“Coward,” Kinnese heard Pela snarl at the old man.
“My apologies, but I'm not much for barehanded violence, miss,” Undis replied.
“All of you, get over here now!” Naria called to them.
Kinnese staggered over to her as Pela and Undis joined them. Looking over his shoulder, he felt his knees grow weak. Ryker was hastily nocking an arrow to a bow as the younger Outrider yelled at him. The scarred one was already running towards his greatsword in the ground, hate on his face. But most terrifying of all was the massive Outrider that Naria had blasted into the forest. He was charging them, moving faster than anyone Kinnese had ever seen, even Pela.
“If you have a plan,” came Undis's pleasant voice, “I'd like to hear it.”
“Shut the hells up,” Naria said, her weak voice under strain. “All of you get closer, quickly.”
Kinnese and the others obliged, and Naria's four attendants stood around them like the corners of a square. The soft corona of golden light that Kinnese had seen earlier had never left, and was now intensifying around them all. He watched as the charging Outrider actually increased his speed as the light built around them. He also saw Ryker was almost ready to shoot his arrow when the soft corona of light turned into a solid wall of golden Power around them, towering upwards almost as high as Kinnese could see. He felt his stomach drop within him, as if suddenly falling, and a strange pressure in his head as his ears popped.
With a suddenness that surprised them all, the golden energy dropped into the ground at their feet around them. The pressure in his head had vanished just as suddenly, and he dropped to one knee as his body tried to sort out what had just happened to him. To his side, Pela and Undis fell, dropping the Underking between them. Naria and her girls, however, were still standing.
“Everyone on your feet,” Naria said, her voice a weak imitation of itself. “Get to your horses. We don’t have much time before they catch us. And I don’t think we'll be so lucky if they catch us again.”
Johan gaped as an arrow fired from behind whipped past Alek, passing through the area where Kinnese and his little group had just been standing an instant before. A golden tower of light had surrounded Kinnese and his cohorts and then disappeared, taking them with it. The grass they had been standing on wasn't so much as singed.
“Well shit,” Alek cursed. “Bastards took the Underking with them.”
Johan cursed under his breath as the rest of his unit formed up around him. With the exception of Ryker, they all looked pretty banged up. Garm and Alek both appeared to have injured shoulders, Garm far more than Alek. Ryker helped Vegard to his feet. The big man spat out a mass of teeth and blood.
“That was...strangely arousing,” Vegard mumbled and then grimaced as he clutched at his jaw.
“Yeah, small women have that effect on me too,” Ryker joked. “I suggest you keep your mouth closed for a while though. You know, in case your jaw is busted.”
Vegard glared at Ryker, but as he prodded his jaw his eyes widened in a jolt of pain, and he remained quiet as he began to bandage himself from his small medico pouch.
“Toma, are you going to keep that thing?” Johan asked.
The youngest Outrider still had one of the silver-haired woman's small throwing knives embedded in his shoulder. He simply shrugged.
“The coat absorbed most of the kinetics. And I chewed some sourvine while you guys were dancing with the other crew,” he said. “I'm feeling fine. Didn't want to bleed out while you were all enjoying yourselves, you know, so I left the knife in. Now I’m just waiting for Vegard to take a look at it. And I'm pretty happy that my arrows worked. I'm guessing that the powder worked too, since you guys were able to -hey!”
Vegard, who had just hastily bandaged his own jaw closed, had put one of his gloved fingers up to Toma's mouth to quiet him as he looked at the knife. Sourvine was a strong analgesic that Vegard had added to each of their survival kits. It did a very good job at numbing pain. But it also somewhat numbed the wits, and Toma was prone to babbling when he had to take it. Regardless, Toma had taken the hint and remained quiet as Vegard took out his small medico kit and went to work.
Once he was sure the rest of his men were as well as possible, Johan checked himself over. His heavy leather and mail and protected his shield-arm from getting shredded when Kinnese had ripped it off of him. And while he still had a slight ringing in his head from the blow he took, he was otherwise unharmed. Physically, at least. His pride was another story. Kinnese had beaten him clean, escaped, and took the Underking with him. The whole endeavor was a complete and utter failure. The only thing keeping him from cursing himself to oblivion and back was that none of his men had been killed.
