by Callie Kanno
When they stopped for a break at midday, she confronted Kendan. “You are not searching for my husband. We are nowhere near where L’iam was taken, and Maizah is not tracking anyone.”
“You are correct,” was Kendan’s simple reply.
The young queen felt her temper flaring up. “Then where are we going?” she demanded.
A hint of a smile pulled at the corner of his mouth, and Adesina could tell that he was toying with the idea of goading her further. Her temper had always been a weakness, and his attempts to teach her control had been in vain. He decided against it after a moment, however, and gave a direct answer. “There is one more person that we need in our party before we have any chance of success in rescuing L’iam.”
“Whom might that be?” asked Ravi as he settled on his haunches next to Adesina.
Kendan’s expression became carefully neutral. “There is a small post in a village where we can find someone with unique expertise.”
Adesina rolled her eyes. “Very specific.”
Ravi studied him narrowly. “A small post? Do you mean a Shimat post?”
There was a slight pause. “Yes.”
The Rashad’s eyes flashed dangerously. “And you are only telling us now?”
He shrugged casually, but his expression was uncomfortable. “You asked for my aid, and I am giving it. I did not deem it necessary to share every single detail.”
Adesina folded her arms across her chest and glared. “No, you offered your help and we agreed to let you come along.”
Ravi was more concerned with other things. “Our intention was to rescue King L’iam without engaging the Shimat directly. How do you expect us to walk into a Shimat post without any confrontation?”
“There is no need for worry. I have a plan,” insisted Kendan.
“I disagree,” returned the large feline. “A reckless plan is worse than no plan at all.”
Kendan’s dark eyes became hard, and his handsome features looked as if they had been chiseled from a block of ice. “If you do not wish to come with me, I am quite willing to part ways here.”
The man got to his feet and walked away, leaving the young queen and her guardian to stare after him. Adesina had rarely seen him with his emotions so close to the surface, and she was surprised to see it now. It was clear that there was something bothering him, but she was tempted to call his behavior petulant.
She turned to her guardian and spoke quietly. “Should we go pick up L’iam’s trail on our own or trust in Kendan’s plan?”
Ravi frowned thoughtfully. “I would feel better about making such a decision if I knew what that plan entailed.”
“Well, he seems to be intent on keeping it a mystery for now.”
“Which makes his plan seem suspicious,” pointed out Ravi. “I am not feeling very trusting of him in general, and this does not help the situation.”
Adesina gave a frustrated sigh. “I suppose I can understand the decision, even if I do not agree with it. He has been a Shimat for a long time, and it is difficult to let such practices go.”
Ravi was silent for several moments as he considered their options. “I feel that Maizah will be very important in our search, and I doubt that she would leave Kendan without a direct order from him.”
The young queen nodded thoughtfully. “I believe that you are right. However, we will need a plan of our own, in the event that things do not go as we would hope.”
Her guardian gave a small grunt, and the two of them walked over to where Kendan was preparing his horse to leave again.
“We will go with you for now,” announced Adesina, “but know that we will not hesitate to leave your company if your plan proves to be too dangerous.”
Her former teacher’s expression remained cold. “You may do as you please.”
The group continued to ride east, with very little deviation. Kendan was silent and withdrawn, and the others made no effort to draw him out. The L’avan didn’t trust his intentions, and he did nothing to assuage their concerns.
They saw a number of farming communities and small villages, but they kept a wide berth from civilization in general. After a while they began angling south, toward two large lakes that could be seen far in the distance.
On their fifth day of steady riding, the L’avan noticed they were headed for a group of buildings that might have been large enough to be called a town. It was situated on the banks of the smaller of the two lakes, not far from the river that fed both bodies of water. Kendan made no effort to alter their course, so it was assumed by the other travelers that this was their destination.
Adesina spoke quietly to her guardian. “Ravi, perhaps it would be wise for you to become invisible while we are in town.”
He nodded. “I agree.”
Kendan glanced over at them and asked in a casual voice, “So…you can become invisible whenever you wish?”
The Rashad’s tone became slightly stiff, but he answered. “It is a gift of my race. We can choose who sees us and who does not.”
“How is that possible?”
“Magic,” stated the large feline.
It was clear that Ravi did not wish to discuss it further, so Kendan stopped asking questions. Still, his eyes kept darting back to the Rashad, as if hoping to see for himself how it worked.
They reached the town just as the sun was beginning to set, and Kendan led the group to a modest inn. The proprietor was a robust woman with coppery hair and a wide grin. Distrust flashed through her blue eyes as she spotted the L’avan and her smile faded, but she greeted them politely.
“Welcome to Lake Breezes, the best inn in the whole of Sister Lakes. How may I assist you?”
“We would like a warm meal and some rooms, if there are any available,” said Kendan calmly. He gave a small smile, and the innkeeper found herself staring at his handsome face.
“Of course,” she blurted. “Please be seated, and I will bring it to you myself.”
