“Then whatever we’ve planned is dead,” Raenos said. “We have to help Kinsbithu and Filkothinor. Two units.” He stared down at the sand as if he were lost in thought. Then he looked back at Eielawyn. “They’ll use one unit on the south side of the bay, and the other on the north. Laeros can arrange transport once we have Filkothinor in Yaeltaran. And Eielawyn can defuse any focus on us from here.”
“No,” she said. “I’m not staying here. I can help you all better out there. I can read the thoughts of the guards and suggest on them if things go wrong.”
“She’s right, Raenos,” Laeros said. “We need her skills.”
Raenos stared at her with worry in his eyes. He’d told her that he loved her, but as he stood staring at her with so much concern, so much worry, she finally understood the depth of his love. “Okay,” he said finally. “But if anything looks like it’s about to go wrong, protect her, Laeros. Promise me, brother.”
“Raenos, I’ll do my best,” Laeros said. “But Filkothinor’s life has to be protected above all else. Why else risk our lives to help him?”
It was agreed. It was also agreed that they leave then and there without any pretense of changing their clothes or preparing themselves in any way. They had no time. Eielawyn was the only one that knew where the cave was, so she led them through the hillside and down the rocky coast to where she and Kinsbithu had hidden one of the two boats they used to tend to Filkothinor. Laeros steered the boat across the bay. The sea was rough that evening. The waves were higher than usual, and Eielawyn wished she could suggest to the waves to calm enough for them to get to the other side.
“Shit,” Raenos said. Eielawyn followed his gaze to the Yaesdrah shore, and saw the small dots of lights, as the guards began their patrol of the caves. “The second unit will be heading this way soon. We need to hurry this up, Laeros.”
Laeros gunned the motor, making Eielawyn hold on to the boat’s side rails with a death grip. The front of the boat sailed high in the air, as Laeros manipulated it over the high-foamed waves. But it was working, as the lights they’d seen in the distance began to fade. They made it to the other side, and Eielawyn hurriedly made her way out of the boat, rushing to help the men pull it into a thicket of brush to the side of a large rock.
“Follow me,” she said, leading them up the steep hillside. If she’d been allowed to change her clothes before they left, she would have put on a pair of denims. Maybe there was something to be said for Mocmoran woman abandoning their cultural dresses once and for all.
It took them an hour to walk along the shore, up treacherous hillsides that had Raenos and Laeros voicing their skepticism of whether they should head in the direction she was leading them. But an hour later, she led them to the mouth of a small cave that looked as though it could barely fit the men’s large frames. Eielawyn continued to lead them farther into the tunnel, knowing where to take one turn and then the next, until they came out into a small clearing.
It was dark, and Raenos held the torch he had with him, scanning the cave’s interior. “Are you sure this is the right cave, Eielawyn? Where are they? Did they leave?”
“No,” a voice echoed out into the cave. “I’m here,” Kinsbithu said, as she crawled out from behind a large boulder. “We heard the commotion in the tunnel, and I thought it best to hide until we knew who was out here. What are you doing here, Eielawyn? And you brought them? What’s going on? He’s a guard, Eielawyn. He can alert the other guards of our location.”
“No, Kinsbithu,” Raenos said, looking over to where he was shining the beam of the torch. “I’m here to help you. I’m no longer a part of the guard. At least on my part, I’m not. And by doing this—helping you and Filkothinor—I’ve basically sealed my fate with the royal guard and Queen Balaedras.”
“Oh,” Kinsbithu said. “Thank you. I assume we have to leave the cave, then?”
Eielawyn ran over to her friend, embracing her warmly. “Yes, we have to leave now. The guard is starting their search of the caves. Laeros is going to arrange a transport in Yaeltaran for Filkothinor.”
Kinsbithu nodded, leading them over to a hollowed-out hole in the floor of the cave. A small man was curled up in the fetal position. He’d always been short and small in body. His hair was long, but snow white and held back into a ponytail. His complexion was pale, lacking in any shade of health. Having more of a gray pallor. But Eielawyn remembered a man with brown eyes that were always vibrant and alert. She only hoped they were as she remembered them to be. The man she saw curled in the hole looked visibly ill.
