Yiloch smiled. Her skill had grown and the gentle touch had been for him alone. “She’s there.” He turned his attention to the roadway coming over the hill.
“You can’t hide a connection that strong,” Ian objected.
“We’ll see.”
Hax nudged Adran. “Is this the she?”
Adran sighed and nodded, impervious to Yiloch’s warning glance.
The beat of hooves and feet upon earth along with soft creaking of leather tack and wagon wheels reached them. Then a lone rider came into view and hailed them, waving a Caithin standard. Yiloch’s sentries hailed the rider in turn and he vanished back over the hill. Moments later the front line came into view, four mounted soldiers bearing Caithin standards. Behind them rode Caplin with several soldiers riding to his left. Off to his right rode an unarmed, dark-skinned man, probably the head of the healers and beside him rode a familiar figure.
Yiloch’s pulse quickened with desire at the mere sight of her. Even many days of travel couldn’t diminish her beauty. She glanced up once and a small smile curved her lips. Then she leaned over to Cadmar, who walked alongside her. The dark warrior touched her hand, speaking while he made a wide sweeping gesture with the other arm.
Hax stiffened. “Is your she the one flirting with my warrior?”
“She’s the one he’s talking to, yes,” Adran answered. “I wouldn’t read much into it.”
Ian was squinting at the front of the army, his mouth hanging slightly open. “That’s impossible! You can’t hide a connection that strong.”
Yiloch grinned, smug. “Perhaps you can if you have a connection that strong.”
Ian chewed the corner of his lip. “That actually pleases you, doesn’t it?”
Yiloch watched the rest of the wide column marching over the hill. “It does.”
“It disturbs me.” Ian continued to stare at Indigo who still chatted amiably with Cadmar as they approached.
“It disturbs me to see Cadmar prattling on like that,” Hax muttered.
The column stopped and Caplin, Cadmar, the dark-skinned healer, and one other solider continued. Yiloch forced his attention to the approaching men. Caplin, the soldier, and the healer reined in their mounts a few yards away and dismounted while Cadmar closed the distance. He bowed to Yiloch.
“You’ve done well, Cadmar, thank you.”
“I was honored to assist.”
Cadmar stepped around to flank Hax as the other three walked up.
“Prince Yiloch.” Caplin bowed, the two men next to him mirroring the gesture.
“Lord Caplin.” He reciprocated with a respectful nod.
“This is Master Siddael. He leads our healers.” The dark man nodded politely. “And this is Captain Deryk, my second.” The grizzled soldier gave a gruff nod.
“You’re all welcome. Lord Caplin, you know Captain Adran and Ian. This is my second, Commander Hax.” Hax’s nod was also gruff. “This is Adept Captain Ferin who heads my ascard users.” Ferin nodded with deliberate grace, though all three eyed him warily. “Captain Paulin and Captain Eris will be joining us with additional troops over the next two days. We have tents set up for your healers and space around them for your soldiers to set camp. Captain Adran, Commander Hax, help Master Siddael and Captain Deryk settle their units. I wish to speak with Lord Caplin.”
Caplin nodded to Siddael and Deryk, dismissing them, and Yiloch guided him out of earshot of the others.
“Any trouble on your journey?”
“Nothing of note.”
“I see you got Lady Indigo out of her situation.”
Caplin glanced over his shoulder. “I only hope I didn’t bring her into a worse one.”
“I think you underestimate her.”
Caplin gave him a terse look. “I know I do. How are things coming together?”
“Very well. I expect a major disaster any second.”
Caplin glanced at him and, seeing his smirk, chuckled. “You don’t strike me as the type to nurture doubts.”
Yiloch grinned, easing back in to the comfort of the young lord’s disposition. “Perhaps arrogance becomes me, but the more complex a system, the more opportunities there are for it to fail. I’d be glad to have your fresh, capable eyes look over our strategies.”
Caplin flushed. “You honor me, Prince Yiloch.”