Than’os and Mar’sal sat on either side of Adesina, their eyes searching the room for any signs of danger. Ravi—now invisible to anyone outside of their party—sat in a corner, where he would not be inadvertently stepped on, and kept an eye on Kendan to make sure he did nothing to jeopardize the mission. Maizah stared at the floor with no expression on her face, and Kendan continued to ignore his companions.
The innkeeper brought heaping plates of venison and fried potatoes, for which they thanked her sincerely. None of them were especially talented cooks, and living off of traveler’s bread and dried provisions quickly lost appeal.
Than’os fixed his piercing eyes on their guide as soon as they were left alone. “So? Is our mysterious ally in this town?”
Kendan placed a piece of potato in his mouth and chewed it slowly before answering. “I have reliable information that indicates so.”
Than’os had rather sharp features, but his look of incredulity made them look even more pinched. “You mean you do not know for certain?”
Mar’sal pulled at his large nose in agitation. “We will have wasted the better part of two weeks for nothing if you are wrong about this, Shimat.”
Kendan continued to eat his meal methodically. “I am aware of that, magic-user. But I doubt that I am wrong.”
“What if you are?” asked Adesina.
His frigid black eyes wavered for the first time as he looked at her youthful face. “Then I will turn Maizah over to your care and cease to interfere.”
Mar’sal muttered to himself, “In that case, I hope you are wrong.”
Than’os gave a fierce grin and chuckled softly in agreement. Adesina, on the other hand, wore a worried frown. She wasn’t sure she trusted Kendan, but it would be incredibly valuable to have his help for this mission.
It had been more than six years since she had been given proper Shimat training, and three years since she had taken part in any regular military training at all. She had been an integral part of reforming the L’avan military training program, but after sh
e had finished teaching all of the instructors she had become preoccupied by other matters—namely her wedding and all of the duties that came with being queen.
She had done her best to stay physically fit, but if it came to any sort of confrontation with the Shimat, she would need every bit of help she could get. Especially if that help had Shimat training as well.
Adesina took a deep breath. “What is the next step in the plan?”
“I will go out tomorrow and contact the Shimat who are posted here. Any additional information we need can be found through them.”
“Will they be hostile towards us?”
“No,” Kendan replied coolly, “because you are not going with me.”
Three sets of L’avan eyes locked on him.
“That is out of the question,” hissed Mar’sal. “The last thing we need is for you to use your fellow assassins to set a trap for us.”
Kendan gave him a withering look. “If I was going to set a trap, I would have done it before coming to your camp.”
The young woman shook her head decisively. “I am not letting you out of my sight while we are here.”
“You would risk the entire mission by parading your L’avan features all over town? It is dangerous enough that we have been seen at this inn.”
“I have no intention of parading anything,” she answered shortly. “There are ways to disguise the way I look.”
“Using magic?” he inquired.
Adesina gave a single nod. “I can create an illusion around myself to change how I appear to others.”
His expression became skeptical. “If your people have this ability, then why do they not use it every time they deal with those that distrust magic-users?”
Than’os answered, his eyes fixed on his queen in apprehension. “Because it is difficult to do for more than a few minutes. Those that wish to sustain it must focus all of their attention on doing so. They cannot use their vyala for any other purpose while they maintain the illusion.”
She waved a hand impatiently. “I am sure I can maintain the illusion without any problem.”
“But you can only do so for yourself,” pointed out Than’os. He gestured to his own metallic, dark red eyes with a ring of dark green near the iris, and then to Mar’sal’s dark blue eyes with a wedge of pale yellow. “Neither of us have that ability, and it would be too great a strain for you to give all of us different appearances.”
“Then I will go with Kendan and the rest of you will stay here.”
Mar’sal’s boyish face twisted in anxiety. “Adesina,” he said quietly, knowing better than to use her royal title while on a mission, “your brother made us swear an oath to stay with you and protect you.”
She chuckled fondly. “I do not doubt that he did. That does not change our situation, though. Kendan cannot go alone, and I can only disguise myself.”
“I will go with Ma’eve and Kendan,” said Ravi, “and the two of you will stay here with Maizah. You will wait two hours for us. If we do not return in that time, you will take the Tracker and continue the search for L’iam.”
“What if she refuses to follow our instructions?” asked Than’os.
“Kendan will order her to do so,” was the simple reply.
Adesina studied her former teacher. “Will you?”
She could see his mind working out the advantages and disadvantages of this plan by the flash in his dark eyes. He hesitated for only a moment before nodding once.
“Very well.”
No one seemed completely satisfied with the arrangement, but it was a compromise that they could all agree to. They finished their meal in silence, and then followed the innkeeper to their rooms.
Adesina and Maizah shared a room, and the men shared another. The young queen was grateful for a silent companion. She was not feeling very sociable, and it was a relief to simply go to bed and try to organize the chaos in her troubled mind.
