'It has been a long time since I could look forward to something as straight-forward as gardening. Mind you, her superb culinary skills will also be highly appreciated,' Paulson remarked.
'Camp rations?' Kassan asked.
Paulson made a face. 'Aye, camp rations. How they can claim something that's as hard as a wagon's wheel and tastes like the dirt on my boots is food, is well beyond my imagining.'
'You have eaten dirt off your boots!' Keysjhon exclaimed in mock horror causing Paulson and Kassan to groan in unison.
Day 14 – Dusk
North Kenar Woods
Sariah paced back and forth restlessly. Five days had passed since she learned of Sentary's capture. For the last two she had been tracking his captors. In that time she was able to gauge how many there were, their established routines, the number of sentries and that four mages accompanied them. But she was not ready to make her move yet. She was concerned about some incongruities in their routine. Yesterday morning she saw riders departing the camp. This morning, again, soldiers left, but when she did a head count, the number of soldiers was the same. Logic said the riders that left in the morning must have returned sometime in the night. They had been keeping watch, but Kaydyr could not monitor the area as well because Thane Kennelm had camped within the woods, where it was easier to lose track of who was moving between the trees if there was enough activity.
The warrior forced herself to settle, the pacing helped her think, but she was starting to wear a groove in the ground. The nights were the worst part of maintaining the surveillance, because that was when they tortured the slaves. It required all of Sariah's self-control not to ride down there the moment the first cry of anguish filled the air. She had to remind herself that success depended on being prepared, else she could find herself taken captive. If the riders she saw departing the camp were returning at night, she had to time her attack accordingly, else they could corner her. She planned to take them by stealth, much as she had taken the slaver camp with Brynn, which meant she had to hold out until she was sure of the situation in the camp.
A cry broke through the warrior's contemplations. She closed her eyes as dread filled her. Of all the prisoners they had chosen to torture, they had selected Sentary. She had been shamefully hoping they would not get to Sentary before she was ready.
Sariah inhaled deeply and with the breath she suppressed the fury rising sharply within her. She could not risk entering the camp yet, she reminded herself. Kaydyr glided to the camp below to scout. The hawk's sharp sight confirmed that Sentary was their victim tonight. He had suffered so much already. They had only spent hours together, but she had seen the scars covering his body, heard the courage as he dismissed the turns of captivity, saw the sorrow in his red-gold eyes.
Kaydyr returned, his heart full of sympathy, fear and rage. His instinct was to attack, to protect his brethren, for what was hers was his as long as they shared a spirit. Kaydyr was a hunter and all his instincts demanded he fight this threat to his family.
Sariah rose, compelled by the hawk's fierce, protective drive as much as her own wrath at those who dared to lay a blade to her brother's skin. Using the scrub for cover, she started towards the camp. These men who titled themselves thanes but committed or ordered the most wretched of actions would commit no more atrocities on her brother.
Nathan shivered slightly. Damn this weather, with the perfect days but miserably cold nights. He should ask to go to Delnaren where the climate was more agreeable. Malithorn was going to 'demote' Mereten, after all. This was assuming he wasn't demoted himself. Nathan snatched his cloak from its stand and paced about the small tent. Small was a relative term. For a man used to a hundred-room palace, it was small, but to a soldier used to a strip of canvas, the tent was of very generous proportions.
He was entirely sick of travelling like this, the novelty had become tedium. Nathan ground his teeth as the slave being questioned outside cried out. Not one of the soldiers, so far, showed any natural ability for interrogation. He should have brought Haverell, but, although Curtin did not contest the promotion Nathan had given him, he'd insisted the transfer was done through official channels. All the soldiers he had tested so far had proved inept, lacking the intuition to be truly effective.
By the great sages, he hoped the cursed thief turned up soon and he could rid himself of some of his pent-up frustration. A mage capable of thwarting Akileena possessed very refined skills and therefore authority amongst the rebels. It was always a distinct pleasure breaking such a disciplined mind.
