Kali looked back at the city. “Commander Talon doesn't have anything to fear from me.”
Stonewall was silent. Since they'd left Oreion that morning, he'd seemed to have fallen into a state of brooding, though he'd not tried to rush the journey along. Rather the opposite, actually. Their pace had been slow enough to stretch what should have been a few hours of travel into nearly half a day. They'd even stopped for lunch in a meadow and shared the last of the honey-cider that Faye had sent along.
But the closer they'd gotten to Whitewater City, the quieter her sentinel escort had become. Kali thought she knew why, for she felt the same.
A part of her, a large part of her, was not yet ready for the journey to be over. So she patted the mare's dappled shoulder and offered Stonewall a raised brow. “I know one of us will be happy to be off the road.”
His mouth twitched in amusement, but he said nothing.
“Will you be able to keep her?” Kali asked.
Stonewall smoothed the back of his hand down the mare's nose. “I don't know. I should be able to take her if...”
He trailed off and did not say if I have to return to Starwatch. They had not spoken of it since the night before, nor did she want to. But as Kali watched Stone, longing pierced her heart. Yes, she'd wanted to come to Whitewater City, but it seemed like a twist of whatever passed for fate that the man she'd come to care for would be sent back to the only place in the world she never wanted to see again.
There is balance in all things. Unless you're a mage.
But she had no wish to sully what might be their last few minutes alone together with dark thoughts, so she patted the horse again. “I think she's earned a name.”
This brought a hint of a smile to his face. “Aye, I think she has.”
“What should we call you?” Kali asked the mare, who nosed the short, brown grass at their feet. “Any ideas, Stone?”
“Not sure. I've never named anything before, except myself.” He seemed to consider something very carefully, then took a deep breath and said, softly, “Elan.”
Kali looked at him in surprise, though the meaning settled over her after a moment. “'Eh-laan,'” she said, trying and failing to add his southern lilt to the syllables. “It suits you.”
“It used to,” he said, and patted the mare's neck again. “How about Frost?”
It certainly fit the mare's coloring: charcoal with a dusting of white. Kali beamed at him. “You're good at this. Frost it is.” She'd hoped to coax a true smile out of him, but his expression remained stoic. Undeterred, Kali offered a wry smile. “I suppose we should get going...unless you want to make a run for it.”
Perhaps it was a poor joke, but she couldn't help herself. He gave a humorless chuckle and shook his head. “I don't know that I'm ready to be a renegade.”
“I suppose I'm not, either,” she replied lightly. “I couldn't run very far, anyway. Another time, then.”
There was no more use in delay, so she tugged back her cloak and shirt sleeves and offered her wrists. Stonewall hesitated before he reached for the cuffs and pulled them free. With the greatest care, he fastened the binders. A small locking mechanism kept them in place, and the link between her hands was short, limiting her movements. The chain that hung from the cuffs hung loosely in his grip. The cuffs themselves could probably be cut with a blade, but chances were that a mage wearing them would not be able to manage that with a sentinel escort around; the cuffs' main purpose was to keep her from using magic.
Cold hematite closed around her skin. The world dimmed.
Once the cuffs were secure, he pulled her sleeves back down around her wrists, taking care to ensure the fabric was smooth. Her knee was rested, so she chose not to get back on the horse and they continued towards the city, side-by-side. They walked in silence for a few more minutes, the bridge and waiting gates drawing ever closer. There was normally much traffic on the road to a large city like this, but evening was descending, which meant that fewer people would be allowed entry, so the road was empty. A fleet rider passed close beside them, racing towards the gates; the rider's mount, a large deer, kicked up swirls of dust with its passage.
Kali tried to reach within herself and touch the particles of the dust even though she knew it wouldn't work while she was bound. Sure enough, she was able to sense the particles, but it was impossible to wrap her concentration around them; it was like trying to hold onto bars of wet soap. Absently, she rubbed one of the cuffs. Hematite: the dispelling stone.
That was true enough.
