I kept my back turned to Elenna as I washed, embarrassed by my near naked body, when I heard splashing behind me. Elenna had waded over to me. I got a quick glimpse of her naked form before I turned away and focused on washing.
“He is very dedicated. He does not even try to peek?” Elenna said conversationally.
I glanced over in Beau’s direction. He was standing alert, hand on his sword, watching the horizon and his position unwavering as it was turned away from us. “I think he is dedicated to the woman he loves.”
“Who is this woman?”
“A good friend of mine.” I left it at that. I didn’t want to talk about Sabine. I thought about Sabine’s place in this tangled prophecy. Beau had admitted to me back in Sanore that Sabine had plotted with Princess Sarelle to kill her uncle Reynard. The two women, it seemed, were trying to get Sabine back to Neaux. She had also sent Jon to Sanore to find out who killed Sarelle. She is pulling the strings, and now she carries a child that could both bring peace or destruction, I am not sure anymore. Sabine’s son was a debacle. I had dreamed of the cruel man with blue eyes and a Neaux complexion, but it was difficult to believe that it was Sabine’s son. How well do I know her, really? I thought I knew her before I came to Sanore, but now I am not so sure.
“Hmm,” Elenna hummed. “It is too bad. I thought to ask him to join me in the longest dance. He is handsome.”
I was preparing to ask her to explain when Elenna stood up straight and looked about. I was confused by her sudden change in demeanor and glanced around. The woods were silent but for the swish of the wind through the trees. I felt a wave of premonition hit me. On the top of the hill, Beau had raised his sword and was facing in our direction, but he did not gaze down into the pool but across the way.
I followed his line of sight. Three men stood on the edge of the clearing. They were disheveled, wearing clothes made of patchwork leather and worn boots. One man held a dagger in his hand while another to the back had a bow with an arrow notched in it, and it was trained on Beau.
I shouted out, to no effect. Beau turned, trying to dodge the attack, and took the arrow to the shoulder. He stumbled but did not stop. He ran down the embankment towards us, as did the men on the other side.
The men were closer than Beau. I ran, splashing water as I did, to the other side of the pool. My underdress, still wet, clung to my legs and tangled about my thighs, impeding my escape. I tumbled and fell into the water with a splash. I was submerged for a moment, and I flailed my arms until I found the surface once more. I came up gasping and was grabbed by the shoulders and hauled to my feet. Elenna had stopped to help me, but as I had fallen, the men had closed in, and they were a hand’s breadth away from us. An arrow whistled past, and I did not have the sense to stop and see where it had gone.
The men’s laughter filled my ears, as did the sound of my beating heart. Elenna clung to my hand as we somehow managed to get across the water and onto the riverbank. The hill was slippery with mud, and we struggled over the rise. We snatched our clothes and ran past Beau. He had not even stopped to pull the arrow from his shoulder. He met the men with a clash of metal.
We fled toward camp, but as we rounded the boulder, we found several more men waiting with daggers and crude weapons. We turned and ran the other way, away from camp. My feet were bogged down in the mud, and running was difficult. The men called out to us as we stumbled along—they spoke a dialect I did not understand nor could comprehend with the fear that was pressing down on me. It felt like a game, as if we were being chased for sport.
We reached the river’s edge, and there we could run no further. Elenna pushed me behind her. She dropped her clothes to the ground, revealing her naked form. The men who had been chasing us grinned and elbowed one another.
“What are you doing!” I grabbed her arm, trying to shield her.
“Protecting you—it is my duty.”
She pushed me, and I stumbled backwards. Suddenly the ground beneath me began to rumble. It was like a low hum of energy. I stopped from tumbling over the edge and into the water below by grabbing onto the branch of a sapling. The men stopped their advance and looked up. One pointed overhead. I was afraid to look away, because if I did, I feared they would close the distance and do what I thought they intended to Elenna. What can I do? I am powerless here. A roar filled my ears. It drowned out the sound of the men’s frightened chatter and the drumming sound of my heart. I turned my head as a wall of water came my way. I opened my mouth to scream, but the water slammed into me in the same instant, and my hands were wrenched away from the sapling, and I was swept away. I gasped and inhaled a mouthful of water.