The Thane settled before the brazier, his body warmed by his pacing. He took out a steaming mug of balessia from the warming hood and sipped the sweet brew with little awareness of the taste. What he could do if he commanded such skills himself! It was hard to accept that there were those who could use mere thoughts or 'will' to manipulate their environment. Nathan threw a contemptuous glance in the direction of Akileena's tent. The elvan mage only had a tent because it meant they could watch him without having to look at him. His reputation as the assassin from afar made the soldiers paranoid and anxious. In the tent he lost his identity.
It irked Nathan that Akileena's talent made him more valuable than the thanes. What irritated him more was that since the incident with the butter knife, the mage was more aloof than subdued. More so, he couldn't afford to punish him too harshly, at least until after this hunt. He had commandeered three human mages to assist him. Of them, Rochester was the most reliable, but a human mage was not equipped to deal with a rival elvan mage. None of the human mages had liked being diverted from their errands, but their owners did not dare refuse Nathan's demand.
What Nathan had never experienced was how much the soldiers gossiped in Akileena's shadow. He had never heard so many rumours. They said the mage was never actually present, but sent an illusion of himself. They also said he had bound himself to darkness and that the red wine he drank with his meals was really blood. There were several other tales of similar unlikeliness, and it disgusted Nathan to hear so much nonsense from grown men.
The most credible allegation he had heard was the suspicion the mage carried out unauthorised assassinations. Apparently more than one mysterious death had occurred among Malithorn's ranks. Deaths that had no cause. Akileena's trademark as an assassin was to leave a slight bruising about the throat. Could it be that Akileena was able to kill without leaving the bruise, Nathan mused? The first thing he intended to do after this task was interrogate Akileena and find out if he had, in fact, killed without authorisation.
Another pain-filled cry drew the Thane's attention. He could tell by the sound that the idiot he had placed in charge was doing a clumsy job.
'The fool will kill that elvan far too quickly,' Nathan growled to himself.
They had only the one adult elvan slave. They needed it to live long enough to do its job as bait. The child, he had decided, would serve as the means to making their real target talk.
Rising, Nathan paused to drain the rest of his balessia. He did not care what Rochester said about the optimum proximity. It was highly likely the human mage was giving too much weight to Akileena's opinion. It had suited him these last few nights to heed Rochester's cautions as it provided an opportunity to test those soldiers he thought might have potential as interrogators. However the exercise had proved futile and he had lost his patience. Whether or not the rebels were close enough, Nathan decided it was time for some serious interrogation.
Sariah paused as she waited for Kaydyr to take up a position where she could see both the sentry and herself. The sentry looked up at the sound of the hawk landing in the tree across from him. Long-knife drawn, Sariah took advantage of his distraction, coming up behind him and gripping his head so her hand was over his mouth. She had the height advantage and she arched him back, so he could not put weight on his feet. She drove the knife in through his back and up towards his heart. He exhaled hard through his nose, Sariah's hand muffling any noise he might have made.
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sp; Once she was certain he was dead, she dragged him into the bushes. A sound made her pause and Kaydyr took off. As he swooped down, he caught sight of a soldier moving through the trees. He changed course, gliding overhead out of the soldier's sight. The soldier stopped to relieve himself. By the time he finished and started back towards camp, Sariah was waiting for him. The warrior located the five remaining sentries with Kaydyr's help, killing them without alerting the camp.
Sariah moved to a position where she could see the camp but was still hidden in shadows. Kaydyr landed in a tree above, giving her a view of the entire camp. There would be moments when she was blind, but the warrior was not worried by that, she had trained countless hours so that in combat the blind moments did not affect her proficiency. She used her other senses whenever she could not see. It was true that during her first few real fights, she had made mistakes, but she never wanted to feel that intense vulnerability she had experienced that day their village was raided and she lost her sight. So she trained harder after each experience until she no longer made mistakes.
