“Varian!”
The distressed cry had him pivoting on his boot heel. Pounding footsteps running through the forest grew closer. A young Na’Chi boy, his cheeks ruddy with exertion, burst into the clearing. Varian caught him as he stumbled to a halt.
“Giron, what’s wrong?”
The boy’s wide-eyed gaze met his, their violet color flecked with bright yellow. “The village—” he gasped, his fingers biting into Varian’s forearms. “Intruders… fire!”
“An assault?” Uneasiness skittered along the length of his back.
“Evie said someone killed the bleaters… and there’s smoke….”
Fury, colder than a knife blade, ripped through Varian at the thought of his people under attack. The imprisonment of Councilor Davyn, Corvas, and Yance after their betrayal of the High Council had sparked as much unrest as the Na’Chi’s appearance in human territory. Despite the new Blade Council’s support, he’d wondered how long it’d take the dissenters to gather the courage to go from verbal protests to attacking them.
Varian gently pushed the boy toward the scout. “Zaune, stay with Giron until he recovers, then head for the caverns. The others will seek shelter there.”
The Na’Chi had the skills to evade detection, but the humans living with them weren’t as savvy. Lisella would organize and guide them there, but the children and Kymora would slow them down. His skin prickled at the thought. Whether they escaped detection depended on how much of a head start they received.
As much as he respected and admired Kymora’s self-taught independence, her disability would impede her. Fleeing into the foothills, while attempting to elude pursuers, would be next to impossible. She’d never make it to the safety of the caverns.
A hard knot formed in his stomach. No amount of confidence in her skills could unravel it. He met Arek’s gaze, and the furious concern swirling within their blue depths told him the Light Blade was thinking the same thoughts. Varian blew out a sharp breath.
“We’ll head downhill, straight through Greyshard Pass,” he said. “It’s the quickest route.”
“And the most dangerous,” Arek countered. “We risk turning our ankles or worse on the rocky scree.”
“We’ll just have to be careful.”
“I knew the humans would attack us!” hissed one of the other scouts, his expression darkening. “I warned you they would. I’ve been saying it ever since that Blade Council meeting when they turned against us. We can’t trust them, Varian!”
“Trust who, Na’Chi?” Arek growled. The spicy scent of his anger saturated the air. “My warriors and I? The crafters and townspeople who’ve come to live with you? Do you now distrust us?”
“You humans have never been comfortable living with us!” Rystin declared, his jaw set. “Are you going to deny that?”
“Of course not.” Arek’s mouth flattened into a thin line. “But we all knew there would be problems during the transition.”
Varian’s respect for the Light Blade grew. A couple of months ago, when the Light Blades had first come to live with them, Arek’s temper would’ve bested him and he’d have had to intervene in a fight to stop the argument.
“Putting aside preconceptions learned over a lifetime doesn’t happen overnight.” Arek’s gloved hands flexed. “Everyone who came to your village did so with an open mind. Surely you can acknowledge the progress that’s been made….”
“Enough!” Varian sliced the air with a hand. “Arguing is wasting our time.”
“We need to defend ourselves.” Rystin’s low-voiced statement drew support from several of the Na’Chi.
Varian ground his teeth together. The attack was already fueling the fears and dissatisfaction of those Na’Chi resistant to living with the humans. It would provide Rystin with a valid excuse to demand they seek a more isolated location to live. Or even worse, a return to Na’Reish territory and a life of hiding from the demons and human-slaves who despised them for their mixed heritage. Everything inside him rebelled at that thought. Being hunted down and killed was not the future he’d envisaged for his people.
“Rystin, rest easy.” He kept his voice soft, calm. “Kalan declared any supporter of the disgraced Councilors as rebels.”
“And he will deal with them, I assure you,” Arek vowed. “The Lady’s Chosen granted you the right to defend yourselves against anyone who threatened you.” A promise made in front of the Blade Council when Kalan had agreed to their petition of sanctuary. Arek’s reminder eased some of the tension. “Although, I pray to the Lady it doesn’t come to that.” Though his face was harsh, the Light Blade warrior’s blue eyes reflected equal amounts of warning and regret. “Killing the rebels will only do more harm than good. Keep that in mind, Varian.”
