Riders of the Realm #2

by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

  Rahkki nodded. “I understand.”

  Harak flew down from the sky on Ilan. “You, Battle Mage,” he said, smirking at the title. “Report to General Tsun before the last morning bell, yeah. If you’re late, I’ll arrest you for desertion.”

  Rahkki nodded to his family as he mounted Echofrost. The waterskin bag full of dragon drool hung off his belt. He checked his sharpened quills—he’d chosen his blowgun over his bow—felt for his sword and his dagger. When satisfied, he urged Echofrost into a gallop and she kicked off the ground, soaring toward the fallows.

  She trumpeted the pegasus cry to battle just as the sun cracked the horizon.

  That’s when the screaming began.

  28

  Battle Mage

  AS SULA ASCENDED, RAHKKI SPOTTED A COMMOTION below—the stable girl who’d taken his breakfast rations was on the ground, convulsing in the dirt. Another groom screamed for help as white froth poured from the girl’s mouth.

  “Get Brim Carver,” Rahkki shouted down to the other grooms. “Tell her the girl’s been poisoned. Hurry!” He scowled at the fortress. Queen’s orders, the soldier had said when he tossed Rahkki the bag of food. Was Lilliam already trying to kill him?

  “The Borla is a better healer,” a boy yelled up to Rahkki, shading his eyes from the sunrays creeping over the trees.

  The Borla is probably the one who made the poison, but Rahkki didn’t say this. “Brim’s closer!” he shouted, and the two grooms bolted toward Brim’s shed.

  The morning bells began to ring, and Rahkki wiped his brow. He had to report to General Tsun before the final bell clanged. Brim was already out and sprinting toward the two grooms, her wrinkled legs a blur.

  Darthan and Brauk had predicted this, and Rahkki now realized there’d be more attempts on his life. If he’d eaten his rations in his room and died, the queen could have removed his body and claimed he’d run away because of the war. Luckily, he’d been too nervous to eat but he felt terrible for the poor groom. Rahkki rubbed his temple. He should have told the truth about Granak. Now his misunderstood power over the clan mascot and his friendship with the crown princess had pushed Lilliam over the edge.

  As the tolling morning bells reached their crescendo, Rahkki flexed his heels, about to dig them into Sula’s ribs. He stopped himself midthrust. Now was not the time to risk a fight with his wildling mare. Instead he clucked and used the reins to direct her toward the Land Guard army, which had assembled in the lowland fallows. “We can’t be late. Hurry!”

  But Sula was eager—he felt it in her muscles—and this sped her flight. They soared toward the fallows, the grass rolling beneath them, and they landed beside General Tsun just as the final bell tolled.

  “Rahkki Stormrunner reporting,” he announced. Sula pranced, her nostrils wide and her eyes round.

  “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming,” said the general. He was dressed in the thick armor of the Land Guard soldiers. It was constructed to absorb blows at close range while a Riders’ lighter-weight armor was designed to deflect sharp hurled objects, not absorb punches from giants. While Rahkki’s new set was beautiful and unique, black metal with intricate silver carvings, it was not right for ground battle.

  General Tsun motioned Rahkki closer. The man’s nostrils flared; the wind ruffled his short platinum hair. “You’re no Battle Mage,” he said. “You’re leading the Land Guard as a figurehead, understand. But I’m in charge.”

  Rahkki nodded. “I understand.”

  “This is all just a ruse to get you killed, you know that right? You can’t trust anyone.”

  Rahkki met the general’s fierce blue eyes, shocked to hear someone of this man’s rank say it out loud. “Yes, General.”

  He clasped Rahkki’s arm and leaned closer, his body touching Sula’s wing. The mare pranced sideways, but the general kept close to her. “It’s not too late to join us,” he said quietly, adding the unusual hand gesture Rahkki had seen before: a closed fist and then four fingers pointed down. “It’s the sign of the rebellion. It’s our signal,” the general explained.

  “Is I’Lenna behind the uprising?” Rahkki asked.

  The general backed away. “Who told you that?”

  When Rahkki didn’t answer, the general narrowed his small blue eyes, and then he exhaled slowly. “You have until the end of this march to choose sides, Stormrunner. Here, I’ve assigned a special detail to protect you.” He waved over a group of four teenagers, led by Mut Finn.