Stonewall glanced her way. “Are they too tight? I can adjust them.”
Kali flexed her hands. “Any looser and they'd fall off.” He still seemed unhappy so she nudged his armored side with her elbow. “We agreed it's for the best, remember? Besides, I'd rather have you bind me than some stranger.”
“I know. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.”
“An exceptionally handsome sentinel once told me that not everything is as we would have it.”
Stonewall scowled. “He sounds like an idiot.”
“He's not an idiot,” she replied, fighting back a chuckle. “But he does need to smile more. Especially since I don't know when I'll see him again and would like to enjoy these last few minutes together.”
Stone said nothing. Instead, he stopped walking, slid the reins over his elbow, and reached for her. The leather of his gloves was cool against her cheeks, but his mouth was hot, insistent. Perhaps he had magic too, for he turned her blood to fire and stole the breath from her body. Kali leaned into him, pressing her bound hands to his armored chest even though it was not a particularly comfortable position. But she didn't care. The only thing she wanted right now was to be as close to him as possible.
But the moment could not last. When they parted, he brushed a kiss against her cheek and pressed their foreheads together. “I'll let you know if I'm to be sent back to Starwatch.”
She could not look away from his honey-brown eyes. “Can I have your word on that, Serla Sentinel?”
She only meant to tease with the formal address, but there was no levity in his response. With one fluid movement he dropped to his left knee and took her bound hands. “In Tor's name,” he told her in all seriousness. “I will find you again, Kalinda Halcyon. Even if all I have to say is 'goodbye.'”
Kali cast a quick glance around; they were on a section of road that curved around a copse of sheltering trees. The fleet rider had long since passed and she could not see the city gates. The only other living creatures were the singing crickets and Frost, who seemed not to care what the humans were doing.
Dusk receded into inky darkness, leaving points of starlight in its wake. Atal had set by now, but Seren smiled above their heads; the mage moon's faint light bathed the man who knelt at Kali's feet. “It was just a joke, Stone. I don't need an oath to know I can trust your word.”
“Will you take it anyway?”
Perhaps there were no gods, but the earnestness in his expression made her wonder if there wasn't some sort of destiny that had brought them together.
Using his grip for balance, Kali crouched as well, so that they were eye-level. “I will.”
He smiled.
***
It was dark when they reached the gates. Although Stonewall had guessed what would happen, it was quite different seeing the events unfold. Two City Guards stood on duty at this hour; as the sentinel and mage drew closer, they came to meet them.
“Well met, Serla Sentinel,” the elder of the two said, lifting his hand in greeting after Stonewall gave his name. “You're the fellow from the Starwatch garrison, are you not?”
So they were expected. Stonewall did not know whether to be relieved or apprehensive. “Aye.”
“We thought for certain you'd been killed with the rest of your squad,” the guard added. “But the commander's requests aren't to be ignored.”
The younger guard cast a wary eye across Kali, who regarded him steadily. “This is the mage? S
he looks harmless.”
“Why? Because she's not burning your eyes in their sockets?” The elder guard shook his head and cast Stonewall a look that was probably meant to inspire camaraderie, before smacking the younger guard across his helmet. “Go to Commander Talon; tell her the Starwatch sentinel has arrived. Be quick, now.”
Once the younger guard scurried for the garrison, the other studied Kali once more. Stonewall did not miss the look of satisfaction as his eyes fell upon the cut on her temple. “Good for you, serla,” he said, nodding. “Don't let the magic-users get away with anything. We've had trouble with their lot, lately. Stupid moon-bloods think they belong in the world with normal folks.”
In the flickering light of the torches at the gates, Stonewall saw Kali's eyes tighten. But she said nothing. The guard chuckled and crossed his arms before his thin chest. “Bertram's a fool, but he was half-right. She's certainly harmless now. Aren't you, moon-blood?”
