Preludes to War (Eve of Redemption Book 6)

by Joe Jackson

  “What happened between you?”

  Another pause, and then he began to speak, “Our marriage was a grand affair. We pledged ourselves to each other from a young age, and once my studies and examinations were complete, we wed. We were the most celebrated couple in our entire city, expected to produce some of the most intelligent and physically capable children, despite the modest profession that I learned from my father. She went into season just a few years after we were wed, and conceived easily. Once again, we were the center of the city’s attention, and we were flooded with gifts, well-wishes, and even received a hand-written letter of congratulations from our king.”

  He blew out a long sigh through his nose. “I am not certain how common a miscarriage is among your people, but due to the long periods of time between our females going into season, they are extremely rare among us,” he said, and Kari felt like her heart had stopped. “We are not like the mallasti in such matters. To lose one or two of a litter is not so uncommon; our females conceive many so that the strong will survive. To lose all of them, though…is most typically regarded as a bad omen.”

  “All those revelers, the many well-wishers…all those people now regarded us as bad luck. Most of the city turned away from us. We were not directly forced out, but my wife became so burdened with grief that we left. We moved to another city, far off, where we could settle down as a relatively anonymous couple and continue on with our lives. We were both heartbroken, devastated, but we still had each other, and we were still very much in love.”

  “The long years passed and my wife went into season again. This was our opportunity to put the past behind us, cast off the judgments of our former neighbors, and proceed to the next step in our relationship. She conceived easily again, but with the same end result. This time, word of our past became common knowledge, and we were forcibly driven out of our home. My workshop was set ablaze, and the people drove us from their city, regarding our misfortunes as their own, as some bad omen. We had to petition to cross borders and live in another realm, and under the circumstances, the Overking was agreeable to it. And so we went as far as we could from those who knew us.”

  “You know of the longevity of my people, Lady Vanador. Many, many years passed before we mutually found the courage to try again. I am certain I need not tell you how things worked out. Whatever was left between my wife and I died that day. She stopped lying with me. Stopped sharing a bed with me. Eventually, she stopped speaking to me altogether. She asked me once to release her from our bond, but I refused. Since that day, when we speak, it is as associates rather than spouses.”

  Kari could hardly believe that he had said all that with no apparent emotion other than the occasional sigh. Now, looking at him, she understood the deadness, the coldness of his eyes. There was a storm of pain behind them, one he never let show – except now to her. She started to say something, but the Wraith added, “So, while my mate is not dead, I have been alone for a great many years, and fully understand how you feel and why you may have done what you did.”

  The demonhunter ignored what he thought of her and Morduri’s tryst. “When’s the last time you saw your wife?”

  “I see her all the time; I am not certain she sees me. What you must understand is that in addition to being regarded as a bad omen, our misfortunes stain me as an inferior mate. Males who sire stupid or useless children are regarded as being at fault. I think, after all our troubles, that my wife began to see me the same way, which is why she asked to be released from our bond. But I would not so casually walk away from the woman I had loved for centuries.”

  “That was when my father initiated me into the path of becoming the next Wraith. So I have since concentrated mostly on my work as an Ashen Fang. My wife is a part of our cause, but even as one of my people, she heeds only the most direct of orders and instructions. I have little avenue of reaching her again as my spouse.”

  “Do you want me to talk to her? Is that why you’re telling me all this?”

  The Wraith sighed and frowned. “Honestly, I told you most of this simply to illustrate that you are far from the only person to feel the way you do. It…it has been a great many years since I have spoken to anyone about my personal life. It would seem something about you invites people to become…blabbermouths.”

  “So you wanted to tell me you’ve never slept around since your wife turned cold?”

  He shrugged. “As I said, my wife is not dead. The same rules do not apply to our two situations. I do not mean to sound or seem judgmental, Lady Vanador, I am simply anxious that you would become involved in such a potentially dangerous relationship, and that you might end up with a child you neither want nor have the time for.”