Varian’s gut churned. With the Na’Reish demons invading more frequently across the border for blood-slaves, fighting among themselves was a huge risk. Kalan, the Lady’s Chosen, would end up battling a war on two fronts. A war neither of them could afford if they wanted to survive. Varian inclined his head, acknowledging the human’s warning.
“Time’s wasting.” He glanced at his scouts. “Let’s move!”
“VEREN, she’s the Temple Elect!” Faral’s voice came closer to Kymora. “If we harm her, we ignore and dishonor our vows to the Lady!”
Kymora shuddered at the thought of so many warriors abandoning their faith to believe the lies of a madman. She was relieved Faral sounded as appalled as she felt. In nearly a thousand years, only two other warriors had been stripped of their responsibilities, such was the honor of being chosen to join the ranks of Light Blade warriors. Perhaps there was hope yet that some of the rebels would realize the truth.
Veren’s snort was loud. “We’ve broken no vows. The Lady’s words are clear. ‘Corruption is insidious and cunning. It creeps and works its way into the souls of the lax and complacent. Those who embrace it shall suffer the consequences of their actions. Watch carefully, act swiftly before its shadow consumes you all.’” His voice rang with fervent belief. “Corruption began the moment an alliance with those demons was suggested. We’re acting before it consumes everything we abide for.”
“I don’t agree with the Council’s decision to harbor the demons, but what you’re doing is wrong!” Faral’s tone firmed. “I won’t let you do this.”
Veren made a dismissive sound. “Where are the Na’Chi, Temple Elect?”
“What makes you think I’d tell you? You’ve already admitted to wanting to kill them,” she countered, and took a small step backward, closer to Faral. Thank the Lady at least one of them had a conscience.
Veren growled the same instant an undulating Na’Chi war cry rent the air. Another and another followed, each coming from a different direction as if they were scattered around the village.
Bless the Lady, Giron had found the scouts. She gasped, relief swamping her.
“Pair up!” Veren ordered. “Search the perimeter. Don’t hesitate to kill them.”
The metallic hiss of blades being drawn from sheaths sent a chill coursing through Kymora. When a hand grasped her arm, she instinctively twisted.
“Handmaiden, it’s Faral. Let me guide you away from here,” he pleaded. “While the others are distracted.”
Her scalp crawled at the thought of trusting a man who’d been prepared to kill her less than an hour ago, but what other choice did she have? She gave a curt nod, gambling his intentions were sincere. If he wasn’t, then the odds of gaining her freedom were certainly better fighting him rather than all the rebels.
He whirled her around and she began to run, hoping, praying their path was clear and smooth.
“Faral!” Veren’s shout raked across every nerve, and her muscles surged to life, lent her speed. Despite the adrenaline rush, her breath hitched short and sharp, and she stumbled numerous times over unfamiliar ground.
“Turn left….” Faral kept his instructions short. “We’ll head west, through the houses.”
She tried to remembe
r the path they’d already taken to figure out where she was, but he’d rushed her through too many twists and turns. She bit her lip to stop a sob. Lady’s Breath, where was she?
Kymora tried to focus her thoughts, quell her rising panic. “Where’s Veren?”
“He follows with another.”
Fear raked cold fingers the length of Kymora’s spine. If the renegades caught them, they were both dead. The ground beneath her boot dipped suddenly. She stumbled, crying out as her arm and shoulder yanked painfully in its socket.
Faral kept her on her feet and moving, but then he jerked to a halt, and she found herself pushed behind him. Her pulse pounded in her throat as she gasped in a breath, afraid that Veren had found them.
“Release the Temple Elect and I’ll let you live!”
The deep, resonant voice, although rough and harsh, was so familiar and such a blessing to hear. “Varian! He saved my life.” She clutched a fistful of Faral’s shirt in her hand. “Faral, the Na’Chi is my friend.”
