“I will admit I have personal motives for asking you. I was once Duke of Slatone, and I am cousin to the king, but he betrayed me. We loved the same woman, and when he found out, she chose me over him. He killed her and had me exiled, doomed to walk the earth friendless and alone. I would use you to get my revenge for my lost love.”
Laena’s expression softened further. “Oh, how terrible.” She put her hand to her chest.
He had them all eating out of the palm of his hand.
“We should not make agreements by moonlight. These sorts of things should be done properly,” Aland said, but I could see in his face that with Johai’s enchantments, he would deny him nothing.
“I agree. We shall write up terms on the morrow, then. Perhaps you could help me with a place to stay?”
“Of course, my daughter Laena will show you to a tent and help you with whatever you may wish.”
She gazed at him with lustful eyes, and I was certain she would be warming Johai’s bed tonight and not Jomeg’s.
“Wonderful.” Johai held out his bended arm for Laena, and they strolled out into the night.
Things are moving along perfectly. Johai’s thoughts echoed through my mind. Soon I will have my army, and then I will come for you, Maea.
Chapter Four
I SCREAMED AS I WAS jolted from my sleep. It felt as if I had been pushed from the dream by some great force. He knows I am watching. He is sending me these dreams. My scream fell to silence, and Elenna was beside me, peering at me in the darkness of our tent. Outside, men were grumbling about the noise. My heart was pounding in my chest. He is not here. I am stronger than he. I can stop him.
“Maea, do not fret. It was only a dream.” Elenna pulled me to her breast and stroked my hair. She hummed a song in her mother tongue as her fingers danced across my scalp. The combination of her voice and the motion of her hands gave me comfort. I am safe here, for now. I wrapped my arms around my upper body and shivered. Johai and I were still far apart, but I could feel the distance closing between us. We draw nearer to one another with every passing day. The day when I have to face him is coming soon. Will he kill me the next we meet?
When Elenna was certain I was calm, she went to pour me a cup of watered wine. She handed it to me, and I drank down a few gulps. It was too tart, but I choked it down anyway to quench my dry throat. She sat beside me, leaning back on her heels, just watching me. I half-expected Beau to come barreling into my tent to make sure I was not being murdered.
“You dreamed?” Elenna prompted.
I took another gulp of wine to avoid answering. The dreams lately had felt like something much more than dreams; it was as if I were inside Johai’s mind. Could we be linked somehow?
“Yes. I dreamed of Johai again.” I set down the cup to keep from sloshing the remaining liquid around. My hands continued to tremble. I took a deep breath. Get it together. He cannot see me; it only appeared that he could. I may be able to see into his thoughts, but he may not be able to control the visions. “Johai is trying to lead the Biski north to war with Danhad and Neaux. We have to tell the ambassador.”
Elenna nodded. “We will. However, since the hour is late and time is not of the essence, I am sure it can wait until morning.”
I glanced over her shoulder. Beyond her was the dim light of dying firelight. A few long shadows moved about the campsite. Crickets chirped nearby, and horses nickered. I could hear the faint sound of a soldier snoring. Morning is hours away. She is right. It will do no good to wake the ambassador tonight.
I lay back down, but my head was pounding. I touched my temples with the tips of my fingers. Elenna went back to her sleeping mat, and within a few minutes I could hear her steady breathing as she fell back to sleep. I lay for a while staring at the canopy of our tent. The specter is power hungry. He is feeding that Biski leader lies to trick him into joining his cause. He will lay waste to all the nations if he can wrestle the thrones from Adair and Arlene. I will stop him, even if it means killing Johai. The thought pricked me, but I knew it was the truth. I had hesitated to kill Johai back in Sanore, and it had led to this. The specter was free and plotting against all the kingdoms. I am the last diviner. It is my duty to stop him no matter the cost. What are my feelings compare to the lives of thousands? I fell back asleep, comforted by the lies I told myself.
