by LeRoy Clary
“At least we escaped Vin without injury or death. All five of us are safe,” she said.
The entire statement was wrong if what Anna told me about Emma was true. We hadn’t escaped, not all five of us, and we certainly were not safe from the Vin or Kondor armies. A mage had deceived us all the way across an ocean, and in the process, we’d misplaced our princess. The immediate problem was, any mention of it would probably warn Emma—or whatever name the young mage used.
The old saying about knowing a familiar enemy was preferred to an unknown one rang true. As long as I knew about Emma, it was better than the young mage creating a new set of problems for us.
Kendra said, “Up ahead. There’s a man.”
At first, I thought her eyes better than mine. Then, against the background of a small rise that was too small to be called a hill, a man’s outline took form. He stood still and blended in with the desert sand, not hiding, but concealing himself all the same.
We could have changed directions, but I was in a foul mood, and the man ahead had better behave, or I’d take my frustrations out on him. I placed my hand on the hilt of my sword even though he was still far away.
Flier, who was riding ahead noticed him and slowed until we pulled beside him. He said, “What do you think?”
“One man, alone. We have three warriors,” I said.
His eyes flicked to Kendra and back as I had included her as a warrior, but he had the good sense not to question it. Besides, it was more than three. There was always her dragon to consider, and as usual these days, it would be close to us at all times.
Flier accepted my answer but remained riding with us. The sisters rode behind. I wondered how Anna was handling it, but a new thought emerged. Anna had known of the deception for a while, perhaps days, and maybe longer. She was handling the knowledge of Emma better than me.
We rode steadily as if we hadn’t noticed the man standing quietly, but our eyes watched for weapons or others waiting in hiding. Like ours, his clothing matched the sands.
Kendra said, “It’s Avery.”
I hadn’t noticed it was our old nemesis from Crestfallen. Once she said it, I knew she was right. He held his crooked cane in his left hand and waited as motionless as any wandering priest ever did.
We drew closer, and Avery waited until we pulled to a stop in front of him. If I hadn’t known him better, I’d have said he was insulting us in some unknown manner. It would have been like him at the palace. However, his face held an expression of worry, fear, and tiredness. He said, “I hoped you’d come this way.”
“What’s wrong?” Kendra demanded.
“Elizabeth was taken from her ship in the middle of the night, and if my information is correct, she is in the company of a bounty-hunter heading for Dagger. Before you ask, I also believe the Council of Nine is responsible. They want to interrogate her before killing her and blaming thieves, blackmailers, or thugs.”
That was a revelation for Avery to answer a question without games. My mind skipped over the kidnapping and went to a mental map of Kondor. “When did this happen?”
“Two nights ago.”
I couldn’t help turning my head to scan the desert. If she left Vin then, she only had a half-day head start, and we had ridden steadily. Maybe we were even closer to her.
Avery nodded at my reaction. “She can’t be far.”
Flier said, “This is a vast desert. But, we rode west to avoid being seen by too many people, and I’d suspect her captor would too. They’d travel to the lakes along the river and probably take a boat down to Dagger.”
Avery said, “That’s what my guess is, too. I consulted a few people about what to expect, and that’s why I’m here. I need help.”
“To locate her?” Kendra asked.
“No. There are gangs of rebels, thieves, slavers, and even rogue army units living in the desert. Alone, I may be captured. But I serve my king, the future king, and the royal family.”
Too much talking in front of Emma-who-was-not-Emma was not good, but I saw no alternative without revealing our suspicions. Because of that, the young mage knew all we did—if it mattered in any way. If it didn’t, why was he spying on us? My head pounded with too many questions and not enough answers.
Avery reached into a pocket and pulled a small paper. He motioned for us to dismount and join him. His finger traced the usual route on the map he held, from Vin to Dagger. “Too many people and too many ways for those loyal to the Kondor crown to intercept Elizabeth on those roads.”
His finger moved to the west, tracing a line to where there were no towns or cities listed, but if travelers then turned south at any time, they encountered the chain of lakes that Kondor was famous for. All were created by damming the river and turning desert into farmlands. Regular ferries traveled the river, as well as fishing boats and transports for crops to travel to Dagger.
He was right. That was the way a single bounty hunter would choose to escort a prisoner that others were searching for. At least it was the way I’d choose. “Where are we?”
His finger shifted on the map, not very much.
“How would we find her?” Flier asked. “There is too much desert unless we all split up, and I’m pretty sure that’s not going to happen.”
I glanced at Kendra. Her dragon could fly over the area and could be ordered to attack people—maybe—but in doing so, it might kill our princess. Kendra had explained that the dragon was not very intelligent, and she had no way to see what it did. Her dragon was little more than my bow, which pointed an arrow and let it loose. What happened then was out of her control.
Splitting up in other circumstances may have been a good idea. But not for us. We were not trained in the needs to survive in the desert, some of us would get lost and need to be rescued, and above all that was one critical reason. If one of us found her, we’d have to fight a professional bounty hunter. He might have collected others along the way, to make it worse.