“Filkothinor,” Eielawyn said, staring down at the man, and then to Raenos and Laeros. “We have to get you out of here.” The man’s eyes fluttered open, as he tried to focus on who was in front of him. She smiled inside, seeing those same vibrant eyes that she’d remembered.
“I was foolish,” he said. “I’m an old man. I thought I could help those trying to stand against Balaedras. I was stupid. My Lordesnoar is gone. I have no reason to continue. Leave me. Let my essence leave my body. They’re all better off without me.”
Eielawyn thought about how long the old man had hidden in the cave. She thought about how his wife’s body had lain to rot on the beach for days as the royal guard, sworn to keep the peace in Yaesdrah, had walked past without so much as a second look. She thought about the people of Drisa leaving their kingdom to live in places some of them had never been, all to escape Balaedras and her evil intent. He was their beacon. He was the reason many in Drisa held fast to their homeland, willing to die for the right to live without Queen Balaedras’ chokehold on the kingdom’s neck. Filkothinor’s name was chanted by the rebellion, because he was the one man that had begun it all. He stood against the power of Teveoch when no one else would. Too many had died. So she would be damned if she let the old man give up now. She was scared, tired, and too fuckin’ fed up with him and his antics to put on the bolsh gloves.
“Get the fuck up!” she yelled to him. Filkothinor’s eyes widened in surprise. “I mean it. Too many people have died for the cause you started! And now you just want to give up? Fine! But I’ll be damned if you give up here! We’ve been treating you like some infant for the past five months! Either get up and fight, or—” She pulled Raenos’ knife from the sheath at his back, and handed it to Filkothinor. “—fuckin’ do it already! But if you’re the leader—the leader that the rebellion speaks about—be that man!”
Filkothinor continued to stare at her in shock, as did the others around her. He finally nodded and held his hand out for someone to help him stand. “Yes,” he said. “Okay. You’re right. Um…I-I-I’m ready.” He handed Eielawyn back the knife.
“I thought for a second you were just going to suggest on him,” Kinsbithu said, as they began to head out of the cave.
“I tried,” Eielawyn said, giving the knife to Raenos. “I think he’s taken too ill for my aura to grasp on to. Let’s just get him out of this fuckin cave.”
“Eielawyn,” Laeros said to her. “You have to go on foot from here. I’m going to take the boat and head into Yaeltaran. It’ll be easier to get Filkothinor into Yaeltaran if you have someone there to vouch for him.”
She nodded. “Kinsbithu and I will help Raenos get him to Yaelnoar Pass. Give us one day, Laeros. If we haven’t made it to the pass by then, something’s gone wrong.”
“Understood,” Laeros said, walking over to Raenos. “I trust you, Raenos. I don’t trust the guard, but I trust you. Protect them. And watch your own back.”
Raenos stood looking at Laeros. At first, Eielawyn thought he would refuse Laeros’ outstretched arm. But he grabbed hold of his forearm, and the two men touched foreheads. She let out the breath she’d been holding.
“One day, Eielawyn,” Laeros said to her. “But if help is needed, I’ll be it. I can’t bring Zinvian troops into Teveoch or even Yaeltaran without permission. I risk an all-out war if I do. But I might have an idea on some people that can help us if it comes to that. Just don’t get into troub
le. Stay safe,” he said.
Eielawyn hugged him, as he left in the other direction. “All right,” Raenos said. “Let’s get the hell out of here. Filkothinor, are you feeling well enough to walk?”
The old man nodded, motioning for them all to walk ahead of him. “I’ll do my best.”
They climbed, and stomped, and plodded through some of the roughest brush and cliffs Eielawyn ever thought could exist. All the while, she glanced behind her thinking that at any moment the royal guards would appear and they would all be dead. They walked for most of the night, using the darkness as their shield. Raenos continued to watch the thick brush around them for predators. They all just wanted to get to Yaeltaran and safety as soon as possible.
It was in the darkness, with the moon the only light they had to guide them that Eielawyn realized that even after getting to Yaeltaran, she may not be able to return to Yaesdrah. Not with the guards still there. They may know she helped Filkothinor. But whether they did or not, Raenos couldn’t return. And her life was now with him no matter where he was.