I woke in what seemed a matter of minutes. It had to have been hours, however, because light was pushing through the fabric of our tent and, outside, the smell of cooking meat and grease rose on the wind. Men were chattering as they went about their morning duties. I heard the clink of metal and the scrape of tents being taken down. I dressed in a hurry, careful not to wake Elenna. I left in search of Lord Buree.
Fog had rolled in during the night, and the camp was blanketed in a gray mist. Tents emerged from within the mist like peaks of a mountain range. Soldiers trudged about, preparing for a new day, feeding the horses and lighting cook fires. I found Lord Buree outside his tent, dressed and looking over maps with the commander. The two men looked up as I approached, and the commander’s mouth turned down in a frown.
“Lady Diranel, good morning. I hope you slept well,” Lord Buree greeted me. With a wave of his hand, he motioned for me to join them. “I would be honored for you to break your fast with me.”
“You’re kind to offer, Lord Buree,” I said. I glanced down at some parchments they had rolled out between them. It was a map of Neaux and the Biski lands. North of the border, between Neaux and the Biski lands, were landmarks, towns and villages across Neaux. South of the border, there was not much more than open plains and a lake to the east.
“We do not have time for tea and gossip,” groused the commander.
Lord Buree patted his arm with a smile. “This is a diplomatic journey, not a military exercise. We can indulge every once in a while.”
“Not if we hope to make it to the Biski tribes by winter,” the commander replied.
Lord Buree shook his head as he clucked his tongue. “You need to enjoy life a bit more, my friend.” He did not wait for the commander to reply as he rounded to face me. “Shall we adjourn to the breakfast table, my lady?”
“If you do not mind, I would like to speak with you and the commander,” I said.
The commander’s eyebrow rose. Lord Buree’s jovial face turned into a frown. “What do you need to speak with us about?” Lord Buree asked.
“I had a vision during the night.”
The commander scoffed. My eyes flickered in his direction, but I remained focused on Lord Buree. His expression was grave. He had been present the night of the rebellion when my vision had led Arlene’s men to victory against Celeste and Adair’s army.
“Tell me,” Lord Buree said.
“There is a powerful sorcerer whom I am trying to find. He ventured south to the Biski lands, and last night I found out where he was headed. He has made contact with a man who leads a large clan among the Biski. He has perhaps the largest clan among them, and he has agreed to go north and make war against both Danhad and Neaux.”
Lord Buree regarded me for a moment. He tugged at his mustache and twisted the ends as he thought. “A sorcerer you say...” He looked over to the commander, and they shared a look that I could not decipher.
“Yes, a powerful one. He is dangerous, and I wanted you to be notified because it is likely we will meet him on our travels. You should inform the men to watch out for a man with white hair and black eyes. They should avoid him at all costs.”
“This is preposterous. We are on a diplomatic mission, not searching for fairy-tale monsters,” the commander interrupted.
“Your mission is to convince these people to join Neaux in a war against Danhad. However, if the sorcerer has already infiltrated them, they may likely betray you to their own ends. I suggest you proceed with caution,” I said to Lord Buree.
He pulled hard on his mustache, and his lips pulled away from his teeth along with it. He stopped tugging to rub his chin. The commander
was seething beside him. He opened and closed his fists.
“Lady Diranel, I am going to be frank,” Lord Buree said at last. “These things seem a bit far-fetched. I was there the night of the rebellion when you spoke on Queen Arlene’s behalf. I know you have a gift—but I do not see how one man can sway an entire nation to his banner, even if he is a powerful sorcerer. When this clan leader hears what we have to offer, we will win him to our side.”
You are a fool, I thought, but I dared not speak my thoughts. “I can understand your hesitance,” I said instead. “I know this man. He is able to sway men’s hearts using magic. If we go to the Biski lands without a plan, he may well get what he’s after.”
“And what is that?” the commander asked. He narrowed his eyes at me. Lord Buree looked at me, curious as well.
I swiveled to face him. “He wants to destroy everything. He delights in chaos. If we let him run unchecked, it may very well mean the destruction of everything.”