“I'm...I'm sorry guys,” he exhaled. “It was my call to try this on our own, and we got our asses handed to us. The failure is mine.”
“Cut that out, sir,” Alek said, forcing a grin. “The chance was too good to pass up, we all know that. What, were we going to just let the Underking do his thing under our noses?” His grin became his typical genuine one. “And let’s be honest here,” he added. “We didn’t ‘get our asses handed to us’. They just got lucky. The rematch will go much differently.”
“Piking right,” Garm muttered as he rubbed his injured shoulder. The blast that had caught him was apparently much weaker than the one that hit Alek. Where Alek's clothing and mail were burned and melted, Garm's was intact. It made sense since Alek was far more durable than your average man. That witch must have sensed it somehow.
“If it cheers you up any,” Toma said suddenly, “I know where they went, or thereabouts.”
All of the Outriders looked at him intently.
“How?” Johan asked.
“Simple. That gold energy thingy that took them away went up into the air? Well it also came back down, dumping them off somewhere north of here. I saw it while you guys were standing there staring like it was your first time in the sack.” He pointed behind Johan and Alek towards the north part of the forest. “They came down that way. If we haul ass to our horses, we can probably catch up to them. At the very least, we can track them and follow them. We still have some good left to do, guys.”
“We banged them up a lot more than they did us,” Alek said, eagerness in his voice. “They'll have to be moving slow. We'll catch them Johan. Er, sir.”
“I've got a pair of arrows left for their mages and witches,” Toma added, seemingly oblivious to Vegard's ministrations to his shoulder.
Johan looked each of them in the eyes, who all nodded in turn despite their injuries. Gods, he loved these men.
“Alright, back to the horses, and then Toma you’re taking point. Let's find them and finish what we started.”
Kinnese took in his surroundings for the first time. They were back at their horses at the edge of the forest. One of the Underking's hired men from the night before gaped at them, a fork in his mouth mid-bite.
“How...” Kinnese began, but his head began both ringing and spinning at the same time, like a child's ride at a festival. Naria didn't answer, but she staggered over to her horse, her attendants doing the same.
“Everyone mount, now” she panted, leaning heavily on her horse as she began to ride. “Time to go.”
Not wasting any time, Kinnese hurried to his own horse and spurred it on. Mounting was a slight challenge, as his legs were weak and unsteady. That blow to the head was more serious than he had thought. As he sat on his saddle, he could feel the blood trickling down from the wounds on his face. He clutched the saddle as a wave of vertigo washed over him. He tried to play it off by looking at the others. Undis, looking completely untouched, was already on his saddle, his cruel face a mask of impatience. Pela had helped the Underking to his feet and led him to one of the horses tied up by their escorts from earlier. Was it earlier this morning? It felt like an eternity had passed.
Kinnese swore under his breath. Even his concept of time felt skewed and distorted. Pela rode past him. She nodded slig
htly to him as she did so, and Kinnese saw how unfocused her eyes were, and that she was bruised and bleeding from a split lip and a gash on her temples. It was sadly comforting to know he wasn’t the only one who had gotten knocked around so badly.
The Underking mounted, his long skinny legs allowing him to leap on the horse with an unnatural grace. The remaining guard they had surprised had mounted on his own horse and was riding next to the Underking, determined to do his duty even in these rather unforeseen circumstances. Kinnese respected the man’s dedication. That was rare. His gaze shifted back to the Underking, who’s cold countenance exuded authority despite being kidnapped and carried like a sack moments before. Kinnese nodded once in acknowledgment, and the Underking returned the gesture.
“It would appear the criteria of our meeting has changed,” the Underking said, his sifar accent clipping his words. “If you will indulge me, I feel it would be prudent for me to accompany you.”
Kinnese bowed his head slightly, and swore he felt his brain slide in his skull as he did.