Adesina removed her boots and let down her hair, thinking over the past few days. It had not been too long ago that her primary concerns were about building materials and sugar rations. Now those domestic affairs were far from her thoughts.
Perhaps it was too much to hope for a normal life—even for a short period of time.
She knew that her future would be filled with conflict and sacrifice—after all, she had accepted the role of Threshold Child, and that would not be an easy path. Still, her heart longed for a reprieve.
L’iam had promised her that someday they would live in peace and prosperity. He had spoken of an end to the Shimat and the thriving of the L’avan. Most of all, he had painted a picture in her mind of the happy days they would share together, basking in the love that continued to grow between them.
Adesina sighed deeply and closed her eyes.
She prayed that such dreams were still possible.
Chapter Five: Liberation
Adesina was waiting in the common room when Kendan came down the next morning. He spotted her sitting quietly by the fireplace and walked over.
“I was not going to sneak out,” he said with a hint of annoyance.
The night before, she had told Than’os to move his bed in front of the window so that no one could open it without his knowledge. And that morning she had awoken well before dawn so that she would be able to watch the front door. Ravi was prowling around the outside of the inn just in case Kendan got past the L’avan.
“It is better to take precautions than to live with regrets,” she answered with a smile. “The Shimat taught me that.”
“You have to start trusting me,” Kendan said softly, “or this mission will fail.”
She gave him a measured look. “Trust does not grow overnight. Especially when it has been broken before.”
Adesina detected a slight flush in his cheeks as he busied himself with putting on his cloak. “Well, we should probably go before the sun rises. I do not want to attract the eyes of onlookers.”
She nodded and donned her own cloak. She connected with her vyala, manipulating the light around her to create an illusion. She gave her face the appearance of Hestia, the leader of one of the Northern Tribes and one of her dear friends. The Ojuri—Hestia’s people—often traded with the L’avan, and they had developed a close bond between the two groups.
Adesina’s shimmering silver hair turned black with streaks of grey. Her purple and gold eyes became a rich brown, and her face became careworn and regal. Even Hestia’s children wouldn’t have been able to tell them apart at first glance. Those who knew the Ojuri leader would notice that the mannerisms were different, but that didn’t matter for Adesina’s purposes.
Kendan stared at her in fascination. “Amazing! There is no sign of the illusion, even when you move.”
She tried not to look smug. “That is the idea. It does take a fair amount of concentration, though, so I will not be very interactive.”
He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “That does not matter. I will be doing the talking.”
They walked out onto the street, and Ravi was waiting for them. He took in Adesina’s appearance with a glance and smiled.
“Hestia?”
The young queen shrugged. “There are only a handful of non-L’avan, non-Shimat faces that I know well enough to duplicate.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, I suppose it would be easier to mimic a face rather than create a new one.”
Kendan led them down the dim streets with barely a hesitation. They left the main thoroughfare near the center of town, and made their way down a small alley between two shops. The door where they stopped seemed to lead to an apartment above the mercantile. He rapped his knuckles on the wooden planks and then stepped back.
Adesina found herself holding her breath as she waited for an answer. It took all of her training to keep her face neutral.
The door opened, and a wizened man in a nightshirt peered at them in confusion. His wispy white hair was disheveled, and his eyes were bleary with sleep.
“Yes?
”
Kendan spoke quietly, but with confidence. “I am lost, and I was hoping you might give me some directions.”
The old man frowned. “It is a strange time of day for a traveler to be out and about.”
“I prefer to start early.”
“Hmph! Well, I suppose I can help you. Where are you trying to go?”
“Bellflower Street.”
The man scratched his head with a bemused expression on his wrinkled face. “I have never heard of a street by that name. Not in this town, at least. Do you mean Flowervale Square?”
Kendan shook his head. “No, I am certain it is Bellflower Street.”
“There are not many streets in this town, young man, and none of them bear names like that. You must be in the wrong town all together.”
He gave a small bow. “Perhaps you are right. I apologize for the inconvenience.”
The old man shut the door, muttering to himself about strangers and their lack of consideration for decent hours.
Adesina watched the exchange silently, attempting to puzzle out the code that they must have been using. When Kendan started to walk away, she followed closely.
“Well?” she asked in a low voice. “What did he say?”
“There is a secret entrance. Someone will be waiting for us.”
They stayed in the narrow paths between the buildings, using the shadows to hide their passing. A small hatch in the back of the smithy swung open at their approach, and a hawkish looking stranger waved them down the rickety stairs.
The man was clearly a Shimat—Adesina could tell by the way he moved. He closed the hatch and then turned on them with a knife drawn. “Identify yourselves.”
“I am Shimat Shrike, personal assistant to the Sharifal,” stated Kendan. “I am here for the alchemist.”
“Do you have proof of your identity?”
“I gave the appropriate codes for one of my rank,” he responded coldly.
The man hesitated, and then nodded. “I apologize, Shimat Shrike. We were not expecting anyone for another week.”
Kendan pulled out a sealed document. “Here are your new orders.”