Everything was chaos. I was surrounded by blue, green and white, and I did not know which way was up or down. My body demanded air, but I could not break the surface. I will die this way, I thought. The water was pushing on me, pulling me away as I began to see black on the edge of my vision. I kicked and flailed, but my body was weak and sluggish. My will to fight was fading just as the air in my body was.
Goddess, save me! I prayed. I have not given up yet.
A light appeared before me, bright as the sun. It enveloped me, and I was warm and safe. A hand reached out from above the waves, and I was pulled out of the rapids. For a moment, I thought I saw piercing violet eyes peering down at me behind a curtain of dark black hair.
“Mother?” I croaked before I lost consciousness.
Chapter Five
A GROUP OF WILD MEN rode through hilly countryside. The distant smoke of a farmhouse drifted on the wind. A flock of seagulls wheeled overhead. At their head rode Johai. He sat forward in his saddle, his white hair streaming behind him in the breeze. His companions wore furs and leather to stay off the fall chill. Their beards were long and braided at the ends. In their hair they wore feathers and beads. Their mounts were broad and thick-limbed horses suitable for pulling heavy loads. Johai rode a white long-legged horse, a horse meant for a prince or a king. Along with its rider, it seemed out of place among the wild men and their shaggy horses. They came to a halt at the mouth of a valley between hills. The stallion tossed its silvery mane and dragged a hoof across the ground. The image was so vivid I could smell the salt in the air as the breeze ruffled Johai’s long hair. Johai surveyed the rolling landscape before him. I recognized the landscape. It was just outside of Keisan.
“Why have we stopped?” one of the men asked. He had several braids in his hair tied with feathers and beads. He wore a yellow tunic with pictures of boars along the hem. Over that he wore a leather jerkin and carried an axe slung over his shoulder.
Johai did not answer him. The two men behind him looked at one another. They carried weapons, axes and bows; Johai had nothing about him. He was lightly dressed, wearing a black tunic and leggings with a black cloak over his shoulder, yet these men seemed to fear him. Perhaps sensing their fear, Johai looked over his shoulder at them at last as a seagull screeched overhead.
“We are near the capital of Danhad. We will need to be wary. Adair is most likely uneasy about the retaliation from Neaux. He may have scouts about. Keep your weapons close and your wits about you.”
“Why have you taken us north to the capital? Is this some kind of trick?” It was the man Jomeg, who had discovered Johai in the wilds of the Biski, that challenged him.
Johai’s unnatural black eyes narrowed. “Do you question me?” he said in a voice that was sharp and malicious. “Aland put me in charge of scouting the north. Do you question my motives?”
The horse Jomeg rode stomped its foot and danced underneath him. He soothed it with words in a foreign tongue. Then he met Johai’s gaze without flinching. “I question the reasoning for brushing this close with danger,” Jomeg said. His voice was steady, but his hands shook.
Johai laughed. There was no humor in the sound; it was cold and grating. The men to the rear leaned back in their saddles. At the front a man folded his arms over his chest. Johai cut his laughter off abruptly and then just glared at the man.
They stayed in a stalemate for a few moments longer, and then Jomeg bowed his head in defeat. His dark hair fell forward to curtain his face. Johai smiled a thin smile.
“You are correct. This is dangerous, but necessary. If we hope to topple Danhad, we will need to know where their weakness lies. It is important that we survey the land where the battle will commence.” He paused as he glanced about once more. “Besides, if they made the foolish mistake of attacking us, none would escape with their lives.”
The men shuddered. They had no doubt, it seemed, that Johai spoke the truth. I shared their fear. Johai, possessed as he was, seemed ruthless. I had no doubt he would kill without mercy. Then why did he spare me? I wondered. Is it too much to hope that the Johai I love remains? Johai turned the head of his mount. The animal responded to him with little effort, and they made their way down the hill and into the valley.
