The Gauntlet Thrown

by Cheryl Dyson

  ******

  "How did you find us?" Brydon asked Verana as he slipped easily back into the habit of ignoring the quarreling pair.

  "Alyn would not be put off once she discovered you had taken her horses. I decided to accompany her as a guide."

  "Thank Adona you did not go to Ven-Kerrick," he said. "Your reception would not have been good."

  "I thought you had mentioned going to Silver. We were meant to stop in Ven-Kerrick and ask for news, but we encountered some servants fleeing the castle. They told a frightful tale of King Koryn and his sons dead, and the castle overrun with soldiers under the command of a strange magician. I came here straightaway to determine the validity of the tale. We planned to eat first and then attend the baths, so here we are."

  She turned her attention to Jace, who had moved to stand before her. She grinned and threw her arms around his neck in an exuberant hug that he heartily returned.

  "I see you have met the finest knight-priest ever to walk this land," she said to Brydon.

  "You know him?" he asked, surprised.

  "Oh, yes. We trained in Kaneelis together long ago, before he went to G’Neel Across the Sea. You have not changed much in five long years, Jace."

  "You have only become more beautiful, Verana. When are you going to marry me?"

  "When are you going to ask me and mean it? When are you going to stop wandering and settle down?" she countered.

  "Ah, Verana." He sighed as he set her aside. "Already you sound like a nagging wife."

  She giggled and shook her head with obvious fondness.

  Brydon asked, "Trained together? Are you a healer, also?" It was possible, though quite rare, to have training in more than one order. Jace shook his head.

  "No. My destiny lies in another direction."

  "Yes, destroying the minions of evil," Verana stated.

  Jace caressed the hilt of his sword and grinned. "The peaceful life of a healer is not for me, Verana. I joined the Brotherhood of the Shield for a reason."

  "Adona has used you in other ways, Jace," Verana said gently and placed a hand on his arm. "You protect the innocent and defenseless. I cannot say as much."

  Jace smiled at her and Brydon wondered if they might once have been more than friends.

  Shevyn entered the inn, looking lovelier than Brydon could have imagined. Her honey-brown hair had been braided into a coronet upon her head and she wore a white blouse frothed with lace. Her skirt was floor-length in dark blue satin. Brydon had come to appreciate the short skirt she had been wearing, but he had to admit that the dress made her even lovelier. As she came closer, her eyes bored into his and his breath caught in his throat. No longer the captured slave girl; she was gorgeous. Every man in the room gazed at her and likely shared his opinion.

  Alyn turned to see what had caught Toryn’s attention and she stiffened. Shevyn approached Brydon and squeezed herself next to him on the bench.

  "Alyn, Verana," he said. "This is Shevyn. She joined us not long ago."

  Alyn looked at Toryn, who smiled at Shevyn in unabashed admiration. Verana’s brow wrinkled and she threw an odd glance to Jace, who nodded.

  "Toryn bought her, actually," Davin added. Brydon grinned as Toryn stared at Davin, horrified, and Alyn’s eyes widened.

  "Bought?"

  "I can explain…" Toryn said lamely.

  "Don’t bother," Alyn snapped. She huffed away from him and sat down next to Davin, who grinned wickedly. Brydon chuckled.

  "Hello," Verana said to Shevyn with a warm smile. Shevyn managed a slight smile and a nod, and then looked at Brydon, who ordered food and drink for the newcomers from a passing barmaid.

  "If she’s your slave, Toryn, why is Brydon waiting on her hand and foot?" Alyn asked peevishly.

  "She’s not a slave," Toryn said as he regained his seat. "We purchased her in order to save her from slavers intent on taking her to Tar Tan."

  Alyn blanched. "Whatever. I’ll be leaving as soon as you return my horses. Where are they?"

  "You are not taking the horses," Toryn said adamantly. "And we left them in the forest so no one could report our presence back to Reed."

  Alyn flung herself to her feet, chest heaving in anger. "Try and stop me!" she growled and spun on a heel. Toryn was after her in an instant. He snatched her arm and spun her back to him, catching her around the waist with his free hand. Their faces were very close as they glared at each other. Davin climbed to his feet and stood watching them intently.

  Spectators in the bar cheered as Alyn raised her hand, no doubt to do some damage to Toryn’s handsome face.

  "Toryn is right, Alyn," Jace cut in, stopping her hand in mid-swing. She looked at him in irritation.

  "I don’t know you," she said. "What are you talking about?"

  "I am Jace the Wanderer, Knight-priest of the Shield. You may accompany us if you wish, but we need those horses."