  “They’re my protectors?” Rahkki sputtered.

  The general lowered his voice. “It’s no secret the queen wants you dead, Rahkki, and most of my soldiers are loyal to her. I can’t risk assigning any of them to guard you. But these kids”—he waved at Mut’s group—“were recruited by me two days ago. I know they’re not assassins.”

  A buffalo horn blew, two short bursts, and the armies solidified their formations, preparing for departure. The general tightened his belt, glancing from Rahkki to Mut. “Are you two ready to fight some giants?”

  “Yes, General,” they answered as he strode away.

  Mut fidgeted with his sheathed dagger. “You really screwed up, Stormrunner,” he said. “You should be up there, not marching with us.” He glanced at the Sky Guard flying overhead.

  “I’m lucky to be here at all,” Rahkki rasped. “Someone poisoned my rations this morning.”

  Mut harrumphed. “By the end of this battle, I suspect we’ll all be dead.” The red-haired teen peered at Rahkki with new respect. It was an expression Rahkki had observed several times since he’d commanded Granak. “Not you though,” Mut added. “Some say you can’t be killed.”

  Rahkki ignored that and studied Mut’s team, noticing they wore used, ill-fitting armor meant for larger people. He recognized the head groom in spite of the helmet that left her face in shadows. “Koko? You’re fighting too?”

  She tipped her head. “Ay, Rahkki. I’m good with a sword, an’ I can ’elp wit the wild steeds, when we catch ’em.”

  Another kid stepped forward, and Mut introduced him. “You know Jul Ranger. He’s Meela Swift’s apprentice.” Mut nudged the final member of their shoddy team, a huge lumbering boy. “And I think you know my friend, Tambor Woodson.”

  “Call me Tam,” the boy drawled.

  Rahkki peered at Tam. He was one of the teens who’d dunked him in pig slop when Rahkki was ten years old. He slapped palms with the teen anyway, quickly forgiving Tam’s childhood pranks in light of what lie ahead. “We’re all in danger,” Rahkki whispered. “And it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have lied.”

  Mut squared his wide shoulders. “Lied about what?”

  Rahkki lowered his voice again. “I didn’t command that dragon.”

  Mut’s body jerked like he’d been struck. He squeezed Rahkki’s arm, yanking him close. “We all saw you do it, and denying it can’t save you now. Land to skies, your power is the only thing we believe in!” Mut searched Rahkki’s face. “This war is about two things: killing giants and selling those wild steeds to make the queen richer. But we don’t believe in Lilliam, we believe in you—the bloodborn son of the Seven Sisters. We’ll fight for you, Rahkki. Not for Lilliam.” Mut spat on the ground. “I saw you speak to Granak, and I watched him obey you; that’s no lie.”

  Mut lifted his chin, his eyes fever-bright. The teen was scared but also inspired. It occurred to Rahkki again how dramatic it must have appeared when he commanded their guardian mascot to retreat—and then the massive dragon had done it, had left!

  No one had noticed the fine, spiced powder Rahkki had thrown into Granak’s mouth. They didn’t understand the trick. I’Lenna’s words echoed in his mind: Just because you don’t understand something doesn’t make it magical. But that wasn’t true—if you didn’t understand something, then magic was the only explanation, right? Perhaps that was the very definition of magic: things yet to be understood.

  Rahkki loosed a breath. “You’re right, I shouldn’t deny it.” The fire in
Mut’s eyes was faith—and Rahkki decided to let it burn since it gave Mut hope. But the fifteen-year-old seemed younger now, with his eyes aglow, especially in comparison to the callused warriors standing behind him.

  “You’ll use your powers to protect us, right?” Mut added.

  Rahkki nodded, but his legs felt suddenly weak. His special team was supposed to protect him!

  He urged Sula into a slow trot, and he and his team made their way to the head of the front line.

  On his way there, Rahkki scanned the troops. There were about two hundred land soldiers, one hundred riders on warhorses, a hundred and fifty archers, and three hundred and eighty flying Pairs. Forty buffalo stood intermixed with the soldiers. The beasts were packed high with supplies, including the ropes and halters that would be used to steal the wild herd from the giants.