  Kari’s blood boiled in an instant. “Don’t…ever…say that again,” she growled.

  The Wraith’s brows rose to their limits. “If I have misspoken, I apologize,” he said cautiously, but then it appeared to dawn on him.

  Kari rose to her feet. “If having a baby is the worst that can come out of this situation, then I’m not going to worry about it at all.” She put her hand to her chin. “Though I do have to wonder what would happen when I changed back to my actual body.”

  “I am not certain even Diszaro could answer that,” he said. “I suppose it is not worth putting too much thought into unless it comes to pass. We have other things to focus upon.”

  Kari nodded, but revisited her earlier question. “Do you want me to talk to your wife? I guess you’ll have to tell me who you really are, or at least who she is.”

  “Perhaps another time,” he said, shaking his head. “Though I appreciate the offer.”

  “How long until Mastriana gets here?”

  “She should arrive in the next two days. In the meantime, I have a gift for you.”

  Kari turned to behold him with the second pair of those amazing, enchanted goggles dangling from a long, slender finger. “You’re giving me your father’s eyewear?”

  “I am loaning them to you,” he corrected. “I have not given up all hope that I may one day have a son to pass them on to. I do, however, have a hope that I never need to pass them on to my son at all.”

  “That would be my goal. Why loan these to me now, though?”

  “An alteration to the plan. You, Seanada, and I will cross the border such that none will see or detect our passing. Meanwhile, we will leave King Emanitar and the true Mastriana to do as we planned, and cross toward Gaeshokk. It is better that even our allies do not know the truth of what we plan, so we will move to a city northwest of Prince Amnastru’s position, and seek to draw his forces in two directions. Half a legion should be easily manageable for King Emanitar without even giving away the truth, but I suspect, with his charisma, he may end up taking control of that half-legion instead.”

  “Are you planning to help us kill Amnastru?”

  “No, that is still completely upon you for the reasons we discussed, though Seanada may aid you if you wish it. It is vital that King Sekassus feel besieged by as many different agencies as possible, and for the Ashen Fangs to look like mercenaries in our involvement. I only wish it was easier for me to convince King Arku to invade from the north. Besieged by three forces, even one as powerful as King Sekassus would fall easily.”

  “Where do you plan to go once we cross the border, then?” Kari asked.

  “I have other duties to attend to as lord of the Ashen Fangs, but make no mistake: you will feel my presence and the plans I have set in motion. My influence will not be far from you, whether I stand by your side or not.”

  “One last question, then,” Kari said, and he gestured for her to speak freely. “How long do you need me to stay after I’ve killed Amnastru?”

  “Not at all,” the Wraith answered, returning to the shadowy form. “As soon as you have separated his soul from his body, I advise you to return home to your loved ones. You may take Seanada with you, or let her stay behind to spend time with her own family; I leave that choice to the two of you.”
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  Kari smiled, and went to unlatch the door. The Wraith headed off to do whatever it was he did to keep his society informed, and Kari made her way downstairs for some breakfast.

  *****

  Mastriana arrived two days later, as expected. It took some time to fill her in on the plan, and she seemed nervous about the fact that she was going to be regarded as a warrior. Armor and weapons were procured so she could play the part, and standing in front of Kari, they looked like twins. Only the subtle difference in their gait set them apart, the way they walked with the armor’s weight along with the readier stance and footsteps Kari displayed. Kari didn’t know much of this girl aside from her ability to heal, but she seemed ready to take up the mantle of the prophesied rebel Sekassus was afraid of.

  Little time was wasted after that. King Emanitar had set things in motion to gather his armies from the four corners of his realm to the vicinity of Kaatherai and Ewuaswi. Morduri would be left in charge of the armies, and agreed to simply play a watching game across the border from Prince Amnastru and Sekassus’ legions. When Emanitar felt the time was right – which was supposed to be once Kari and Seanada killed Amnastru – he would send word, and the southern half of Sorelizar would, in theory, fall in a matter of days.

