03- A Sip of Magic

by Guy Antibes

  “You didn’t think you’d get out of the city without us, did you?” Paki said, grinning.

  Pol couldn’t greet his friends with the same joy. “We are heading into the teeth of the enemy,” he said. “The last time, we were nearly killed. There is no Demeron to protect our rear.”

  Kell smiled at Pol’s statement, and even Shira giggled.

  “You know what I mean,” Pol said.

  “I’ll bet we’re both better with a sword than Horker Porker.” Paki didn’t look as if he’d be dissuaded.

  “You’re at least as good. We might as well all die together,” Pol said, sighing as he relented. In the end, he knew they wouldn’t leave him.

  Paki still grinned. “I brought fresh supplies straight from the King’s kitchen.”

  Pol didn’t say another word and wondered if part of his frustration with his friends was due to having two more people to keep him from talking to Shira. He clamped his lips together as they came to a crossroads that Pol remembered from when he had left Borstall before.

  “Remember that grove?” Pol asked Paki, pointing to a group of trees beside the road.

  “I do. That’s when our Deftnis adventure started. I brought supplies along with me then, too.”

  “You did. We’re going to take the same route. That knoll where Val had us rest—”

  “Where we could see the soldiers heading south in pursuit?”

  Pol nodded. “That’s the place. It has a good view of the surrounding area. We’ll stop there and see if we can detect evidence of the army.”

  The ride brought back memories of Pol’s flight from Borstall. In the intervening months there had been some good times, but more had been challenging events in his life. Pol was physically and mentally stronger now, but he felt more exposed, even surrounded by people he trusted.

  The world was bigger and had the potential to be nastier than he had imagined. Even though his stepsiblings had tried to kill him, he knew there were worse things lurking in the Empire and probably beyond. He looked over at Shira and wondered what her life was really like. She obviously avoided talking about it, and with Paki and Kell around, he couldn’t initiate a conversation. Now that he could openly talk about his background, they weren’t ever alone.

  He led them off the road after Shira covered their tracks when no travelers were in sight and sped up through the woods. Pol kept locating, but didn’t find any dots lurking in the thick trees.

  They finally reached the knoll that overlooked farmlands and woods with Borstall barely visible in the misty distance.

  “I remember Val’s laugh,” Paki said.

  “Yeah,” Pol said. He turned and looked to the south. “See that ridge?” Pol pointed to high ground barely visible.

  “Our next stop?” Shira said.

  Pol nodded. “First we feed ourselves a bit, and then we’ll find water for our horses along the way.” He shivered and wrapped his cloak around him. “It’s a heck of a time to be marching. Maybe the farmers won’t mind soldiers trampling on their fields this time of year.”

  Kell shrugged. “I’m not a farmer. My father would look at a war and talk about the opportunity to replace all those clothes ruined in the fight.”

  “But there are less people to wear them,” Shira said.

  Pol’s friend looked at her. “Are you against war?”

  “You should rather ask am I for senseless death? I am not. But I don’t believe in rolling over like a dog who sees something with a longer sword as a master. War is an inevitable result of the dark side of humanity. I don’t embrace it, but I will fight for what is mine.”

  “I guess I agree with all that,” Kell said. “I’ve never fought in an actual battle before.”

  Pol nodded. “I have, and it’s not fun. If you came out here just looking for adventure, now is the time to go back to Borstall,” he said, hoping his friends would take him up on it, but neither did.

  “If you are through talking, then I’ll have a slice of that turkey, Paki.” Kell said.

  Pol took some. “Any salt?”

  Paki grinned and pulled a small tin from his pack. “Here.”

  Pol took a pinch of salt and sprinkled it on. He smiled and relished the fowl taste. “We’ll leave in a few minutes,” he said, still chewing.

  Paki imitated Pol talking with his mouth full, and broke into laughter. Pol and Kell joined in, but Shira looked bemused, rather than amused.

  “Boys, right? This is a boy thing?” she said.

  “You didn’t have any brothers?” Pol asked.