“Of course, you are welcome to join. We can escort you at least as far as our next destination. After that, and after we discuss the original reason for our visit, we can arrange safe passage for you to wherever you need to be.”
“My thanks,” the Underking said, his words cold and dead. “Where are we going from here?”
“Bellkeep,” Naria called out over Kinnese’s shoulder. “I believe it’s next on our list, and it’s the closest place we can rest in some sense of safety. I’d rather not have to camp out in the wild with those men after us.”
“Yes, what she said,” Kinnese said, wincing at how soft and slurred his words sounded. He needed to rest, and he needed to see a medico. But Naria was right, they couldn’t afford to stop, not so close to those gods damned Outriders. He was almost happy to let her take the lead. His thoughts were becoming too muddled for him to be counted on making decisions.
As they rode west, the morning warmed up as the sun climbed in the sky. The heat, coupled with Kinnese’s weariness and pain threatened to slip him into unconsciousness, but he fought to stay awake as he clutched the reigns. Falling off of his horse would rather undermine his authority in front of Undis and the Underking. Plus he didn’t want to look foolish in front of Pela and Naria. He was able to smile crookedly at that. At least he had enough of his wits left to try and impress pretty girls.
The she sun finally peaked over the tops of the trees in full, flooding his eyes with bright, burning light. As Kinnese raised his hand to shield his eyes from this new source of anguish, he sighed. It was going to be a long day’s ride.
Chapter Fifteen
Edda sat with Nerthus at their inn, an untouched mug of hale next to the plate of cold meat and beans in front of her. Although it was the lunch hour, the Steel Bells was all but deserted. Despite the lack of patronage, Nerthus was adamant that they make themselves visible for the rest of the day, which neither one of them was really happy about. It meant a day wasted indoors, sitting there growing bored pretending to be people they were not. She wanted to be out there, tearing up the city for Sailey and Carpey. If everything had gone according the plan the previous night, they would all be on their way back to Tethis that morning. But they were sent to Bellkeep to rescue to agents, and though they found them, they had lost two more in the process. Edda couldn't let that stand without searching, and she knew Nerthus couldn't either. She shuddered as her thoughts went to Acorn, half cocooned in that frozen meat locker, surrounded by dozens of others. They couldn't leave without trying to save Carpey and Sailey from that same fate.
The one thing she had to look forward to was Lord Titus’s party in the early evening. She had a growing sense that they would get some answers in the local lord’s private estate. Egveny had told them that morning that even though the network of wards throughout Bellkeep were gone, there were still some spots within the city that Egveny couldn't use his magical touch on, with Lord Titus’ mansion being the largest of them. Whatever deals or machinations the man was part of, he was going through great lengths to avoid any sort of attention.
They sat at the same table in the common room as they had the morning before, still flying the Consortium flag, but so far no one had approached them. Clyde and Egveny went for their own morning stroll to ascertain the mood of the city, and Egveny seemed incredibly excited to get out in the city now that he could use his full magical abilities.
“You watch. Magical exploration and technique is my forte,” he had told them that morning. “Now that I have a free hand, the methodologies used by our unseen foe will be quite exposed to me. I’ll have this whole mess sorted out before supper.” And with that, he donned his foolish tri-corner hat and left with Clyde. That had been almost four hours ago.
Nerthus did her best to make small talk, or discuss what happened the night before in a roundabout way, but Edda didn’t hear her. Despite recent events, and their upcoming visit to Lord Titus, her mind was firmly set on one moment from the day before.
We could never get the flavors right in the kitchen back home.
Those words had haunted Edda all throughout the previous day and into this one. They chased her while she caused a distraction in the market. They echoed in her mind during the scuffle in the alleyway. And even as she flew over rooftops the night before, fleeing from monsters for survival, her words plagued her like flies in a marsh. She dissected each one, repeating it over and over again until the words stopped making sense on their own. Who was the “we”? Her and her sister? Her brother? Gods above, her...husband? Who's kitchen was it? Her own? Her parents? Someplace she had worked? But out of that unconscious slip of the tongue, the word that was most alluring, yet most frustrating, was the word “home”. As she hammered and beat at the word in her mind, she felt- no she knew that if she could just find out where “home” was, the building, or even just the neighborhood in what town, she knew that she would remember.