Raenos came to her side, taking hold of her hand in his. “It’s all right, baby. We’ll make it.”
Eielawyn nodded, giving him what she hoped was a confident smile. But the knot in her gut wouldn’t go away. “Kinsbithu, maybe we should rest for a bit here. Filkothinor needs to rest some.”
Kinsbithu walked back to where Eielawyn was standing by a large boulder, shrouded by large trees. “I know we should, but I think we should keep going. You said the guards were already out looking in the caves? That was four hours ago, Eielawyn. We’re on foot. It’s dark. They have the capability to use air transports, scanners—who knows what. Ask him,” she said, pointing to Raenos.
“She’s right,” Raenos said to Eielawyn. “You know Teveoch technology is the most superior in all of Ai. The guard has use of all of the technology and more. Let’s just keep going. How much farther?” he asked Kinsbithu.
She shrugged. “I don’t know for sure. I was only told to head northeast by some of those in the rebellion that have come this way. All I know is that Yaeltaran is in that fuckin’ direction,” she said, pointing in the direction ahead of her. “I don’t have a built-in GPS. I don’t have a damn map!” she started to yell. “I don’t have anything that will tell me if we’re going in the right direction, or if guards are about to kill us, or anything! I have nothing!”
Eielawyn rushed to her friend. “Bithy, I need you to hold it together, cuz you’re starting to freak out. I don’t want to slap you, but I will if you start that yelling shit again.”
Kinsbithu took several deep breaths. “Eielawyn, I’m just a little afraid. I thought I would have a dead old man on my hands,” she said, glancing over to where Filkothinor was resting on one of the boulders. “I thought I would walk into that damn cave and he would be dead. Yeah, I’m a little stressed. Shit. I’m not some warrior chick. I don’t do this kind of shit on a daily basis. But I owe that man. He’s the closest thing I have to family after you.”
Eielawyn smiled broadly. “That’s sweet, Bithy. But I still mean it about slapping you.”
“Got it,” Kinsbithu said with a slight nod. She turned her attention to Raenos, who steadily looked around the woods and cliffs for guards. “Do you have anything on you that we can use to tell where we are?”
“I was on light patrol when Eielawyn came to tell us about the guards. Laeros and I thought it was best that we just head out and not raise the attention of the rest of the guards by gathering supplies. I’ve got a torch. On light patrol we thought it was best for the community not to see us with tracers and knives. I have a knife, though. The one Eielawyn tried to give to Filkothinor back in the cave. It’s small, and kind of insignificant, now that I think about it. Useless against the guards.”
Filkothinor slowly made his way over to where the three of them were gathered. Eielawyn noted how his breathing seemed labored and heavy. She only hoped the old man would make it to Yaeltaran.
“The Yaeltaran border is about one mile in that direction,” he said, pointing past Kinsbithu. “But if we go around the cliffs in that direction—” he motioned to the right. “—we can cut through the sawgrass. We’d have to move fast, though. The grass is teaming with morgny.”
“You can’t move that fast, Filkothinor,” Raenos said.
Filkothinor nodding meekly. “That’s true, but I’ve got a bladder full of piss. Morgny hate human piss. You and I will pee, and the women will run. We can make it to the pass in record time. But we have to hurry. It’s dark. If we wait too long—”
“Night predators,” Raenos interrupted.
“Yes,” said Filkothinor. “Night predators.”
“Then let’s get going,” Eielawyn said, as she started to walk up the cliff. “I can deal with hungry morgny. But anything else that wants to eat? Hell no.”
Chapter Twelve
A small line of perspiration trickled down the side of Zhoardaeash’s face, as he stared at the 3D image of Queen Balaedras looking back at him from the holographic board.
“Who the hell are you?” she asked him.
“I am…” He swallowed hard. “I am Sergeant Zhoardaeash, son of Oanhtheor, your highness.”
“Yay,” Balaedras said drolly. “How did you get my personal TCD wave?”
“I-I-I found it by going through Lieutenant Raenos’ belongings, your highness.”
“Hmm. That may prove to be a very dangerous and costly action, Zhoardaeash. But I’ll reserve my judgment on that. I advise you to speak quickly before I change my mind.”