  She gave Pol an unreadable look. “I didn’t grow up with any males,” she said.

  “You came to Tesna disguised as a young man and hadn’t ever lived around any?”

  “There were a few men around, but no brothers. You didn’t notice.”

  Pol laughed. “That’s because the first time we met, we revealed ourselves to each other.”

  “Reveal?” Kell asked, his eyebrows rising. Paki grinned, and now the entire conversation was getting a bit out of hand.

  “Our identities only, Kell. She dropped her disguise.”

  “Dropped?” Paki grinned again.

  Pol stood with his fists clenched. “If you want to joke around, stay here.” He got up, feeling very uncomfortable, mounted, and headed down the knoll to another stretch of woods. The other three soon caught up.

  “Is your skin that thin?” Shira said, out of earshot of the other two.

  “Maybe it is,” Pol said. He took a deep breath. He didn’t want to lose his temper. He thought reacting badly to goading was in the past when he had to deal with his siblings. Now he knew he’d have to work harder to maintain his composure around his friends.

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “Don’t be. I’m the one who needs to be sorry. In some ways, my upbringing hasn’t prepared me to grow. Give me a chance, and I’ll improve.”

  “It’s not up to me to give you time. It’s up to you to figure things out, but I’ll help you when you need help.”

  That didn’t sound like a person who was about ready to desert him and head back to Shinkya. He hoped her words were sincerely spoken.

  ~

  The sun disappeared behind gathering clouds, making the air chill as they entered the woods at the base of their next vantage point. Pol stopped them by a stream after he checked the area for other travelers.

  “Get your mounts watered and fill your water skins,” Pol said. “It wouldn’t be prudent to spend much time at the crest.”

  Pol led them up through the trees, blazing his own trail. He picked up no one in the woods, but saw a few dots at the top. He put up his hand.

  “Three people around the top. They must be scouts,” Pol said. “We’ll have to tie our horses up and go the rest of the way on foot. Make sure you aren’t making any sound as we get closer.”

  Pol adjusted his Shinkyan sword and long knife in their sheaths and checked that his throwing knives were where he thought they were. He used his location skills to pick his way through the trees, keeping the four of them out of the line of sight of any scouts.

  This was how their first trip was supposed to be until Honna betrayed them. Pol stopped their progress, not far from the top.

  “I’ll put shields on you two. Shira and I wouldn’t want you to attack us from the rear.” Pol grinned, but he was serious.

  “I don’t feel anything,” Kell said.

  “Neither do I,” Paki said.

  “You won’t, but you are shielded. Draw your weapons.”

  They all slid their weapons out with the exception of Shira, who nocked an arrow in her bow. Pol pointed where the three dots were. “I suggest the pair of you attack the one just over the ridge that way. Get close enough so there is no alarm. Shira will take the one in the middle with an arrow, and I will take the one out on the left. Watch for Shira’s target to fall.”

  Paki and Kell nodded.

  Pol followed Shira, intending to veer off towards the tree lin
e. They walked together along the forest floor. When they had nearly reached the top, Pol spotted the middle scout. Shira looked in the other direction towards the south. She pulled back her bow, ready to shoot.

  The scout turned towards the left, and Pol gasped. He recognized the scout. She wasn’t South Salvan, but Kolli Haverhill, the woman who protected Pol when he traveled to the Taridan border.