While Kendra and I would fight in such circumstances for Elizabeth, we couldn’t ask Avery, Flier, Anna, and certainly not Emma. Thinking of Emma, I glanced her way.
My eyes fell to the sand below her feet. She shifted, and so did the sand. A smile briefly flashed, as if self-satisfied. Had the mage anticipated my questioning eyes and made an adjustment to the vision or had she simply shifted her legs?
Avery moved his finger. “Boats travel slowly and have more distance to cover, as well as navigating the locks at the dams. If we hurry, we could reach the lakes here,” he stabbed a finger at the map, “and get there first.”
“And search every boat?” Flier asked. “Many of those are large and could hide two people easily under a load of cabbages. By what authority will we board and search every vessel?”
For once, Avery had no ready answer.
Flier continued, “But we could reach the lock and observe. The bounty hunter might not have her hidden, thinking the most dangerous part of the trip is over. Or, your princess might signal us in some manner.”
Kendra spoke first, “The Council of Nine didn’t take control of Kondor by being sloppy. They hire the best. If he is any good and has brought her this far, you’re being too optimistic in thinking he’ll make a mistake like that.”
“We have to do something,” Avery countered.
I found myself ready to speak. “We have too little to go on, don’t know the area, and a hundred other things, but one thing we do know is what she looks like. Avery has a point. If we get ahead of them, we can split up and watch for her. We all know what she looks like so anybody with the same general size can be checked.”
Kendra said, “The chances of that working are slim.”
Avery said, “You’re right. But it gives us a chance. And while we’re trying to get ahead of her, maybe one of us will think of a better way.”
Flier said, “I know wandering priests walk, but this time you need to ride, so we move faster. Climb up there on Emma’s horse. She can double up with Anna.”
/> Anna’s face flushed, and she was ready to refuse, which was natural suspecting Emma was a manifestation. I didn’t want to touch Emma either. “No, Emma likes to ride alone. Anna can ride with me.”
It was a stupid thing to say. I drew puzzled, confused, and almost angry looks from all but Emma. From her, there was a smile of relief which only confirmed my thoughts about her. If we had not been in such a rush, either Flier or Kendra would have objected, and I’d have had to make up another story.
I turned my back to them and nodded for Anna to climb on the little horse before me. Before long, I’d have to rotate her with one of the others, but I wanted to keep Emma’s identity to myself until I had an idea of how to reveal—or better yet, how to use it. In the back of my mind was a vague plan to mislead Emma, to tell her false information that would somehow hurt the mage behind her image.
Those two words struck me as strange in their closeness. Mage and image. Almost the same. Anna pushed her back to my chest and whispered, “Thank you.”
“We’re going to figure this thing out.” I kicked my horse in the ribs to increase its pace to keep up with the others. To stand any chance of arriving where we could rescue Elizabeth, no matter how small the chances, depended on speed. Moving fast in the desert also went against nature. It did everything possible to slow us, from drawing energy in the form of sweat to tiring the small horses plunging their hooves through the sand.
Twice I saw the dragon in the distance, and that reassured me. There were no Wyvern. Kendra didn’t warn us of mages or sorceresses ahead, so I assumed there were none, but that would certainly change as we neared Dagger.
I turned to look behind. Emma’s horse moved as ours, and I looked for a sign that it carried less weight. Instead, it was tired, thirsty, and there was no indication of anything different than with the other horses. I let my mind rule, as I reviewed all I knew or thought I knew.
At one point, I decided it was Anna who was the apparition, and she was deceiving me. It took the time a heart beats three or four times to convince myself that was not true. However, it highlighted how little I knew for certain, and how open my mind was to accept or grasp at unknowns. In short, it reminded me of how scared I was.
Facing an attacker wielding a sword is one thing. I trusted my skill and training. I knew what to expect. He would swing, thrust, or slice. Perhaps he might even throw his sword at me, or feint with his sword and punch me with his other hand. Five or six variables, all of which I could defend against.
A mage was different. Instead of five or six ways to attack, there might be a hundred. Or a thousand. And I knew a few of them, or how to defend myself against any. A time would soon come when I might have Emma attack me—and I had no idea of how that would happen, or how to defend myself. The thought was foremost in my mind when we paused long enough for Anna to leap off my horse and climb in the front of Kendra. Then we moved on, pushing our horses to the point of dropping, pushing them until they moved so slowly we could walk faster.
Late in the afternoon, when I hoped to see the river, Flier called out, “A rider up ahead.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Princess Elizabeth
Not knowing what else to do, I sat on the pillows the Slave-Master indicated, using the scant time to think. The instant I’d revealed my identity, his entire demeanor had changed. At a flick of his finger, the ropes were removed, and I was free.
He said, Does Damon cheat at blocks?”
“He’s not above it,” I admitted, not knowing if he’d used his small-magic or why the question was asked. “But he is a very good player with few equals, so there is little reason for him to cheat.”
The man roared with laughter, his fingers interlaced over his fat belly.
“You find this funny?”