  Kari, equipped with the eyewear from the Wraith that allowed her to become invisible, accompanied Seanada and the lord of the Ashen Fangs to the border. Their destination was the city of Shisaevas, northwest of Yugava, where all reports indicated Prince Amnastru remained. The prince clearly knew something was coming, and the Wraith suspected he was casting his net of spies to find Mastriana.

  At worst, Amnastru would receive word of her whereabouts before Kari and Seanada put the rest of the Wraith’s plan in motion and then attacked the prince. If he went to Gaeshokk to murder the true Mastriana in person, though, Amnastru would meet a quick end at Emanitar’s hands. The goal was for him to fall to Kari, but his death was paramount: the means and executioner were a secondary concern, aimed more toward future conquests.

  Kari felt good walking despite having been sick earlier in the morning. The three put a considerable amount of distance behind them, rushing to reach the city of Shisaevas before word reached Amnastru that Mastriana had arrived in Gaeshokk “again.” Timing was critical, and so Emanitar and Mastriana were taking their time making their way to Gaeshokk. Time was doubly of the essence for Kari: soon, the moment to strike would come, and not long after – assuming she wasn’t rejoined with her departed husband – she would be making her way home.

  Seanada traveled in her mallasti form and used arcane power to render herself invisible and even more silent than she already was. Attuned to each other, the three could sense, if not see, each other while they were all invisible. Seanada strode purposefully beside Kari and the Wraith with an ease of spirit that had been missing for a while. With her family safe and the secret broken to her mother and brother, she was back to her usual, confident self. Kari had yet to ask the woman what she wanted to do once the mission was done, but she expected Seanada would want to stay home a while longer.

  The Wraith, too, was back to being his “usual self,” for all Kari knew of him. No further words had been exchanged regarding either his family or Kari’s tryst with Morduri. Now he was all business, his mind solely focused on killing Amnastru, overthrowing Sekassus’ rule in the south end of Sorelizar, and taking that first monumental step toward putting Emanitar back on the throne of Mehr’Durillia. If he had any doubts or anxiety about what was to come, it didn’t show – which wasn’t all that surprising for a roiling black shadow.

  Kari, for her part, was doing her best not to dwell on the past. She had enjoyed her time with Morduri, while at the same time making it clear it was a one-time thing. He was apparently well pleased on both fronts as well: he never even suggested another tryst after she turned him down the second night. They all had jobs to do, and the time for fun – however each of them might define such a term – was now passed.

  They crossed the border in the night, and even with the borrowed goggles rendering her invisible, Kari had to call upon her experiences among the elves in crossing. The woods here were filled with soldiers, some in cold camps, others sitting around cozy fires while they waited for what was to come. If Amnastru had a legion with him in Yugava, there had to be another one stretched out along the border. That seemed to contradict the Wraith’s reports, so Kari wondered if it meant the prince was relatively unguarded.

  Morduri, in command of Emanitar’s army, would keep these soldiers from leaving the border, she was sure. Amnastru, if he didn’t have at least a few battalions with him, had left himself vulnerable to a surgical strike. Despite this, Kari played out the moves in a mental game of chess, and concluded that the Wraith would still want them to perform their ruse in Shisaevas, all the better to expose any surprises the prince was amassing.

  Kari paused, looking around at the many soldiers. Most of them were beshathan, with only the occasional syrinthian or sylinth among them. She was mesmerized by the glow of their blood flow, the enchanted goggles letting her look at their bodies such that every weak spot showed clearly. The sylinths in particular held her attention, since they were built so much differently than the bipedal folk. The Wraith paused to regard her when he saw she wasn’t beside him any more, and Kari moved to rejoin him and Seanada.

  Silent as the breath of the wind, they crept among the enemy soldiers, walking deep into the night to bypass the lines. They were already in Sorelizar, and had covered an amazing amount of ground considering Kari was mallasti instead of elestram or erestram. Seanada’s constitution held firm as well, and though Kari’s legs were threatening to give out on her, they made sure to put a few more miles behind them once they reached the soldiers’ rear guard.