  He heard the twang of Shira’s bow before he could say a word.

  ~~~

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  ~

  KOLLI TURNED AROUND AS POL TWEAKED the pattern of the arrow.

  Pol jumped from the tree line with his hand up. “Come out,” he called.

  “What are you doing?” Shira muttered to him.

  “Kolli, it’s Pol.”

  Her eyes widened. “Pol! How did you get here?”

  “It’s a long story. Call in your other scouts. I have two others in the woods.

  Paki and Kell walked out onto the grassy area on the hill.

  “Kolli!” Paki said and ran to the scout, with Kell following, looking very perplexed.

  “You know her?” Shira said.

  Pol introduced his band, and Kolli gave them the names of the man and the woman who accompanied her.

  “I’ve come to scout out the South Salvan army,” Pol said.

  “We’ve been out doing the same thing at General Wellgill’s orders,” Kolli said. She and Shira looked each other over. “You shot the arrow? I’m glad you missed.”

  Shira didn’t look friendly. “I didn’t.”

  “Uh, I changed the arrow’s course,” Pol said.

  “I thought so,” Shira said, grinding her teeth.

  He looked back at Shira before turning to Kolli. “What have you found?”

  “South Salvans, but something is odd about the army. They aren’t very disciplined.”

  Pol nodded. “That’s because most of them are under coercion spells or undertrained.”

  “What?” Kolli said.

  “The Tesnan monks know how to use mind-control spells, which change your attitude, and coercion that forces you to act. They’ve raised an absolutely loyal army,” Pol said.

  “I didn’t know that,” Paki said.

  Pol ignored his friend. “I can shield you and your scouts.” He looked out from the hill and saw a cloud of dust or smoke on the horizon. “Is that the army?”

  Kolli nodded, her face grave. “Ten thousand or more. North Salvan hasn’t seen an enemy force that large in centuries, maybe since the establishment of the Empire.”

  “More are coming, if General Onkar is to be believed. He may be picking up more troops as they comb through the countryside.”

  “So how do we engage them?” Kolli asked.

  “The General shouldn’t. Val has headed west to bring an Imperial force that has been camping in Boxall. I don’t know if they will arrive in time. They have the magicians that will be needed to remove the spells.”

  “If that’s the case, why are you here?”

  “Two reasons: locate the army,” Pol looked out into the distance, “and see if Honna is with them.”

  “I presume your father sent you? Have you been welcomed back?”

  “Tolerated,” Pol said. “I removed spells from the royal family, as well as Queen Isa, and the Court Magician.”

  “We heard of an attack in the palace, but we have no details.”

  “Lord Riverdale put some men in the castle, and they did the attacking. They killed the Court Magician and nearly got to Queen Isa. I took care of a couple more assassins.”

  Kolli shook her head. “The Queen isn’t a spy for the South Salvan army?”

  “No. The Queen had a falling out with her husband and left South Salvan with Shira and me.”

  “You were in South Salvan?”

  Pol put up his hand. “Shira and I will tell you the story.” He used his location sense to see if anyone lurked near. “Where are you camped?”

  “Down the mountain a bit.”

  They all gathered together at Kolli’s camp as Shira and Pol told their story.

  “You’ve grown quite a bit. I never thought you would have the strength to become a pattern-master,” Kolli said.

  Pol shrugged. “I have unique genes.”

  “You were always unique in my eyes,” Kolli said. “So, what are you going to do now? We have to return to General Wellgill’s camp northwest of Borstall.”

  “Can you send your two scouts? I want to get closer to the army, and you know the North Salvan countryside better than I do.”

  She nodded. “Why?”

  “I want to see if Honna has joined the enemy.”

  Kolli leaned back and looked up into the sky. “I’m sure she has. Why do you need verification?”

  “For King Colvin,” Pol said. “How long do you think Borstall has?”

  “Four days, maybe five. It depends on how quickly they travel. Most of the soldiers are infantry, so they will crawl forward,” Kolli said

  “Can we get there tonight?” Pol asked.

  She nodded.

  Pol looked at Paki and Kell, who just didn’t have the stealth skills that Shira, Kolli, and he had. “I am asking you both to head back to Borstall. The King needs the information that you’ve just heard. Shira, Kolli, and I are going to visit the South Salvans tonight.”

  “But they will recognize you, won’t they?” Paki said.

  “No one in the army knows us. We were disguised before. Remember Nater?” Pol said.