The commander stared at me, with his arms folded over his chest. He appeared a man who would not be moved.
“I will take your words under consideration,” Lord Buree said, drawing my attention back to him. “And I will have the men keep an eye out for the sorcerer.” He took me by the elbow. “Now let us put these matters aside. I think the cook has a haunch of ham, and we can eat and enjoy while you tell me more about yourself.”
It was an undeniable end of the conversation. Did Arlene send a fool to treat with the Biski, or does this man have some other plot that I have not considered? Do they not understand my powers or just fear them? My powers were ever a double-edged blade. Even though I knew about the future, it did not mean I could stop it. I could feel the commander’s eyes on me as Lord Buree led me away. He was studying me, and I got the impression I did not live up to his assessment. We broke camp after breaking our fast. Lord Buree kept the conversation light and trivial, asking me about my childhood in Danhad as we ate. I spoke of my time living in the countryside but left out Johai. Few knew of how Johai had found me on the streets of Keisan when I was a girl and taken me to his estate. Johai taught me all I know of my powers, but that wasn’t enough. I must find the oracle. Only she can help me stop the specter. When we were on the road again, I hung back with Elenna and told her of my conversation with the commander and Lord Buree.
“They are blinded by their politics,” she said.
I sighed. “I wish I could make them understand.”
“You can’t force the ignorant to see,” Beau said sagely from the left side of me.
I nodded and stared at the swaying of my horse’s head. She was a bay mare with a good temperament, a gift from Arlene upon our parting.
“Once we reach the border, perhaps it is best if we broke away from the group,” Elenna said in a whisper.
I glanced around. The commander and Lord Buree were far from earshot, and the closest soldier was chatting with the man next to him. There was no one to overhear our conversation, yet I felt a prickling along my spine to speak these thoughts. Arlene had wanted me to travel with these men for a reason, and I suspected she would not like it if we slipped off into the night.
“It would make things easier. Perhaps we could convince this leader of the Biski not to join Johai.” I shook my head. It was a ludicrous plan, and I knew it. Johai had them in his thrall. My best bet was to find the oracle and learn what I must in order to stop the prophecy.
“Who is this leader?” Beau asked.
“I have only heard of him since I came north, but he has risen in power quickly. He controls one of the strongest clans—the Stone Clan—and I heard rumors that more and more clans have been joining him,” Elenna replied.
“How can we find him? From looking at the maps, it looks like the territory is enormous. They could be anywhere.”
“My people follow patterns,” Elenna said. “A clan as big as his will control the best grazing lands; those are just southwest of Mother Lake. He would be camped there for the spring and summer, and then he would come north to sell his livestock to the Danhadines and other tribes before returning to Mother Lake for the gathering.”
“What is this gathering?” I asked.
“Twice a year my people come together at Mother Lake to acknowledge the changing seasons. We join together in winter and in the summer, one for a celebration of life, the other for death and rebirth.”
“And this is where we can find this leader?”
She nodded. “Yes. It would be the safest place to approach him without appearing as a threat.”
“Then why do we not head that way now? Winter is not far off. We could arrive at the next gathering,” Beau said.
“Because those who are in charge are too stubborn to listen to reason,” Elenna said with a toss of her long curly hair. At the same time, the commander looked back over his shoulder in our direction.
Elenna smiled at him and waved. He frowned and turned back around.
“I take it you’ve tried talking to the commander as well?” I asked Elenna.
“Unfortunately, yes,” Elenna replied and then sighed. “They are insisting on going across the river ford. He thinks it will save time, but we had a wet summer, and the river will be high this close to autumn, the rains only get stronger. Not to mention the bandits who hide along the banks.” She shrugged. “But what do I know, I am only a woman.”
We laughed, but it was tinted with worry. There was much that could go wrong. Time was not on my side. The day the moon swallowed the sun was fast approaching; Elenna had told me it would be next summer. I had less than six months to learn about my powers before the prophesized day. There were leagues ahead of me until we reached Mother Lake and hopefully the oracle.