Again, Kali was silent, though her hands balled into fists. Stonewall's jaw tightened as if he'd eaten something sour, and he had a powerful urge to slam the guard's face into the nearest wall. But any trouble he made would likely fall back on her, which would not do. So he invoked his namesake and he kept his face expressionless.
Meanwhile, the guard yammered on. “How'd you get her across the province with just yourself?”
“The gods were with me.”
“Aye, I suppose they were. Though it speaks a great deal about your skill with a blade, serla. Sometimes makes me wish I'd tried for the Burn.” The guard began to circle Kali. “Pretty little thing,” he said as he took Kali's chin in his hand, lifting her face up to his. “Shame she's a heretic.”
She jerked away, glaring. The sight of this sodding stranger putting his hand on her sent anger coursing through Stonewall's veins, and reminded him that his duty had not ended simply because they were at the gates. He wrapped his hand around his sword hilt and stepped between the guard and Kali.
“Step away from her,” he said through clenched teeth. “Now.”
“Calm down, serla,” the guard said, lifting his hands. “I meant you no offense.”
Stonewall gave the other man his darkest glare. “It's for your own safety.” Before I run you through.
The guard frowned at him, but before anything else could happen, the sound of boots came clattering through the guard station as a squad of sentinels arrived. It was surreal to be surrounded by men and women in gray, glinting armor, more than it had ever been before.
Would that be how he measured his life from now on? Before this journey, and after?
One sentinel emerged from the squad of five, a tall, broad-shouldered fellow whose helmet was clipped to his belt, revealing a jagged scar across his left cheek. An insignia, a circle with two lines across its center, marked the armor on his shoulder. A captain.
“Your name?”
A captain who was not keen on social niceties. Very well. Stonewall was adaptable. He offered a warrior's salute. “Stonewall, ser.”
“Stonewall. Well met, brother in service.” In the flickering torchlight, the officer's scar was shadowed and his pale eyes looked ghostly. “We were starting to think you weren't coming.”
“We ran into some...trouble on the road, ser.”
The captain studied Kali like she was something he'd found in the latrine. “You've caused quite a bit of chaos, Mage Halcyon.”
“Terribly sorry to hear that,” she said, meeting his eyes.
Stonewall cleared his throat. “With respect, ser, it was not her doing–”
“Captain Cobalt,” the other man broke in, still looking at Kali with disdain.
“Captain Cobalt,” Stonewall amended. “The escort from Starwatch was attacked by a group of raiders. Mage Halcyon and I were barely able to escape with our lives.”
Now Cobalt glanced at him, eyes narrowed. “Aye, we know some of it. Gray reached Whitewater City a few days ago. She said you...” He trailed off, frowning. “Well, you'll have to explain a few things.”
The captain gave a silent signal, and four sentinels pushed Stonewall aside to surround Kali. One stood on either side and held her upper arms, while the others flanked their fellows. Given their armor and helmets, Stonewall could not make out their faces or genders.
Before he could protest, the captain withdrew another set of hematite binders, sturdier than the ones Stonewall had carried, and grabbed Kali's forearms. “No more trouble now,” he said as he clapped them around Kali's wrists, behind the other set. “You'll not get away again.”
Now she glared at the captain. “I didn't try to–”
Cobalt cut her off with another signal to the squad, who began to march forward. Stonewall tugged Frost along and followed. By this time the darkness was thick but the streets were neither empty nor quiet, and the distant rumble of falling water undercut the sound of boots on cobblestones. Whitewater City held many citizens, and it seemed a good number of them were out and about even on the chilly night. Men and women on the street parted before the sentinels and their charge, and whispers of moon-blood followed them. Some people only gave Kali a cursory glance; others gaped outright. Some made gestures of warding. Some scowled openly.
Tightening his grip on Frost's reins, Stonewall prepared himself for worse, but he needn't have worried. The sentinels deterred anyone from approaching. Even so, he wished he could have been at her side, for he'd grown accustomed to being there.