The sun was low on the horizon, and the hills surrounding the valley cast long shadows in which the men could conceal themselves should anyone happen to cross up above. The men reached for their weapons. An ominous air hung about the place, the valley floor was carpeted with crimson flowers—bright as blood. They grabbed at charms with their free hands and stared dubiously at the flowers. The valley ended, and there was no return but for the way they had come. Johai held up his hand and called the men to halt. He swung down from his horse and paced about the clearing. He squatted down to pick one of the blood-red flowers.
“We shall make camp here and head south in the morning,” he announced to the men.
Jomeg frowned. “This place is sheltered but too close to the enemy. We would be better to ride until sunset and camp among the trees we passed earlier today,” he said.
Johai ignored him and contemplated the flower. “That is not what I said. Start a fire; settle into camp.”
He opened his mouth to argue, and then Johai lifted his head. “What are you waiting for?” He opened his hand, and the flower had turned to stone. He closed his hand, and it crumbled to dust.
“Herett, look for fuel for the fire. Kever, tend to the horses,” he instructed the other two men.
Johai smiled and walked across the field away from the other men as they performed their duties. He spent some time looking at the field climbing the hills, and occasionally stopped to contemplate some inconsequential spot. The men got a fire going, and the smoke drifted on the wind. He watched it rise into the sky and smiled.
The men were chatting around the fire. Their eyes occasionally drifted over to Johai as he stared at the valley walls surrounding them. Then a figure appeared on the rise, followed by another and another. Soon the entire valley was surrounded.
The Biski men jumped to their feet, weapons in hand. Kever, a thin youth with a sparse mustache, drew a bow and arrow from his back and notched an arrow, pointing it at the men along the rise. He pointed it upward, but there were too many to pick one target.
“If you value your life, you will put down your weapons,” an authoritative voice said. His voice echoed across the valley.
“What have you done?” Jomeg hissed at Johai, who was standing at ease, looking to the rise. “You led us into a trap.”
Johai ignored him and replied to the man on the rise, “Layton, it is me, Johai!”
The figure shaded his eyes and gazed down at them in the ravine. “Johai? Is that truly you?”
Johai smiled his malicious smile. “It is me, and I bring news of your mother!”
It was a gamble on his part. Johai did not know much of Damara other than that she was in Neaux. Besides, she and Johai were both considered traitors—Layton would be within his right to kill Johai on sight. I feared the outcome if he tried. No man-made blade could kill Johai now.
Layton waved a man forward. The two of them conferred for a moment before he called down to Johai, “Tell your men to step back and throw down their weapons, and we shall parlay.”
“Done.” Johai waved to his men.
Jomeg frowned. His busy brows were pulled together. His men looked anxious and clung to their weapons for a moment. Johai did not say anything, but the threat remained in his eyes. The men dropped their weapons with reluctance. They kicked them out of reach as well.
Layton urged his horse forward and rode down to the base of the ravine. Johai stood, hands behind his back, as Layton rode towards him. Layton stopped a few feet away, his horse shying from the power Johai emanated.
Layton glanced Johai up and down. He contemplated Johai for a moment with a quirk of his auburn brow that reminded me of his mother. Does he sense the subtle change in Johai? I wondered. Or is it obvious only to me, who was close to him? Layton swung down from his horse. His sword swayed along his belt. Layton’s hands flexed over his sword as if he itched to draw it and use it. The Biski men were grimacing behind Johai, and Layton’s eyes flickered in their direction briefly.
“Courtesy would dictate that you drop your weapon as well,” Johai said. His voice was smooth with an edge of danger.
“Courtesy would be cutting your traitorous head off. However, I have not forgotten that you saved my life, so I will give you the benefit of parlay.”
“Thank you, your grace.” Johai bowed with a mocking smile.
“Enough games. What are you doing here, and what news do you have of my mother?” Layton squared his stance, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
Johai remained at ease. “It is good to see you once again, Layton,” he said with a sardonic smile. “You remind me how direct Danhadines can be.”
“Do not think to press upon me courtesies. I will end this conversation before it has begun if that is what you wish.”
Johai inclined his head in recognition. “As you wish. If we are being direct, I will let you know your mother is alive and well, living in Neaux. She has made herself useful there.” He smiled. “As I am sure you’ve already surmised, I did not just come to talk to you about your mother.”