Reaching the river ford should have taken us another three weeks. But as Elenna had predicted, we were held up by weather. A summer storm came upon us suddenly one day. Gray clouds rolled in and drenched us. The commander tried to have us ride through it. We were soaked to the bone. At night we huddled around fires in pitiful balls. We could not get warm enough, and our clothes were wet and chafed our skin. We tried for two more days, but our speed was halved by the constant stream of rain and the thick mud that caught our horses’ hooves. Three horses broke their legs and had to be put down before the commander called a halt until the storm passed. Many of the remaining horses had sores from the rubbing of wet leather and steel on their hides. Even my bay mare was not saved from the misery. The horse master had to tend her wounds, putting maggots in them to keep them from putrefying.
In the end we were held up an extra two weeks between the rain and the slow progress across the mud roads we travelled. When we finally reached the river ford, we were near eight weeks gone into our journey, and autumn was upon us. We passed by farmlands being tilled for harvest, and farmers stopped to watch our party pass by.
We reached the ford crossing a few days outside the farmlands. We had only just gotten dry, it seemed, and no one had the heart to cross it the day we arrived. The river was high from the storms, and the crossing would be perilous. After much arguing, we were given a short reprieve while scouts searched out the shallowest place to cross the river.
The ford marked the border between the Biski territories and the edge of the Neaux kingdom. Once we crossed the river, we were in potentially hostile territory. A camp was set up, and guards were set around the perimeter. We were restless and on edge. My skin was rubbed raw from being constantly wet and then the long march to make up for lost time. My clothes were mud caked, and my skin itched for want of a bath. What I would give to be clean and dry again, in a large feather bed.
The campsite overlooked the river. Long river-grasses framed the water’s edge, and cattails swayed in the breeze—the last lingering traces of the storm. The river had swollen with the rains and raged over rocks and a fallen tree trunk. Elenna had disappeared shortly after we had set up camp. She came back a few minutes later, a smile spreading her face.
“I found a good place to bathe
and wash off some of this grime.” She plucked at her gown, which was spattered with mud.
I glanced at the river. It looked ice cold. The water foamed and churned, and the idea of going into that rushing freezing water did not appeal to me no matter how filthy I was.
“I found a shallow pool,” Elenna said, seemingly reading my thoughts. “It’s not warm, but it’s warmer than that.” She pointed at the river. “And the water is still. We can wash quickly and get some of the dirt off our clothes, at least.”
I brushed my own muddy gown. I felt the sweat and dirt rubbing beneath my bodice. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt.”
We headed through some short undergrowth. Beau came along without prompting, following us to the pool Elenna had found. It was adjacent to the river. A stream had broken off from the main river and was blocked from a majority of the flow by a large boulder. A line of trees blocked out the view from the camp, and the pool itself dipped down into a shallow valley carved out by the river at some point, I suspected. Elenna had already begun to shed her gown and was heading down an animal trail to the water’s edge.
I glanced at Beau. He was near the tree line, his back turned to us as if to give us privacy without being too far away in case there was trouble. When I looked back, Elenna had stripped down completely, and I blushed to see her without any clothes at all. I looked down at my clothes and decided to strip down to my undergown. I was not accustomed to being nude in front of others.
Elenna ran down to the water, and the clear water splashed up and ran down her back. It was not deep, perhaps up to her thighs. She sank down and threw water over her body, letting the rivulets wash away the dirt. Her hair was loose and glistened with water droplets. I followed her down the path and dipped a toe into the water. I shivered as the cold water lapped over my foot.
It was freezing, but I imagined not nearly as cold as the rapids that fed it. I bit down on my lip to suppress a shriek and sank into the water. I squatted down and rubbed the cold water over my skin. Gooseflesh rose and I shivered. I unbound my hair, which I had tied in a braid, and ran my fingers through it, untangling it as best I could. Elenna was doing the same, washing as quickly as she could.
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