Dismissing the other man’s modesty, he gestured to the private tent he’d arranged for Caplin. “That tent is yours. You’re welcome to settle in first if you prefer.”
“You’re most gracious, but I would rather familiarize myself with the situation before I worry about comfort.”
Approving the choice, Yiloch angled their course toward his own tent. When they entered, Terral was lounging in one chair. He rose with considerable ele-gance, regarding Caplin curiously.
“Lord Terral, this is Lord Caplin, captain of our Caithin force.”
Terral arched an eyebrow. “We have a Caithin force?”
“Yes. It was necessary to keep it quiet. Terral is my cousin,” he added to Caplin, knowing Terral would point it out if he didn’t.
“A pleasure, Lord Terral,” Caplin greeted.
“Likewise, Lord Caplin.”
Yiloch ignored his cousin’s aggravated look. “Come. Let’s see what holes you can find in my plans.”
Caplin grinned, accepting the challenge.
*
Indigo had touched Yiloch with her ability simply to see how he would react. His response made her giddy. He’d started to block her then stopped, allowing and welcoming the contact. As Caplin warned, there might be sides of Yiloch he showed in war that she wouldn’t like, but that didn’t make him a different man.
The woman, Commander Hax, led Captain Deryk off to settle his soldiers with Cadmar flanking her closely in a conduct more devoted than obedient. That and the warning scowl the woman gave her suggested some depth to their relationship.
She turned her attention back to Adran who pointed things out to Siddael as they walked. Being Siddael’s partner had unforeseen benefits. She’d ridden much of the journey because he did and now she got to follow along while Adran showed him around.
“We’ve arranged these tents for the privacy of your healers.” Adran indicated two large tents with a sweep of his hand. “We’re grateful to have them here. If there is anything they need, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
Siddael took it in with his usual outward calm. “Thank you, Lord Adran. How long do we expect to stay at this camp?”
“Another day, two at most. We’re waiting on a few more troops.”
“Very good. I will see to my healers now.”
“When you’re situated, there is food and drink available.” Adran gestured to cooking wagons then turned to her. “Lady Indigo, it’s a pleasure to see you again. How are you?”
Siddael gave her a puzzled glace.
“I’m well, Lord Adran. And you?”
“Well enough. Prince Yiloch is in a fine mood now that things are progressing. That makes my life easier.”
“He should be happy. He has us.” She meant it in the broader sense, to encompass the healers and Caithin’s soldiers, but also in a more personal sense for the two of them.
Adran’s open smile let her know he caught both. “That he does. I’ll leave you to settle in.” He nodded to them both.
She met Siddael’s inquiring look as Adran walked away. “We talked for a while at the feast in Demin.”
“I see.” He said nothing more as he led the way back to the waiting healers.
When they were satisfactorily set up in the tents, they went to get food and drink. The healers clustered together on a knoll near where they had entered the broad valley and Caithin soldiers maintained a casual buffer between them and the Lyran force. A precaution that was probably unnecessary, but not unexpected. Prejudice ran deep and Caithin soldiers took their responsibility to protect the healers seriously.
Indigo sat apart to look over her new environment. There were soldie
rs, horses, and tents as far as she could see. So many people moving about the valley, along with their mounts and an array of cooks, blacksmiths and other support units made for an intimidating sight. Intimidating and fascinating.
She reached her ability out to touch Yiloch where he now stood near his tent with several of his officers, figuring he wouldn’t react violently if her masking was insufficient. When he didn’t react to her guarded approach, she tried Ian. The stronger the subject, the stronger her masking had to be to avoid detection, a lesson she learned at the feast. This time the young creator, despite his considerable strength, didn’t respond to her touch. Satisfied, she sent out seeking tendrils to discover the other ascard users in the army.
A methodical search found hundreds of adepts of varying strengths and numerous creators, all weaker than Ian. As she pulled back the seeking tendrils, an almost imperceptible ripple in ascard caught her attention. Closing in on it, she singled out a man at one of the tables, dressed in soldier’s attire, a complex barrier worked around his inner aspect designed to hide it completely.