She could see him now. Her brother, Sentary, was restrained between two poles.
Sariah drew both her swords.
A group of soldiers surrounded her brother in a loose circle.
Sariah planted both swords point down in the ground.
The soldier nearest her brother wielded a long, thin nail-like implement and was talking to the other soldiers. They laughed.
Sariah drew her throwing knives.
The soldier leaned in to Sentary and said something. His face was twisted, angry. Sentary's head hung down and she could not see his face. She was thankful for that.
'Kaydyr. Target left to right.'
The ambiguous instruction was one the hawk understood. Most of the time, Sariah did not give him direct instructions, the talent that bound them allowed the hawk to know where she wanted to look. They shared thoughts and instincts. But this time the warrior had an agenda. She wanted to kill the closest soldiers with her throwing knives. He would move from one to the next as she threw each blade and then the warrior would take up her swords. After that, they would kill as opportunity presented itself.
Nathan stepped out of his tent. The laughter of the soldiers by the slave caused him to frown irritably. His grip tightened on his black, leather tool case. In it was a multitude of instruments developed specifically for interrogative purposes. The Great Lord had presented him this very case and Nathan never travelled anywhere without it.
These soldiers had spent too long under the jurisdiction of Thane Curtin. They were soft, weak. They were like child bullies. They relished their power over the weak, but they had no imagination. Nor did they possess the discipline to learn how to properly perform interrogation. They did not understand that interrogation was not just a means to get information, it was also an art-form.
Nathan sneered. It was timely that they had this opportunity to witness an accomplished artist like himself. As he started towards the group, one of the soldiers on the far side of the circle stumbled forward. The Thane huffed, obviously they had been drinking. He might be practicing his skills on more than a mere slave this night. He'd made it clear that he would not tolerate drinking. He wanted his soldiers fully alert. The elvan were too fond of ambushes to risk allowing the men to drink while they were away from their base.
When the soldier next to him stumbled. The Thane paused. The first soldier was slowly sinking to the ground. Just as second one started to do the same, the soldier next to him stumbled forward…
'Am-bush!' Nathan yelled.
The Thane started backing up to his tent as he cursed himself for possessing the same complacency he accused his men of — he'd left his sword in his tent.
'Get up, you fools! We're under attack,' Nathan shouted just before he ducked back into his tent.
He lunged for his sword shaking off the scabbard. He almost turned to head straight back out, but then turned back and grabbed his knife. As he re-emerged from the tent he saw a Ko-renti warrior in the midst of the group of men.
Just one.
That's when he realised it — this was the warrior Akileena described as accompanying his thief. Yes! She had taken the bait. Nathan frowned. She was also very swiftly killing his men. Her blades were just blurs and flashes as she glided through the group. Nothing slowed her; his men raised their blades just to have hers literally slice right through them. That was a talented blade.
Nathan backed up. Nothing was going to stop her but a mage.
'Rochester! Yuliryn! Levance! Akilee—'
Levance had already come out his tent, but Nathan had not seen him at first. Rochester and Yuliryn were close behind him. They approached the warrior in a wide circle, each coming from a different point so she could not target them as a group. As Levance closed in, his talented shield flashed blue as her sword went right through it. The strike missed though when the human mage leaned out of range. He shook his long, light-brown hair out of his face and Nathan saw his dark-brown eyes flick to Rochester. They would be sending to each other.
Sure enough Rochester changed direction so he was behind the warrior and Levance and Yuliryn moved closer to her front. They would distract her while Rochester attacked from behind.
The warrior spun on her foot, the dark red of her hair looked like blood, Nathan thought as it swung out behind her. Rochester barely got out of her way. How she had known he was there was a mystery to Nathan, but then, if she had a talented sword, she probably had other abilities. The warrior was true to the reputation of her house. Even though Rochester escaped her, she still took down two soldiers.