“Your highness, I believe Lieutenant Raenos has compromised his oath. I’ve observed him over the past several days, and I believe he’s become…involved with a woman here in Yaesdrah that may have a connection to the wanted rebellion leader, Filkothinor.”
Balaedras’ eyes flared with interest. “Continue.”
“I’ve followed the lieutenant on several occasions, seeing him go to the woman’s store and not leaving for more than an hour one time, and two on another occasion. He also came to the aid of this woman when I was in the process of questioning her about Filkothinor. I believe he may have given me a concussion on that night and stabbed my hand with my own knife, your highness.”
Balaedras’ gaze left his for a few seconds, as she gazed down at something, and for that he was thankful. But once again, her gaze seemed to pierce through him. “Interesting. But why do you feel this information is of any importance to me?”
“Your highness, in my investigation of the lieutenant, I pulled some of the conversation logs between yourself and the lieutenant. I understand you wanted him for a personal concubine. I felt that his involvement with the woman would be of interest to you. Y-y-your highness.”
“Hmm,” she said again. “Did you? And this woman? You have an interest in her?”
Zhoardaeash shook his head. “No, your highness. She’s distasteful. A Mocmoran, your highness.”
Balaedras’ eyes seemed flare to life with a blaze of fire in them. “Mocmoran? And what does this woman look like, Sergeant?”
“Large, your highness. I suppose that kind of woman is appealing to some, but I’ve never found the figures of Mocmoran women to my taste.”
“Lucky for you, I don’t give a fuck about what your taste in women are, Sergeant. I asked you what the fuck she looks like!”
Zhoardaeash nodded in earnest. “Yes, your highness. Please forgive me. She has dark auburn hair, green eyes, and she has no respect for the royal guard, your highness.”
“I want this woman on the list for immediate execution, Sergeant. Kill her on sight. Is that understood?”
“And Lieutenant Raenos, your highness?”
“I want him brought to the palace.”
“But, your highness. He’s broken his oath to the realm. To you, your highness. That’s punishable by death.”
Balaedras smiled sweetly at him. “I commend you on your knowledge of what is and is not punishable by death. Well d
one, Sergeant. I, too, know what is a punishable act. And seeing as I am the queen, I believe it’s whatever the fuck I want it to be! Would you like me to give you a demonstration?”
Zhoardaeash swallowed hard once again. “N-n-no, your highness. I understand. I have men sweeping the caves for Filkothinor. They have orders to kill him at first sight. I will extend that order to include the woman, Eielawyn, clan of Nelglis.”
“See that you do,” she said, as image quickly disappeared from in front of him, and he visibly exhaled. But then he smiled. Eielawyn would die, and he was going to make sure that he was the one that dealt the blow to end her life.
* * * *
Eielawyn smiled, as they made it up the last hill and she saw the small road in front of her. “Is this it?” she asked, turning to Kinsbithu. “Are we here?”
Filkothinor was being helped up the hill by Raenos. He was out of breath, but he’d been the one to tell them the shorter direction. He smiled, as he leaned against Raenos.
“Almost,” he said. “This road leads to a border gate into Yaeltaran. That way.” He pointed past Eielawyn. “Maybe a two-minute walk. Faster if we run, but I’m not ready for a jog yet.” He smiled at Eielawyn.
Eielawyn nodded, looking over to where Kinsbithu was resting against the trunk of a tree. She walked closer to where Raenos was supporting Filkothinor, standing in front of him as she smiled warmly. “You may not be ready for a jog, but just to let you know, you kicked ass walking all the way here. You’re a lot stronger than you think you are, old man. Can you make it the rest of the way? We’re almost there.”
Filkothinor took a deep breath, smiling and nodding with confidence. “I’m so close to Yaeltaran, I can smell the pine. Of course—”
In the next instant, Filkothinor’s head exploded, spewing blood and brain matter to cover her. The shock of what had just happened escaped her, as she saw men emerge from the woods to the right of Raenos. She knew what had happened. She knew by the sound of Kinsbithu screaming behind her. She knew by the body of Filkothinor lying on the ground with his head in pieces what had happened. The royal guard had found them.
Eielawyn [The Maidens of Mocmoran 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 13