He quieted, then flashed a smile that appeared genuine. “I do. Have you ever noticed the gods are crazy? I’ve heard there is no such thing as a coincidence, but that cannot be true.”
“In what way?”
“First, let me clear up our relationship. You are not my prisoner and are free to leave at any time. You will not be harmed, and I will provide an escort. If you choose to remain, I will feed and protect you, and I will send my men into the desert in search of your servants.”
“You can sell me for a ransom to Dire.”
“I can probably get more for you from the Council of Nine in Kondor—but then I’d have your servants hunting me down for the rest of my life.”
He’d said servants, not assassins or soldiers. Odd. “Isn’t that true of the others you take for slaves? I mean, don’t their families come to rescue them or to fight you?”
He shrugged. “A few. We deal with them. Sometimes they find themselves sold on the auction blocks as well, but I do not want Damon and Kendra—especially Kendra, upset with me for not helping you. That is a very mean person. I only buy and sell people—and now and then I kill one or two. But she is in a category all to herself.”
His statement was completely unexpected and hard to imagine. The answers must lie in when and how they had met. Yet, that made little sense because they had left Trager at the same time I had, and we’d all made our ways to Vin. When and how had they become so intimately acquainted? And why was he frightened of Kendra?
A servant approached with a pot of warm tea, in the manner it was served in the Brownlands which was poured from a metal jar that had sat outside in the sun to warm. She dipped a cup after the Slave-Master, an honor he readily accepted. Deferring also established her position as lofty enough to do so.
The servants and slaves took notice.
He lifted his in a silent toast and sipped.
I said, “You talk as if you know my servants?”
His booming laughter came again. He said, “I’ll tell you the whole story, soon. But first, I must tend to a chore.”
He motioned to the Kaon Warrior standing at his side to move nearer and issued a series of commands, all of which had to do with a reward to the man who located and returned the former prisoners. The warrior turned and departed, only to return later and take up his usual post.
The Slave-Master recounted how his men had taken Damon captive in the mountains, the challenge in the block game, and how Damon had used the rules to his benefit. He then told me of Kendra’s arrival, the dragon, and how the two of them argued over who was the most proficient in throwing knives, wrestling, and a dozen other things.
By our fourth cup of tea, both of us were laughing at his stories, of how he’d rather fight his bodyguard than Kendra, and how she had repeatedly set him up to fail in his boasts. When he bragged he had ten Kaon Warriors at his command, Kendra had sat silently, as if impressed until the dragon flew over them so low to the ground the tent nearly collapsed from the beat of the wings. She had one dragon.
The mention of the dragon reminded me that all I really knew of it came from others. Kendra and I had shared a minimal amount of information on the Gallant, but for most of the voyage, we’d tried to keep our relationship hidden. That reminded me of another person that had kept hidden: Will.
Since my capture that night on the ship, I’d neither seen nor heard from him. If he had followed me, I believed he would have let me know in some manner. He would never have allowed the bounty hunter to take me away. That reminded me of another question.
“The bounty hunter I was with? What happened to him?”
The Slave-Master said, “Ah, he had an unfortunate accident. Nothing to do with your actions, Princess. But he resisted us taking you as a slave. There was a fight, and he lost.”
I was expected in Dagger. “The Council of Nine sent for me. When I don’t arrive, they will search.”
“Good to know. Hopefully, you will be on your way long before that happens.”
“And you?” I asked.
“We will also be gone.”
“They may chase you,” I warned him.
He said softly, “They may catch me and wish they hadn’t.”
�
��You’ll go home to Kaon, I suppose?”
“I will.”
A thought occurred to me. He was not afraid of me and from the number of slaves he’d gathered, and the obvious wealth he displayed, the Slave-Master was rich. If he could provide an introduction, I might talk to them about a treaty. “Do you know any of the royalty of Kaon?”
“Know them? I have met a few.”
“Kaon still has a king? One not replaced by a Council?”
He hesitated.
“That is a simple question.”
He hung his head. “We have neither.”
That gave me pause, too. Other kingdoms were losing their kings and royal families to unfortunate deaths, accidents, and illness. All had been or were being replaced by councils that I believed were controlled by mages. All but Kaon. That begged the question of why.
I allowed my thinking to review what little I knew about Kaon and believed it had a king. Or it had one in the past. Now it had neither?
He let me stew before telling me, “We had a king years ago. Now we have no ruler, no council, and it seems our kingdom should fail—but instead we flourish.”
“How can that be? Without leaders to make and enforce laws, how can Kaon exist?”
“Those who kill, or steal large sums are found dead. No wounds to explain their deaths. They are simply dead. There are several cutpurses missing hands. Farmers with cattle that are found dead. A known man who set fires to buildings died in the middle of the street—by a fire that consumed him. In Kaon, we understand that breaking the civilized laws may mean immediate punishment.”
His explanation stilled my heart. It sounded like an unknown mage ruled from behind a curtain. “You are allowed to take and sell slaves without punishment?”
“There is work to be done. Roads repaired, metals mined, farms to plant and harvest.”
It sounded strange. “There are no sheriffs, constables, or army?”