A roar of anger came from behind them. “Betrayer!”
Veren’s rage reached out to her, thrumming and vibrating like a living thing. The sensation lifted the hairs on the back of her neck. Faral moved beneath her hand, turning to face the new threat.
“Run, Handmaiden, run!” he urged and pushed her away from him.
Kymora swept her staff out in front of her, trying to gain an impression of the ground as she heard him draw his blade.
“To me, Kymora!” Varian’s order gave her a direction. “Hurry!”
She ran as men’s curses filled the air. A sob bubbled in her throat as she collided with a hard body. Her legs lost their strength and threatened to buckle. Large hands gripped her shoulders. A clean, earthy scent combined with the tang of sweat filled her nostrils. “Varian, thank the Lady.”
“Drop your staff.”
She did and found herself swept up into his arms and cradled against a warm, broad chest. His shirt was damp in places, and when she wrapped her arms around his neck, the bare skin of his neck was hot with exertion. She didn’t care. The sensation of feeling safe was immediate.
“Hold on,” he ordered, and then, with the sounds of weapons clashing behind them, he started to run.
Chapter 3
SOME of the tension consuming Varian eased as Kymora’s arms tightened around his neck, the softness of her curves pressing against him. He inhaled her sweet, sunshine and flowers scent and let it wash through him, allowing it to calm his anger and settle the killer inside him.
His demon half had come too close to breaking free on seeing her surrounded by so many enemies as he’d descended on the village from the pass. Equal amounts of fury and fear had consumed him as he’d issued orders for them to split up and capture as many rebels as possible.
No stranger to either emotion, he often used both to his advantage in a confrontation, but this time the rage and fear seething inside him ran so deep it’d disturbed him on a level he’d only ever felt for those in his Na’Chi family.
He didn’t usually trust others so swiftly. Had their friendship progressed so quickly that he viewed her like family? Perhaps it was his promise to Kalan, her brother, to protect her while she lived among the Na’Chi. Kymora’s safety would ensure that the alliance between humans and the Na’Chi continued smoothly. This would certainly justify his protective feelings for her and was the only explanation that made sense.
“Varian, we’re going downhill. Lisella and the others went uphill to get to the caverns.” Kymora’s warm breath brushed past his ear. “Where are we headed?”
“The river.” He heard her breath catch. As light as she was in his arms, he knew they had only so much time before the renegades caught up with them. “I won’t risk taking you back through the village until the rebels are dealt with. We’ll backtrack and join the others once we’ve lost our pursuers.”
“Faral?”
Varian spared a glance over his shoulder, jaw tightening as he saw the man go down, impaled by two blades. “He’s only bought us a few minutes’ reprieve.”
He scanned the stark landscape ahead. The narrow escarpment was little more than a rocky terrain, too open, too exposed, with few bushes to hide from view behind, but a lone group of boulders ahead offered possible cover.
Dodging behind the rocky outcrop, he heard Kymora whisper a prayer for the downed warrior, and marveled at her generous soul. The moment the village had been attacked, the human had forfeited his forgiveness and compassion.
If he wasn’t so set on finding a safe home for his people, the attackers never would have lived to see another sunrise. Eliminating those who threatened them was as ingrained a practice as keeping silent in enemy territory. It had been the only option living under the noses of the Na’Reish. But an alliance required compromise, as Arek had quite rightly reminded him. So, as much as it grated, he’d given the order to capture and contain the rebels. Kalan and the Blade Council could deal with them.
Underfoot the ground grew rockier, the barren patch of dirt replaced by loose scree of gravel and debris, unstable enough to turn an ankle. Varian blinked sweat from his eyes and slowed. The undulating terrain would soon end in a narrow shelf of rock that ran parallel to the river.
“They’re coming.” Kymora’s quiet warning held a thread of fear. “Veren knows we’re trying to get to the river.”