  "I care nothing for that!" Her voice was cold as an ice storm. She glared at them all for a moment. Brydon wondered how she intended to make off with the horses with the lot of them determined to stop her. She tore herself out of Toryn’s grasp and stalked upstairs.

  Brydon smiled. "You see, Toryn? You’re going to have more than enough to do, trying to convince her to leave us the horses."

  Toryn snorted. "We should tie her to the back of Fireling and point him toward Akarska. Even if she comes with us she’ll be nothing but trouble, although she is a fair hand with a whip."

  "I wouldn’t mind having her along in case something should happen to one of the horses. She can care for them better than any of us," Brydon said pragmatically. "Besides, do you really want her to leave?"

  Toryn flushed and shrugged. "If you want her along, she can come."

  "Then I suggest you go outside and stop her from climbing out the window right now," Brydon said. Toryn gaped at him for an instant before he leapt up and ran out the door. He returned shortly, dragging a struggling Alyn who cursed him with words most of them had likely never heard before.

  "She’s pretty fast. She was already down and running for the city gate before I got out there." Toryn grinned. "Shall I tie her up?"

  "No need," Brydon said. "Let me have a talk with her, in private."

  Alyn, when released, angrily followed Brydon back outside.

  "He is such a… a…" she began.

  "I know, but this isn’t about Toryn. We have a very serious situation here, Alyn, and we could use your help." She was quiet. "The Gauntlet of Ven-Kerrick has disappeared and Reed has taken over the throne. I’m not sure if you remember him, but he is the one who bought the horses from the slavers that captured you. His band has taken large groups of horses to Bodor—and they have been doing it for years."

  She digested that and her angry, skeptical expression changed to one of curiosity. "Why Bodor?" she asked.

  "We don’t know. The gauntlet and the horse thefts could be related."

  "What is this gauntlet? I’ve never heard of it."

  Brydon gaped at her. For the first time, she truly seemed to be a foreigner. Everyone had heard of the Gauntlet of Ven-Kerrick!

  "It’s the most powerful object in the…"

  "Never mind," she said, waving her hand. "Are you telling me the truth about the horses?"

  "I’m a knight-priest. I don’t lie."

  Her brows rose for a moment. "You are?" She shook her head and then went on, "Since I’ve already traveled this far from home, I might as well look into this horse-stealing. I’ll help you look for this gauntlet if you promise we will track the stolen horses and get them back. I’m also taking the horses you smuggled out of Akarska."

  "Fair enough," Brydon said, knowing it was useless to argue with an Akarskan when horses were involved.

  "It had better not take forever to find your ‘powerful object’ either!"

  "Don’t worry on that score—whatever Reed has planned, I have a bad feeling we might already be too late."

  When they returned to the common
room, Alyn was thoughtful and subdued. She refused to look at Toryn and sat down and began to eat as though nothing had happened.

  "What did you say to her?" Toryn asked.

  Brydon shrugged and smiled. "I told her about the stolen horses Reed has been running down to Bodor."

  Toryn rolled his eyes. "Of course. Why didn’t I think of that?"

  "I’m just more intelligent, I suppose."

  "When I get those horses back," Alyn said primly, "I intend to also retrieve the ones that you wrongfully took from Akarska."

  "Would you rather we had left you in the clutches of Reed?" Toryn snapped. "I’m sure you would make a fine Tar-Tanian slave. They probably would have to beat you for six or seven weeks to make you behave, but other than that…."

  Alyn shot to her feet again. "How dare you speak to me that way!" she shouted. She snatched up the knife that had been provided with her meal and slashed at Toryn, who threw himself backward to avoid the blade and ended up on the floor.

  "You little demon!" he growled as he got to his feet. "I’m going to take you upstairs and give you a proper thrashing for that!"

  "Try it!" she snarled. She jumped forward and sliced at him again, but he was ready for her. He grabbed her arm and squeezed until the knife clattered to the floor. Then he hefted her over his shoulder and carried her up the stairs. The rowdier inn patrons cheered as they disappeared.

  Davin stood up and left the tavern. Brydon stared after him worriedly. Shevyn gaped at them and Verana gasped. "My goodness! Should we go help her?"

  "Ah… I think she can handle Toryn," Brydon replied. He mentally eavesdropped for a moment to be certain, and then flushed and withdrew. "I think they’re done fighting."

  "The longer we tarry, the farther the object may get from us," Jace commented.

  Brydon sighed and looked to the door where Davin had disappeared. "I’ll take Davin with me and go ask some questions. I don’t think he wants to be here right now." He ignored Shevyn’s questioning look and reflected that it was sometimes nice to be with a woman who could not ask any questions.