Faintly aware of sweat forming on her palms, she sank into his barrier with a delicate tendril of ascard, layering masking as she went to blend it with the ascard of the barrier itself. When she broke through, he still showed no sign that he noticed her invasion. His strength—not the equal of Ian’s, but still substantial—turned her meal into a heavy lump of dread in her stomach. She backed slowly out then studied his appearance.
He looked like any other soldier. Why was he hiding his ability?
Yiloch stood talking with Adran, Hax, and Ian. Approaching him directly wasn’t appropriate given the difference in their stations, but he needed to know. Taking a deep breath, she got up and started toward him. Caplin, on the far side of one of the healers’ tents talking with Siddael, looked up at where she had been sitting and tensed. He scanned around until he spotted her. She ignored his puzzled look and focused on Yiloch.
“Prince Yiloch, pardon my interruption.” She bowed her head when they faced her. Her nerves danced.
What if she was wrong and he knew about the adept? Perhaps he intended to keep the man a secret.
“What is it, Lady Indigo?” Yiloch asked, his regard reserved.
They’d never interacted in such an environment. He didn’t know what to expect of her any more than she did of him. She hoped she wasn’t about to make herself a fool.
“Who is that man?” She didn’t turn or make any gestures toward the individual in question. “The one sitting at the far end of the third table on the right.”
Noting her caution, Yiloch discreetly scanned the tables then deferred to Adran with a glance.
“Ladon,” Adran offered. “He’s an imperial scout we picked up near Murvid.”
“He’s no scout,” she asserted, clasping her hands to hide their shaking.
Yiloch’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“He’s an adept. He has a barrier up.”
Yiloch’s nostrils flared with sudden anger. The burn of hatred in his eyes chilled her, but he was willing to believe her and that was heartening.
“You’re certain?”
She nodded.
He stepped close, lowering his voice. “Can you take the barrier down?”
“I think so, but he might retaliate. I’m not sure I can take down the barrier and block him.”
Holding her with his icy gaze, he said, “Ian, if she takes the barrier down, can you block him?”
Ian met her eyes then shuddered and glanced away. He was afraid of her. The realization was a stab at her heart.
“I could if I rode in on her power.” His cheeks flushed bright as if he had suggested they have intimate relations. “Your masking is astounding, my lady.” He glanced in her direction, not quite looking at her. “Do you think you could mask both of us?”
His compliment eased a little of the pain his fear caused. It would be difficult to destroy the man’s barrier while masking both of their abilities, but she had to try. “Yes.”
She felt Yiloch and Ian connect to the ascard.
Yiloch turned to his commander. “Let Hax get his attention first. I want him away from the tables. Then take the barrier down. Hax, lure him into an open spot and be ready to move clear.”
The stern woman nodded and stalked toward the tables. Yiloch stepped away from them and drew his sword.
Indigo watched Hax out of the corner of her eye. At the same time, she reached out with the ascard and found Ian. Wrapping a tendril of ascard into his inner aspect, she drew his power with her, feeling a moment of resistance before he relinquished control. Hax approached the man, engaging him in conversation and leading him away from the table.
Indigo slipped inside his barrier again, finding it easier the second time, and drew Ian in with her, blending their presence with the barrier. She felt out the man’s inner link to the barrier and with a quick, decisive strike, severed it. The barrier shattered like so much thin glass and his face contorted in sudden panic. She detected something beneath the barrier as it shattered, a link with someone else’s signature upon it. Then she felt Ian ride up under the wave of her attack and slam a block around his inner aspect.
In the same instant, Yiloch vanished and Indigo gasped in surprise. He reappeared next to the adept, swinging his sword in an arc through the man’s chest. As he started to fall, Yiloch swept the blade back again, slicing through the man’s neck and severing his head. Blood sprayed across the grass and the body hit the ground as nearby soldiers leapt back in alarm, several drawing weapons.