Nathan suddenly realised he was short a mage. Where was Akileena?
Day 14 – Twilight
Denas
Colnba moved through the lantern-lit streets swiftly, but without fear. Several merchants still hawked their wares, but most recognised him as a mage and turned their attention to the human portion of the dwindling passers-by. A few even shrunk away, knowing exactly who, and what, Colnba was.
He did not go in to the city often. Although he was as much a prisoner as the slaves, most of his needs were seen to by servants. Colnba knew his life was not as filled with suffering as that of the slaves. Yet, there was an acute kind of torment in being a helpless witness to such cruelties as those carried out on his people. The only way to survive the frustration and guilt was to not think about it as much as possible and bide his time until he was in a position to do something.
He'd gone to see a horse merchant, a task he needed to carry out himself as it was the only way to guarantee the horses had not interacted with rebels and put barriers in place to guard against rebel interference. Horses were easily influenced. He had found a beautiful white charger for Nisari. Malithorn would complain if he noticed the quality of the horses, but he was not likely to take them away.
It was a tense relationship, each with some power, but neither with enough edge to dominate. Malithorn mistakenly thought Colnba was the 'powerful mage'. He had no comprehension that once bonded an elvan pair were essentially one being, everything they thought, everything they felt, their knowledge, their talent; it was all shared. They took advantage of Malithorn's assumption that Nisari was weaker. It gave her more freedoms. She was considered less threatening, and thus, had more chances to manipulate those around them. However, they did not always win…
Nathan had managed to get Akileena. A very undesirable situation. Yet Malithorn refused to take full measure of the risks. If anyone could handle a Debanikay, it was Nathan, Malithorn claimed. The fool did not understand. Giving a mage like Akileena to Nathan was like presenting the last lion to a big game hunter. Nathan knew of the prestige associated with House of Debanikay but would see the lives of the last of the Debanikay line as nothing but a means to enhance his fierce reputation.
As Colnba passed into an open square he saw a slaver merchant starting to set up. Tomorrow there would be auctions, it being the first official day of the festival. T
he slaves were building a stage. It would be tall enough, once finished, for the crowd to see the people they were buying like objects.
The crack of a whip drew his attention to a group of slaves off to one side. One was on the ground cowering from a tall, light-haired man that was preparing to strike again. A soft growl rumbled through the mage as he changed direction.
Using a combination of talent and swift movement he caught the whip end mid-air and wrapped it around his forearm, pulling the man off balance so he fell to the ground. Cold, pale-blue eyes drilled down into those of the slaver. 'It is not necessary to whip the slaves. A firm tone will achieve your needs.'
The statement was also a command. Colnba ignored the protest of one of the other slavers as he continued to concentrate. Ensuring the command was well established, he released the man. The objecting man took one look at Colnba's expression and backed off. Just then Colnba was alerted by a sending of distress from Matthias, one of the mages with Nathan Kennelm. Nisari had taught Matthias and so they had an established link with him. The sending was cut off and Colnba shifted to the planes to investigate.
Several moments later he was able to establish that Nathan's camp was being attacked... by a hawk?
Flashing a final, sharp look at the slavers, Colnba hurried back to his quarters. Why was Matthias so worried by a bird? Of course! Sariah... Riqumorgia's adopted daughter. Riqumorgia must have sent her to help the slaves Nathan had cornered in an effort to trap the Saviour.
Colnba found himself frowning. Nathan had four mages and while the human ones might find Riqumorgia's daughter a challenge, Akileena should have stepped in by now. Unless, in his great idiocy and arrogance, Nathan had rendered Akileena incapable. He would not be surprised to discover Nathan had decided to torture Akileena. Just as he was about to shift to the planes to assist, Colnba felt Akileena mobilise against Riqumorgia's daughter. It was a relief to feel the Debanikay mage in full health. A quick check into his mind revealed that distraction was all that slowed Akileena.
Prophecy's Quest Page 15