  Steam rose from the ground as the heat of the new day touched the cooler soil. Horses snorted. Men and women shifted in their boots, their fresh-polished armor squeaking. Overhead, the Sky Guard army swooped and circled, waiting for the signal from Rahkki to move out. General Tsun sat astride a warhorse in the midcenter of the ground forces.

  The Borla, with his team of apprentices, stood at the head of the army speaking over the warriors and blessing the battle. Next, Lilliam would speak to the troops.

  “Where’s the queen?” Rahkki asked, suddenly noticing her absence. “Where are the princesses?”

  “Busy,” Jul Ranger answered. “The baby is coming, and the princesses stayed with their mother.”

  Sula nickered, growing impatient. Rahkki wrapped his hands in her long, sparkling white mane, which flowed out from beneath the shield that crested her neck. When he’d dressed her, he’d braided purple feathers into her hair and threaded spiked beads throughout her tail. He’d also tied two of her purple feathers onto each of his wrists. Her ears poked through the Kihlara helmet that protected her forehead. Her large black eyes glittered as she pawed the field.

  The army stilled and waited. It was time.

  Rahkki stood at the helm of the ground forces and drew a deep breath. He felt like an imposter. His clan was impressed with him for all the wrong reasons. He’d never imagined that his dream to save Sula’s wild herd would lead to this—heading the Land Guard army as a Battle Mage, something he wanted even less than Pairing with a Sky Guard Flier.

  He raised his arm, and all eyes turned to him. Rahkki pressed Sula’s side, and she pranced forward. He turned his head toward his troops, dropped his arm, and bellowed in his biggest voice. “To war!”

  “To war!” the Sandwen warriors hollered, raising their voices in unified aggression. The lines of men and women marched forward, cradling their spears. They had a five-day walk to Mount Crim if they maintained an even and efficient pace.

  With Rahkki and Sula in the lead, the armies marched into the jungle, heading toward the giants.

  29

  The Lake

  ECHOFROST FLEXED FOR TAKEOFF, BUT RAHKKI tugged gently on her reins and said, “No.” Annoyed, she folded her wings and trudged overland, feeling ridiculous. The Sky Guard glided overhead, and she whinnied to Rizah, “Why am I walking on the ground?”

  The golden pinto squinted at her. “I don’t know,” she whinnied. “You should be up here with us.”

  Echofrost stamped the soil. “We could fly to the mountains so much faster.”

  “The land soldiers can’t,” Rizah neighed, “and we need all of our forces for this battle.”

  “So how long will this walk take?”

  “About five days.” Rizah drifted higher, flying in the awkward formation of the Sky Guard. The tame steeds didn’t seem to understand drafting. They flew in straight lines, battling the air currents instead of riding them. Echofrost snorted. If the Kihlari joined Storm Herd, she’d teach them the proper way to fly long distances.

  A thorny branch scraped Echofrost’s hide as she trotted through the brush. Her new armor squeaked and weighed her down, but she had to admit, traveling over land was probably easier than flying, at least until her muscles grew used to the battle gear.

  Her cub sat tall on her back, and the soldiers shuffled along behind them. Yellow rays of sunlight pierced the canopy in dusty stripes, warming her hide. A sloth dozed, sitting in a crisscross of tree branches, and insects bit her in flurries, disturbed by her hooves. She swished her long white tail and bobbed her head in a steady rhythm. Growing up with Star, who’d been born unable to fly, she’d learned how to travel like a horse.

  Allowing herself to relax, Echofrost enjoyed the warm air that hung heavy between the trees and the morning drizzle that beaded on the wide sharp leaves around her. Steam rolled along the jungle floor, hiding her hooves. Small deer and large rodents scurried away from the Land Guard as they shifted through the trees. Rahkki’s hips rolled with her stride, and his warm body on hers multiplied the heat of the day, but she was content. They were on their way to free Hazelwind, Dewberry, and Storm Herd, finally.

  Four exhausting days passed and now it was early evening. “Camp ho!” blared General Tsun, and the Landwalker army emerged from the jungle and set down their packs. Ahead was a flat blue lake, reflective in the slanting light of evening. Echofrost scented the breeze. Predators lurked, she detected their foul odors, but they soon retreated, frightened by all the noisy Landwalkers, buffalo, warhorses, and circling Kihlari steeds.