Yiloch turned to Hax and said something, making a quick gesture toward the body, then he strode back to them. Hax started barking orders. Soldiers jumped to do her bidding unquestioning, cleaning up the mess.
Indigo’s heart pounded in her chest, images of the Watchman beheading Hadris bombarding her. Yiloch had beheaded the man with the same cold efficiency. Worse yet, she had played a part in facilitating this man’s death.
“You were right.” Ian stood by her left shoulder, his voice full of wonder. “Amazing. I didn’t sense anything until you broke through.”
A hand rested on her other shoulder. It was Adran. “Excellent work.”
She trembled under his touch and he gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Is he always that…?”
“Decisive? Frightening?”
She nodded.
“Usually, yes.”
Yiloch was almost back to them. Caplin was also hurrying their way. Something in Yiloch’s eyes gave her pause, a feverish glint, no doubt ignited by the thrill of conflict. Her gaze drifted to the blood on his sword. Biting the inside of her lip, she forced herself to step up and intercept him, knowing she only had a few seconds before Caplin reached them.
“Someone was watching him,” she whispered.
“With ascard?”
“Yes. It was faint, but someone was linked to him.”
“Could you recognize the signature of that link if you encountered it again?”
“Yes.” She said it with more confidence than she felt. She might doubt herself, but she didn’t want him to doubt her.
“Good. Stay alert for it.”
Caplin stormed up next to them. “What was that?” His eyes locked on Indigo for a tense second before jumping to Yiloch.
Yiloch met his glare, irritation sparking in his eyes. “Lady Indigo noticed something strange about one of the imperial scouts we took in.”
Don’t tell him what I did. She touched his inner aspect, trying to convey her fear in the hope that he would understand.
He paused a second then said, “Ian investigated and discovered he was an adept. I didn’t want to alarm anyone, but you can’t ignore that kind of power when it’s being used against you.”
“You alarmed plenty. My soldiers aren’t used to adepts and creators running rampant.”
Yiloch’s hand tightened on his sword. “They’d best get used to the idea before we go to war then, hadn’t they?
”
Caplin started to speak then hesitated, looking at Indigo. The anger had more to do with concern for her than what Yiloch had done, she realized. “You’re right, Prince Yiloch. Though, that wasn’t how I would have preferred to approach the problem.”
“Understood.” Yiloch turned to her and she bowed her head, finding it hard to meet his eyes while the killing gleam still shone in them. “Thank you.”
“Yes, Prince Yiloch,” she said to his feet.
She felt a small warmth within, meant to comfort her. Yiloch turned away when she glanced up, but she recognized his signature. The maneuver of transporting himself with ascard the way he had must have exhausted him and the gesture was sweeter for that reason. With the gentlest of touches, she used ascard to push his offered support away. There was no need for him to waste strength.
He strode to his tent without another word for any of them, nothing in his movement betraying their silent exchange. Following his example, she turned and walked toward the healer tents, the knot in her gut uncoiling when Caplin didn’t follow.
Dusk crept in. She lay on her cot tired and troubled. Yiloch was a killer, cold and efficient, but she wanted him no less for it. That she had helped take a man’s life and felt more pride at having aided Yiloch than she did revulsion at the violent death, disturbed her.
When she tried to sleep, her thoughts lingered on the link she’d detected in the adept. Such a link would allow her to watch over Yiloch when fighting began.
She reached out with ascard, finding him easily. Using what she’d found in the adept as a model, she probed into his inner aspect and linked the smallest tendril of her ability to him. That fraction of her ability would be unavailable for anything else, but it seemed a reasonable sacrifice. She withdrew then and closed her eyes. The link provided a comforting awareness of him as if he held her in his arms again. She embraced the sensation and drifted to sleep.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Myac jerked when sharp pain tore through his body, initiating at the core of his being and riding his nerves out to his extremities before vanishing. It only took seconds, but it left him breathless.
Dissident (Forbidden Things Book 1) Page 26