Her hearing was as keen as his. A discovery he’d made the first time they’d met, when he’d approached her in the Lady’s Temple to ask for sanctuary for the Na’Chi. Her blindness had surprised him but he’d quickly discovered Kymora had learned to adapt and fine-tune her other senses. The strength of one balancing the deficiency of another, a fascinating dichotomy that drew him to her.
Focusing, he could hear the renegade leader issue an order for the other man to head them off, herd them away from the escarpment. These humans knew the countryside as well as he did if they knew where to cut off their escape, a disturbing revelation.
Ignoring the burn of fatigue in his thigh muscles, Varian increased his pace, the need to get to the escarpment first outweighing the risk of turning an ankle. The sharp crack of a rock smashing into another, as if someone had slipped on the uneven pathway, brought a round of curses from one of the two men chasing them.
His breath rasped in and out of his lungs by the time he reached the shrub-lined lip, but it wasn’t so loud he couldn’t hear the dull rush of water below them. Its fresh scent filled his nostrils. This close, the breeze provided cool relief against his sweaty face.
Easing Kymora’s feet to the ground, he kept himself between her and the edge. “Two steps behind me is a sheer drop-off to the river below.”
Barely a stone’s throw wide, the expanse would be easy to traverse if they had a raft or boat, but its speed and depth made it impossible to cross on foot. Squinting against the reflected glare of sunshine off the surface of the water, he peered over to estimate the drop.
“We’re going to have to jump.” Even though Kymora’s expression remained neutral, her nails dug into his skin. “It’s no higher than your brother’s dwelling balcony to the water below.”
A shout echoed off the boulders around them. Another swift glance showed Veren and the other renegade closing on them, barely three dozen paces away, both with daggers drawn.
“Ready?” he asked.
White lines of tension bracketed Kymora’s mouth as she turned her sightless emerald gaze in his direction. “Varian, I can’t.”
Her soft voice trembled and the sharp scent of fear emanated from her even though she struggled to contain it. It tugged at something deep inside him. Taking the rebels on wasn’t an issue, but he wasn’t willing to risk Kymora’s life if one of them slipped past him.
Varian laced his fingers among hers. “I won’t let go of you.”
Her tongue wet her bottom lip and she took a breath to protest. They didn’t have time to argue. He snatched her from her feet and leapt over the edge.
Kymora
’s scream caught in her throat as Varian threw them both from the escarpment. Her stomach dropped sharply as they both fell, the wind rushing past her face as noisy as the water tumbling over the riverbed below. The sensation of falling was terrifying, but worse was the utter helplessness of not being able to control what was happening. Losing her independence occurred frequently in her nightmares, but she did everything to ensure it never happened in real life.
Sound exploded in a blast of air bubbles and cold water, a shock after standing in the sun’s warmth. As the liquid closed in around her, Kymora resisted the urge to fight free of Varian’s grip. The current immediately grabbed them, so strong it tore a boot from her foot. With a quick push, she toed off the other, then kicked hard for the surface, her progress helped as Varian tugged on her arm.
Surfacing, she gasped for air and shook her hair from her face. The undercurrent tugged hard at her dress, and she tightened her hold on his hand. She could swim but rarely chose to. The water was one environment she had no control over.
“I’ve got you.” Varian’s arm wrapped around hers from behind, supporting her. “Lay back, let the current float us downstream.”
Muscles so tight and every instinct protesting relinquishing control to him, it took conscious effort to lean back and release his arm. She dug her fingers into the one wrapped around her waist.
The thought of not being able to touch the riverbed with her feet made her teeth chatter. She couldn’t feel the rocks or anticipate where obstacles might lay. She bit her lip hard. Drawing in a slow breath, she tried to focus on the warmth and strength of Varian’s body cradling hers, and not on the submerged perils ahead of them.
“Doesn’t look like the renegades want to join us for a swim,” he said, his voice raised loud enough for her to hear over the hiss of the water. “They’re following us along the edge of the cliff.”
Alliance Forged Page 3