  Quickly, the horses and buffalo were staked, patrols were assigned, and then half the warriors shed their armor and clothing and sprinted for the lake, hollering like children.

  Rahkki slid off Echofrost’s back and settled beneath a shady lime tree. Koko, Mut, Jul, and Tam staked their things nearby. “We’re almost there,” Rahkki whispered to Echofrost, nodding toward Mount Crim. The mountain loomed ahead, its peaks shrouded in mist.

  Rahkki removed the engraved metal shields that protected Echofrost’s chest and flanks. He massaged a soothing balm into her tired muscles. Afterward, he traced pungent oil down her spine, and Echofrost recognized its scent. Medicine mares in Anok used the same oil for the same purpose: repelling insects.

  Around the temporary encampment, soldiers and Riders patrolled for danger. So far, they’d lost two soldiers and three horses. A long-fanged tiger had carried off one man, and a viper bit the other. The three horses had died in leopard attacks.

  Echofrost absorbed all she witnessed without emotion, keeping her thoughts centered on Hazelwind, Dewberry, Redfire, Graystone, and the rest of Storm Herd.

  Rahkki tugged on Echofrost’s mane. “Come on, girl, let’s go swimming. Who’s coming?” he asked his team.

  Koko ambled closer, flipping back her hair. “There’s gators in there,” she drawled, rolling her thick-muscled shoulders.

  “So?”

  “So, I ain’t fond of ’em.”

  “That’s because your parents raised you on a beach,” Jul said. “We’ve been messing with gators since we were tots.”

  “And dragons,” Mut added. With a pretend snarl, he leaped onto Koko’s back, knocked her over, and tickled her.

  “Get off me, yuh Gorlan-blooded freak.” Koko broke his grasp on her, reared up, and tumbled Mut to the ground, her blond hair swinging.

  Jul burst into laughter.

  Rahkki slipped off his vest and boots, leaving on only his trousers. “Race you all to the lake!” He tore off, getting a head start, and Echofrost coasted beside him.

  “Not fair,” Mut shouted, sprinting toward the lake on foot, followed by the others. Koko crossed her arms, refusing to follow.

  Unburdened, Echofrost felt light and free. She left Rahkki briefly, soaring toward the clouds and inhaling the mist. Mount Crim towered east of the lake, its peaks ragged and spiked. Tomorrow they would ascend to the home of the Gorlan giants and free Storm Herd. The knowledge brought pleasure that whipped through her like a hot spring wind.

  She coasted, gliding without effort. The land sprawled below, lush and green. Cinder Bay glimmered in the distance, the turquoise
water so clear that she spotted dark coral reefs below the surface. The lake where the soldiers swam appeared small from the clouds, but by contrast, the jungle was enormous, stretching as far south and west as her eyes could see, an endless ocean of waving branches and ambitious trees, taller than any in Anok. Slick blue stripes marked the various rivers that channeled water through the rain forest. The open spaces teemed with herd animals that grazed as the sun dropped, lured by the cooler temperatures of evening.

  “Sula!” Rahkki called from the lake.

  She dived down and landed on the water, folding her purple wings and paddling on the surface like a duck. Rahkki climbed onto her back and did a flip into the water.

  Echofrost dived into the clear depths with her cub. She’d spied alligators resting on the shore, so she kept a wary eye. Rahkki swam somersaults, as graceful as a seal pup, and then kicked up for a breath. He returned and clutched her tail, and she pulled him through the water. They frolicked until the sun vanished, twirling and twisting and diving.

  Once Storm Herd was free, Echofrost would move on, find a new and safer home. She would never see her cub again, and it occurred to her she would miss Rahkki.

  They kicked to the surface and Rahkki sprawled across her back, splashing the water with his fingertips, chattering nonstop—about what, she could only guess. His small earnest face, round golden eyes, and thin frame had become so familiar to her that she sometimes forgot he was a Landwalker.

  When he was finished swimming and the last rays of the sun had retracted from the sky, they returned to the camp. Rahkki absently stroked the crest of her neck. This had become a habit between them at end of day. Nothing about the cub disgusted Echofrost like it used to. She’d grown to accept and even enjoy his warm touch, his woody breath, and his lilting voice.

  It was inexplicable, but her heart had expanded just enough to fit this small boy neatly inside.