  Both Kell and Paki looked at Shira and at Pol.

  “We’ll go,” Kell said. “I understand, even if Paki doesn’t.”

  Paki gave Kell a dirty look, but then said. “We’ll tell the King. Let’s hope you aren’t far behind.”

  “That’s the pattern,” Pol said.

  Shira smiled at Pol’s comment.

  They saw the other scouts and Pol’s friends off and then mounted up after having something to eat and clearing up.

  “You’re a magician, too?” Kolli said.

  Shira nodded.

  Kolli gave her an apologetic smile. “I have a little magic, but not much. I was Pol’s bodyguard for a while and accompanied him on a military campaign that didn’t end so well for him.”

  Pol had no idea what was going on between the two women, but he just let them talk for a bit. Kolli asked a few questions about Shira’s knowledge of scouting and had her demonstrate her camouflage technique.

  “It doesn’t have so much effect in the dark, does it?” Kolli said.

  “Less, but in some ways it works better out of the sun,” Shira said.

  Pol didn’t know that. He knew so little about Shira.

  “We probably should be going,” Pol said.

  Kolli looked at Pol’s swords. “Before we go, can I swing your sword? That is Shinkyan, right? I know most of the Imperial designs.”

  Pol slid his blade out and gave it to Kolli. She waved the sword around and smiled. “It has a nice balance, but it takes a different technique than what I’m used to.” She looked at Pol. “You’re a pattern-master with this? Do you care to give me a quick demonstration before we go? Not a sparring match, but I want to see how much faster you’ve become.”

  Pol took his blade back, and she drew hers. She advanced on Pol, who stepped back using a sip of magic.

  “You are incredibly fast.”

  “Aided by small sips of magic. I can tweak speed and a bit of power.”

  They made a few unaided passes, and then Pol applied sips of power and evaded all of Kolli’s attacks and kept pressing the dull side of his blade against a different place.

  “You don’t look spent at all. You can tolerate magic better?”

  Pol grinned. “I can go quite a while when I control the magic that I use.”

  “I’ve tried to use magic to speed my sword, but they are crude power-wasting moves compared to Pol,” Shira said.

  “Good enough,” Kolli nodded. “Let’s go. You can still loc
ate?”

  “I can. You lead us, and I’ll watch for the enemy.”

  “Enemy,” Kolli said shaking her head. “I never did trust King Astor.”

  “Neither did I.”

  Shira looked at both of them, but her eyes lingered on Kolli. “That makes three of us.”

  ~

  It seemed that Pol talked to both women, but they didn’t talk to each other, and Pol couldn’t see why. He couldn’t figure out the cause since they were both very good at Seeking and scouting.

  Night was falling. Pol couldn’t locate anyone close. Shira slowed up to ride at Pol’s side.

  “Who is she to you?” Shira said, nodding her head towards Kolli.

  “A friend.” Pol heard something in Shira’s voice that set him on edge, and it finally dawned on him what might be happening. “She is an older friend, my mother’s former bodyguard. She is like an aunt or an older sister. Is that what you want to hear?”

  “Are you sure?” she said quietly.

  “She must be ten years older than me.”

  Shira ground her teeth. “Kolli doesn’t look it.”

  Kolli turned around. “I’m eight years older than Pol.” She smiled, showing her teeth, and stopped. “If we want to be successful tonight, I think the air needs a little clearing. I am twenty-four-years old. I’ve been scouting since I reached the age of eighteen. I am very, very good at my job and I met Pol and Paki on assignment. I have no romantic intentions on a boy two-thirds of my age, but Pol is a friend. I admire him for his courage and his abilities. I also admire you, Shira. You are as close to being like Pol as I can imagine a person. Don’t think I am getting between you, because I’m not. I want to be both of your friends. Got it?”

  Shira’s face turned red. “I, I lack experience in these things, personally. My sisters have—”

  “You’ve learned all about boys from your sisters, is that it?” Kolli said.

  Shira nodded, but looked embarrassed.

  “You have excellent instincts, but just let things develop naturally, and don’t suspect others of taking over your position with Pol until Pol gives you an indication of losing interest. Has he?”

  Shira looked confused. “No.”

  “Then that’s that.” Kolli rubbed her hands together. “We are headed into dangerous territory, so put all that behind you and focus on finding out about Princess Honna and not getting caught. Okay?”