  A cold dinner preceded an uncomfortable sleep, Seanada taking watch since she required little enough of it. Kari’s guts were a roiling mass of anxiety and excitement, all of her work to date now ready to come to fruition. She was looking forward to finally facing Amnastru in battle, but the enormity of the task still left a cloud of butterflies in her stomach. Some of them made their way out when she got sick, overloaded by the emotions, but not all of them.

  They pressed onward the next day, and with no soldiers to pass through, they covered even more ground than the day before. Hidden as they were, the Wraith decided to risk a look at the city of Yugava. Here, he would be splitting off from Kari and Seanada, who would continue to Shisaevas, but he wanted them to have a look as well. Yugava was a much larger town than any of the others Kari had visited, and the tents of the soldiers set up around its perimeter made it even larger still. The soldiers along the border may have been part of Amnastru’s legion, but there was still a significant force here.

  “Now you see the wisdom of our gambit in Shisaevas,” the Wraith whispered. “Go now and do as I have tasked you; I will set things in motion here that will keep Prince Amnastru from moving until we are prepared to deal directly with him.”

  “What of The Vandrasse?” Kari asked.

  “I will attempt to root her out as well. Be prepared; she may be the first to respond to the trouble you rouse in Shisaevas. If so, you are to kill her with extreme prejudice. Do not let her return to Amnastru’s side, nor even her king’s. Let us be rid of her now.”

  “As you wish, Master,” Seanada said.

  It had nearly slipped Kari’s mind that the Wraith was talking about killing Seanada’s birth mother. It certainly hadn’t slipped Seanada’s, obviously, and the woman didn’t sound at all displeased with the orders. Kari figured if possible, she’d let that play out between mother and daughter, and only get involved if it meant saving Seanada’s life. Just as Kari wanted and was expected to be the one to kill Amnastru, the killing of The Vandrasse seemed Seanada’s duty.

  The two women split off from their commander and continued on their way. Time was slipping through the glass, but Kari let it build into anticipation of going home. She would soon be givin
g her son baths and getting them at the same time, holding her daughter and watching her learn to walk – she was probably an expert by now. And then there would be seeing the progress Danilynn and Damanasha’s children had made in that same time. Would there be any more surprises in the family? Kari couldn’t wait to find out.

  The anxiety wore off after the first few days in Sorelizar, and Kari’s stomach settled. She and Seanada finally reached Shisaevas, which was a proper city. Standing at its edge, crouched beneath some trees while still invisible, it suddenly occurred to Kari that she wasn’t even sure how to walk into this city. Would they be attacked on sight, or would their very appearance lead the people to stand with them? That was a big risk to take, and Kari wondered if they should scout the city while invisible first.

  Seanada was agreeable to that idea, and they took a less direct route into the city, cutting down alleyways and across small yards rather than walking straight up the main road. Here there were no crucifixes, no stocks, nothing to suggest the people were being forcibly subjugated by their monarch’s children. It left Kari uneasy, wondering if these people might be loyalists like some of the soldiers in Haestronn. If these people couldn’t be turned and instead turned on Kari and Seanada, escaping a wrathful city might not be so simple.

  They kept to the shadows, even in their invisible state, wary of any other clue tipping off keen-eyed citizens to their passing. The city was quiet compared to Kari’s home, the people here going about their business but otherwise keeping to themselves. A mallasti woman looked up from her washing when Kari and Seanada passed, her hyena-like nose lifted to the wind, but she soon went back to what she was doing. On a hunch, Kari wondered what effect it might have to whisper epaxa chi’pri with the wind.

  The woman packed up her washing quickly before Kari got the chance, and it became obvious why a moment later. The warmth left the alleyway where she and Seanada stood, and Kari turned slowly, dread flooding into the pit of her stomach as a black shadow emerged from around the corner. In that moment, she became acutely aware of the fact that she didn’t have her angel’s blades, and there was no warm ball of light to aid her in this situation.