Through all of this, Kali kept her head up and her eyes ahead, until one of the sentinels who'd taken her arm gave a sharp tug that caused her to stumble. She was hardly able to gain her footing as the sentinel continued pulling her along, making her stumble again. When she gasped in pain, anger seethed in Stonewall's gut.
This was too much. He urged Frost to walk a little faster and caught up with Cobalt. “Captain, there's no reason to treat her roughly.”
“She's had a taste of freedom,” Cobalt replied without looking at him. Ahead of them loomed the massive walls of the bastion. “That makes her even more dangerous than the others.”
“She's not dangerous.”
Without breaking his stride, Cobalt slanted him with a glance. “You sound very certain of that, Stonewall.”
“It's the truth,” Stonewall replied as they reached the garrison's gates. Behind them was a broad courtyard surrounded by flickering torches. Another gate in the darkness beyond probably led to the bastion.
Common-sense told Stonewall that saying what he wanted to say was a bad idea, but he could not help himself. He looked back at Kali as he spoke. “Captain Cobalt, I swear on Tor's name that Mage Halcyon caused me no trouble on the journey.”
Dark eyes met his, but she was silent. Of course she was. Mages had no voice here.
Cobalt did not respond right away. Instead he called out to someone beyond the garrison gate. A moment later, two sentinels approached from within, unlocked the gates and swung them open. They were well-oiled and moved soundlessly. The captain glanced behind him and waved the others through first. He and Stonewall stood aside as Kali's escort led her through the gates, cuffed and surrounded as if she were a lycanthra wolf, waiting to spring.
Their parting was not real until that moment. She was barely visible amidst the sentinels who led her across the courtyard, and too soon did the shadows swallow her whole.
As the gates closed behind them, Cobalt glanced his way once more. “All mages are dangerous, Stonewall. You would do well to remember that.”
She was gone, but a part of her remained. Stonewall's hand crept to his belt-pouch, where he'd stored the river-rock she'd given as a peace-offering. “I respectfully disagree, ser.”
Cobalt pointed to the opposite end of the courtyard from where Kali had been taken. “Barracks are through there. Wait while I alert the commander.”
“Aye, ser.”
They crossed the center of the courtyard where the torchlight did not reach, so they walked by the light of the mage moon. Cobalt's stride bea
t a steady tattoo against the flagstones. “Regardless, you have done your duty. She is no longer your concern.”
THIRTY
A few minutes earlier...
Kali winced at the cold press of the hematite binders at her wrists as the sentinel captain clapped a second set in place. He did not meet her eyes when he addressed her. “No more trouble, now, Mage,” he muttered while three other Whitewater sentinels closed in on all sides. “You'll not get away again.”
“I didn't try to–”
But she didn't get a chance to finish, for the scarred captain gave some silent signal to the others, who began to march forward. Kali had to practically run just to keep up. Her knee twinged in protest, so she concentrated on not stumbling over the cobblestones.
Bound and led by scowling sentinels. Outside looking in, her life had hardly changed since she'd begun this journey.
But within her heart were new landscapes and uncharted territories. She fought the urge to look at Stonewall.
She tried to ignore how the citizens watched the sentinels leading their prisoner – and there was no denying she was a prisoner, now – with interest. Some looked on with scorn or fear. Some only cast a glance, then turned away. A few muttered things like heretic or moon-blood; such comments were annoying, but not much more. In any case she chose to show no reaction to any of it, and just kept her head up.
About ten minutes into their journey, just as she could make out a set of massive walls that probably surrounded the bastion, there was a sharp tug on her arm. Perhaps it was the sentinel's way of ensuring she didn't step in a pothole, but her knee gave way and she lost her balance.
“Would a simple 'look out' have been too much trouble?” she muttered.
In response, the sentinel gave her abused arm another tug to set her upright.
Ahead and out of earshot, Stonewall and Frost walked beside the sentinel captain. “Ser, there's no reason to treat her roughly,” Stonewall said.
Catalyst Moon: Incursion (The Catalyst Moon Saga Book 1) Page 28