  He and Davin headed for the northern gate of Kaaza and tried to come up with a plausible story on the way.

  "State your business," the guard said in a bored voice when they stopped in front of him.

  "I am Brydon Redwing, Knight-Priest of the Lance. I am trying to locate a shipment that recently traveled through here from Ven-Kerrick. Do you remember any such caravan?"

  The guard looked at him more closely. "Maybe I do and maybe I don’t," he said. "How important is this news to you?"

  "I am trying to locate my cousin, who is a guardsman with the caravan. His father is dying and asks for him," Brydon lied in an attempt to appeal to the guard’s sympathy.

  The guard rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Pretty important, then. How much is it worth to you?" Brydon shrugged. He could pay the man, but such information should not be hard to come by. Someone in the marketplace or the southern gate was bound to have noticed such a caravan.

  "I’ll ask elsewhere," he decided.

  When he and Davin were out of earshot of the greedy guardsman, Davin said, "He saw the caravan. It came through here a week ago."

  Brydon looked at him sharply and Davin smiled sardonically. "I have taken no priestly vows and the weak-minded are easy to read. It will save us time."

  Brydon had no comment. He despised the idea of invading another’s mind without permission, but marveled at Davin’s skill to be able to do so without the man noticing. "How did you do that?" he asked. "When Reed was in my mind, I felt it."

  "Those with Vai blood can usually sense an intrusion. Others can feel it, but not know what it is – they merely think they have a strange headache or are coming down with an illness. Our powers are not common knowledge, after all, except in the case of the Kerricks. Most assumed their abilities to be divinely granted by Adona through the gauntlet."

  "Who are the Vai?" Brydon asked. "And how could I have Vai blood? My parents never showed any sign of having special abilities."

  Davin shrugged. "I only knew two other Vai until I encountered you and Reed. One was my mother. She told me the Vai have always been here. I never knew my father. My mother was a bit… odd. We lived far from the village and people called her a witch. She used her powers often and rarely spoke aloud to me, preferring to communicate mentally. She warned me never to use my abilities near the humans because they would fear me and try to kill me. It took me a long time to learn to speak. She never told me anything of her past, nor ever mentioned the name of my father." He was quiet for a moment.

  "The other Vai was a wandering priest. He visited us on occasion and told me about my powers. He taught me how to use them, though he never said where they came from. I don’t think he knew. Strangely, he could not change shape like I can. I’ve never met anyone else with that ability; even Reed wanted me to teach him."

  "Is that why you weren’t thrown in the dungeon with the rest of us?" Brydon asked. Davin nodded.

  The shadows lengthened as they returned to the inn. Jace was not in the common room, but Toryn was seated at a table looking morose and drinking from a large goblet of ale. Shevyn sat next to him, sharpening her sword on a whetstone. Brydon and Davin joined them.

  "Where’s Alyn?" Brydon asked.

  Toryn flushed. "She’s upstairs. She’s a little... well, irritated with me right now."

  Brydon was tempted to ask why, but figured Toryn did not want to discuss it, so he just grinned. He glanced at Shevyn. "What’s that about?" he asked Toryn, who shrugged.

  "She had a bit too much attention from the rogues in here, so she fetched her blade. They haven’t come around for a while. Did you find anything?"

  "The caravan entered Kaaza a week ago."

  Jace approached in time to hear the statement. He said, "And it departed that same day, it seems. The guard at the southern gate was not helpful, but a young boy eavesdropping nearby was full of information after I slipped him a few silvers. He was a clever boy. He thought it most odd that a large contingent of Ven-Kerrick soldiers escorted six wagonloads of fruit. Another interesting tidbit is that Prince Berikon sent out a troop of guardsmen earlier today. Rumor has it they are heading for Sar-Tela. They could also be chasing the caravan."

  "How did the Ven-Kerrick group get through the city without anyone checking their cargo?" Brydon asked.

  "They probably paid their merchant toll plus a bribe," Davin explained. "This isn’t Penkangum, where they initiate mandatory cargo searches to hunt for smuggled items."

  Jace nodded. "We should get moving. I want to trail Berikon’s men until we discover for certain where they are heading. We also shouldn’t linger too long in one place. Reed is likely to be searching for us—or at least for Shevyn—and we are not exactly a nondescript group."

  Brydon sighed. He had been looking forward to sleeping in a real bed again, but Jace was right. Toryn groaned.

  They departed Kaaza in small groups before the gates closed for the night, keeping a close eye out for anyone that might have followed them from the city. After retrieving the horses, they headed south once more.