat what she'd done in the Youngs' kitchen, when she looked like a ghost. Not knowing for sure that it worked as planned, she braced herself, her hand on the hilt of her sword, before clearing her throat to get his attention.

  When he stood quickly, his eyes wide, almost falling back over his stool, she knew she had gotten his attention in the way she'd planned.

  "What are …?" the commander stammered.

  Rhea spoke quickly and quietly before the he could yell for help. "I need you to let my friends go. We're on an important mission."

  His rapid breathing started to slow as he regained his composure. "Who ... what are you?"

  Rhea held her hands to her side, palms forward, hoping he would see she meant him no harm. "Let's just say I'm from Sentran."

  He pointed at her, apparently not hearing her. "But, how are you doing that?"

  Rhea shook her head. "I can't tell you." She could see from the look on his face, he was finished being spooked.

  His posture changed, and his hand slowly reached for his sword. "We'll see about that."

  Rhea quickly raised her hand and spoke softly, yet urgently. "Commander, stop. I don't want to hurt my own people, but I will if it means protecting the realm. Now, please let my friends go."

  With his hand on his sword, his expression turned puzzled. "Your people? Who are you?"

  There was a voice from outside the tent. "Commander, are you all right?"

  The commander spun around to face the tent flap, concerned that his man would try to enter. "Yes. Return to your post." He turned back to Rhea and glowered. "Tell me who you are or I will run you through."

  Rhea needed to think fast. She hadn't planned this out very well and when one flies by the seat of their pants, one risks a few complications. She knew who she was but would anyone else? No. Not likely. Then she remembered what Taulin said, about her mark. "Tell me, how do you know someone is from your royal family when you've never met them?"

  He thought for a moment. "Assuming someone
I trusted wasn't here to introduce me and they were the real thing, they would know what to do. But it would be a very unusual situation that I wouldn't at least know of a member of the royal family."

  Rhea slowly pulled her coat open. "I'm not well practiced at this but I assume Sentran's royal mark would be sufficient. Right?"

  The commander didn't say anything. He was too stunned. No one knew about the mark. He wasn't even supposed to know, but the queen had entrusted him with that information when her brother had gone missing, and he had been forced to confirm that any dead body found was not him.

  She dropped her coat from her left shoulder as she released the tie that held her shirt closed. She opened her shirt, just far enough, as she slowly became solid. "Do you know this mark?"

  He stood silent as he stared at what shouldn't be possible. Who was this woman? Was that truly what it looked like, what she said it was?

  Rhea focused on his energy, watching the intensity of his aura fluctuate, as he tried to process what was happening. She wished she had Randell's ability to read the fluctuations. She would ask him for a lesson when time permitted.

  He raised his eyes to hers as she closed her shirt and lifted her coat back onto her shoulder.

  "Commander!" a voice shouted from outside the tent.

  Without taking his eyes off of Rhea, he shouted, "Go away!"

  "But, sir?" There was desperation in the young man's voice.

  The commander sighed and spun around to the opening in his tent. "What is it?"

  The tent flap started to open, and that was Rhea's cue. She lifted the veil and disappeared as the warrior stepped in.

  "Well?" the commander demanded.

  Rhea couldn't help feel a little sorry for the young man. He had no idea why his commander was so agitated. "Laundan warriors, coming this way," he stammered.

  The commander glanced to where he'd left the woman standing, thinking she'd still be there, but she was not. His need to figure out where she went conflicted with the need to address the immediate threat.

  The young man watched as his commander hesitated. "Sir?"

  "Coming." He didn't have time to deal with a woman in his tent, if she had truly been there, so he followed his man out into the camp.

  Rhea followed the commander and went straight for her friends. She pulled her dagger and cut their ropes. "Laundan warriors are coming."

  Randell wriggled from his ropes. "We heard."

  Rhea barely finished cutting them free when a battle cry echoed around them and time slowed. It was happening again. The tingling sensation flowed over and through her body without her having to reach for it.

  She scanned the area and saw three men charging from the north and two from the south. As if on autopilot, she raised her hands and released a wave of energy towards the attacking warriors, picking them up and throwing them backwards to ground.

  The Sentran warriors that had been searching for the missing rider, for Rhea, came running with swords drawn, just in time to join the other Sentran warriors in stopping Rhea's friends from reaching their weapons. They encircled Randell, Daen, and Taulin and were about to recapture them when Rhea reached for the Sentran warriors as if to hold them back. "Stop!"

  The warriors froze in place, unable to move, giving Daen, Randell, and Taulin time to pick up their weapons and head into the woods after the attackers she'd just sent flying.

  At first glance, someone coming upon the scene would assume the Sentran warriors were extremely disciplined, but upon closer inspection, they would see they'd been capture by an invisible force. The expressions on their faces, a look of surprise and frustration as they realized they couldn't move.

  The commander marched towards Rhea.

  "Please call them off," she politely demanded.

  The commander didn't move as he stared at Rhea's hand and his men standing as still as statues. It dawned on him then, that she was responsible, she was controlling them.

  Rhea repeated her request. "Commander. Please do as I say. We are not here to harm you, but I will not release them if they're going to attack my friends."