Tracing her finger along the rim of the mug, Edda changed tactics. Instead of focusing on the words, she tried to conjure any emotions she felt when chasing the phantom memory. But nothing clicked, nothing stuck. She was a former assassin turned agent who had survived in situations where she should have died twice over. Yet why couldn’t she beat her own gods damned memory?
“Hey. Hey! You okay?”
Edda looked up and saw Nerthus staring at her, concern in her eyes.
“Huh? Yeah, fine. I'm fine.” Edda tried to sound like she meant it, but the words came out much more halfheartedly than she had hoped.
Nerthus opened her mouth to say something further, but the inn doors opening caught her eye and she turned her head. A tiny grin formed on her face, the kind of grin Edda knew would eventually lead them both into trouble. Possibly the fun kind.
“Well pike me,” Nerthus said quietly, “I do believe you owe me some coin.”
Edda followed her gaze and saw that the sandy-haired assailant, no, that was too strong a word, the sandy-haired idiot from earlier walked through the door. Two people followed behind him, a tall, stately looking woman with graying hair, and a short, stocky man who barely stood over five feet tall. The sandy-haired man looked around the inn, uncertainty on his face, until he spotted them at their table. He turned his head slightly and murmured to the two people behind him before hesitantly approaching them. Edda suppressed a smile. The man looked like he was walking towards a basket full of snakes, but a basket full of snakes he intended on stomping on. He sat down at their table, as did the older woman. The shorter man had to pull a chair from a nearby table, but he too sat down. As the three newcomers sat, a small throng of weary, drained looking people followed them, filling up almost the entire inn. None of them made any effort to order food or drink. They all stared at Nerthus, Edda, and their new guests.
“Well this is a pleasant surprise,” Nerthus said lightly. “Welcome to our table. Now, when we first met yesterday, my sister and I were rude and did not introduce ourselves properly. I
am Cecila of House Garone. This is my sister Carthinia, and our brother Cecil is out on business at the moment. All three of us represent the Mecher's Consortium and are empowered to conduct any and all manner of trade pacts, employment-”
“Enough with the act,” the sandy-haired man interrupted. “Yes, we know the three of you are Consortium. We want to know just what the hell is happening in our city..”
Edda rubbed her eyes, but she let Nerthus take point on this. Her mind was still a little too distracted for her to be verbally sparring with these people.
“You're starting this story from the middle,” Nerthus said, her smile never leaving her face. “Why don't you start from the beginning so I understand where you're coming from. And after that, I swear I'll give you full disclosure on why we are here.”
The man scowled, but the older woman placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her, and she nodded once, her face a mask. He sighed, and his face softened somewhat. The shorter man cleared his throat and leaned forwards on the table, his measured voice in sharp contrast to the hate in his eyes.
“My name is Kylin.” He gestured to the older woman. “This is Maria. And, uh, you’ve already met Ceith. The three of us are what’s left of the officers of the Engineer's Union in Bellkeep. About two months ago, we had heard a rumor that one of our members was actually a spy sent by your Consortium. One of our member organizations had achieved a breakthrough in crystellium research. We assumed, rightly, that your spy was there to steal their research. But before we could bring him into custody and initiate aggressive litigation, he fled. But not before kidnapping the entire group of Engineers and stealing all of their research notes and equipment. Not long after that, more and more of us started disappearing. At first it was anyone whose work was related to the initial crystellium project, but then anyone with half a brain was taken by your agents. The explosion your agents caused was a clever diversion, since it destroyed any proof we may have had that your organization was involved. At first we assumed that we missed something, some sort of evidence linking the Consortium to the kidnappings, which you two and your “brother” destroyed in that fire two nights ago.” He paused and shook his head. “But after last night, and what is happening in the city...we just have no idea what to do.”
Chasing Down Glory: The Outrider Legion: Book Two Page 26