“No, I did not expect so. Then what is your real motive for coming here?”
The Biski men were glancing between the two men, and I realized that Johai had switched to Danhadine and the Biski must not have been able to understand.
“I’ve come to give you a warning. Neaux is planning an attack. They want revenge for a recent attack on their capital, which they blame on Danhad.”
“That news is weeks old. We have already had word that the soldiers we sent to help with the Biski uprising have all been executed. She has declared war upon us. You risked too much coming here with this news. You cannot think this would be enough to wash away your treason.” I was sick to my stomach. There was more blood on Arlene’s hands and mine; those soldiers had paid the price for their ruler’s ambitions.
Johai shrugged. “I thought to pass along the news, but that was not my reason for coming here. I have come here with an offer.” He let his words linger.
“What can you offer that the king does not already have?” Layton asked. He glanced once more towards the Biski men behind Johai.
“I can offer him swords and men.” Johai motioned to the three Biski men standing behind him. “The king of the Biski wishes to ally himself with King Adair.”
“Are you mad? The Biski have no king, and these savages would slit our throats rather than join our forces.” Layton motioned towards the Biski with an angry point of his finger. Though he spoke Danhadine, the Biski men seemed to sense the meaning of his words. They balled their hands into fists, and Kever motioned to pick up his bow. “Do that and die where you stand,” Layton said in the Biski tongue.
Kever continued to scowl but took a step away from the bow.
“The Biski have been battling Neaux as well. They are willing to put differences aside if it would mean eliminating our mutual enemy.”
“Yes, but at what price?” Layton asked.
“The king would have his sovereignty recognized, and if Adair has a son, he would marry him to one of his daughters, and if the child is a girl, then one of his sons.”
“I see,” was all Layton replied. He waited another moment and studied Johai. “Wait here a moment.”
Layton jumped into the saddle, wheeled around, and went back up the hill towards the other men. When he was gone, Jomeg came over to Johai.
“What were you and that man discussing?”
“A way for your people to regain this land,” Johai replied.
Jomeg scowled but did not press him further. Layton and his men were talking. Layton was standing silhouetted against the sky. His hands were on his hips as a man he spoke with waved his hands about. After a few moments, Layton and the other man rode down the hill toward Johai and the Biski.
The man he brought with him, I did not recognize, but he had an air of authority about him. He had dark brown hair that was almost black. He was of middle years with a scar bisecting his face from eyebrow to the corner of his lips. This time, they did not dismount but looked down on Johai, who continued to stare back at them with a placid expression.
“We will take you to the king and let him answer your offer. There he will decide your fate and the fate of these men. Come.” Layton motioned to Johai and his companions. They waited for Johai and the others to gather their things before leading him up the hill. The men surrounding the hill had arrows trained on them; if any of them attempted to make a move, they would be dead on the ground before they could raise a sword. While Layton led, the second man followed behind Johai and the Biski men. As they travelled, Johai smiled to himself.
When I awoke once more, I was covered in thick furs. I blinked bleary eyed at a tent canopy. The light coming through was dim and murky. I sat up, and the blankets slid off my shoulders. I was naked beneath them. I clutched them to my chest and stared around the tent. Where am I? Then the events at the river came crashing back to me. Elenna! Everything was a blur when the water hit. Had she, too, been swept away by the river? What about Beau? Goddess, please let them be safe. I touched my temples where a headache was throbbing. Where had that water come from? That could not be natural. I would have thought it was Johai, but he seemed to be hundreds of leagues away. Does the power of the specter extend this far? Was he trying to kill me? I attempted to climb to my feet, with the fur held close to keep me covered. My legs wobbled, and I collapsed back on to my rear. Since I was weak, I took a moment to regard my surroundings. I was in a tent, larger than the travel tents we had been using. It was tall enough for a grown man to stand upright and perhaps five arm-length’s wide. I was lying in a pile of blankets and furs, and to the far side there were woven baskets with lids, which appeared to be used for storage. There were ceramic jars on the floor as well, and beside the bed was a jug with water.
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