  The muscles in his jaw flexed as he bit back the words he wanted to say to her. How dare she keep his men from their duties? He wondered if he could capture her, but after what he'd just witnessed, he decided against it. "Stand down, men."

  Rhea released them from her hold as promised and waited for the presence within her to flow away, but it didn't.

  The Sentran warriors stepped and stumbled, trying to regain their footing and shake away the disorienting sensation from being controlled.

  Daen and Randell returned and took the rope that was hanging from a saddle and headed back to the attackers and Taulin.

  She watched as the Sentran warriors did the same with the attackers to the south of camp, but something wasn't right. She could feel it. "It's not over."

  She closed her eyes and searched the area around the camp. It didn't take but seconds to know their next problem. They were surrounded, arrows pointing towards her, and one man standing alone, watching the scene play out. He looked familiar to her, but she couldn't place him before he signaled.

  Time slowed, and she sighed. "Not again."

  The thump of the bowstrings being released seemed to echo around her as the arrows leapt forward. She watched as they flew through the air towards her, and just like before, she raised her hands and willed the arrows to stop, and they did. They hung in midair for a few brief seconds before dropping to the ground.

  "Stop!" she shouted. "I don't want to hurt you."

  Like idiots, the archers released another round of arrows. This time, her friends and the Sentran warriors were already taking cover as she brought the arrows to a halt, but instead of letting them drop to the ground, Rhea clenched her mind around their shafts, as if to squeeze the life from them. They floated before her waiting for her to give them a new purpose.

  She didn't want to do what came next. She hoped that this time the men shooting at her would stop and reconsider their fate, unlike Bestian and Gauvin.

  She rotated the arrows, pointing them back towards the woods, to demonstrate she could make good on her threats. "Last warning! Stop your attack now or you will die!" The arrows quivered before dropping to the ground.

  At first, she thought they'd heeded her warning, but when she saw the lone man wave his hand again, she knew it would not end.

  The third round of arrows took flight, and this time they were returned to sender. The air around the camp filled with the sounds of the arrows striking tree trunks, feet running and stumbling away from the camp, and screams of archers as the arrows reached their owners.

  Rhea stood rigid and glared with fury at the man with the long dark hair, his face an image that flashed through her memory, and then he was gone.

  Time returned to normal, and she felt the tingling sensations start to subside, leaving her legs wobbly and her head light. Without a word, she forced herself to walk to her horse where she retrieved a snack bar from her bag and stuffed it in her mouth. As the tremors of hunger began to fade, she noticed she didn't feel like she wanted to be sick to her stomach, but of course, she had yet to look upon what she'd done.

  Just thinking about what lay in the trees beyond the camp caused the pain in her heart to take her breath away. Taulin had been right. She needed to own the guilt that burned her from the inside, but not let it disable her. She clenched her jaw, repeating in her head: I gave them fair warning. It was self-defense.

  The commander stepped in front of Rhea, forcing her to quickly swallow the last bite of her bar. "What just happened?"

  "I'll tell you shortly. Until then, can I suggest we check on the men shooting at us? I think I got a couple. Maybe someone is well enough for questioning."

  The commander waved his hand to the men who were close enough to hear her request. "The rest of you, bring the Laundan warriors into camp. Make sure they're secure."

  As the
unconscious warriors were dragged from the woods, Taulin started his inspection, wanting the commander to witness what he was doing. He ripped open the uniform of one of the attackers at his feet and examined the exposed chest. "They're like the others. Impostors."

  The commander looked down at unconscious man. "How do you know?"

  Taulin met the commander's stare. "Some things should remain our own." He assumed the other realms had their own way of telling a true warrior from an impostor and relied on the man's understanding.

  Before the commander could challenge Taulin's declaration, Randell stepped closer. "He tells the truth." He gave the commander a knowing look. "I can see if someone is lying."

  The commander thought about the implications of what this stranger was saying. He wasn't just backing up the prince's claim. He was telling the commander he wouldn't get away with trying to deceive the foursome. He took half a step back from Randell before turning to his men. "Haurld! You and Danbr get ready to ride to Cauhill."

  The commander entered his tent, returning a moment later with two sealed messages. "Send this one to the palace." He handed Haurld a bird message. "Give this one to the captain at the guard station. Return with his reply, and be careful. Whoever is behind this will not want that message getting out."

  Haurld and Danbr mounted up and took off.

  26

  Questions

  Two Sentran warriors dragged an archer into the camp and dropped him at their commander's feet. "We found this one alive. He tried to get away, but he wasn't moving fast enough."

  "For someone with in an arrow in him, he put up quite a fight," the other warrior gently rubbed his bruised jaw.

  The commander sneered at the body lying at his feet before using his foot to roll the man onto his back. The broken shaft of an arrow protruded from under his left collarbone. His lip was bloody, and his left eye was starting to swell shut.

  Rhea knelt next to the semi-conscious man and placed her hand on his chest while the others looked on. Just as she'd done with Sedare, she reached to feel his life-sustaining energy, but there was barely any there. She looked up to the commander. "He doesn't have a lot of time."