'Akileena!' Riqu exclaimed. 'You have confirmed he's alive?' The rebel leader was silent a few moments as he recovered from the surprise, then said, 'Of course, of course, who else would be called 'Malithorn's Assassin', not many are capable of the acts Malithorn has forced upon him. I sorrow for him and his daughter...' Riqu trailed off as he made a connection. 'That must mean Andarin is also alive and in Venshui. We have heard rumours of their deaths many times, and with no confirmed sightings...'
'You are correct, which is why both teams must strike tonight. If we only get one...'
'I understand. I understand well. No fears, once your friend gets us in, I will get Akileena's daughter out,' the rebel leader promised gravely. 'I will also see to the other extraction, who is?'
'Anarya. She's a slave held in the eastern prison block, which is not as isolated as Akileena's daughter, so I fear her rescue will be more difficult. My friend will give you all the aid she can.'
'I will defer to your friend's knowledge and judgement,' Riqu sent. 'The second rescue will not be as difficult as you imagine. We have extracted slaves from the prison before. This is why I understand about those matters of conscience. You are not the first to consider a slave's freedom a personal responsibility,' Riqu consoled him.
Again, Brynn found himself sending his appreciation to the elder mage. 'Send to me when you have news of either outcome. My friends will protect you not just from the mages in the cities you are in, but from all Abbarane mages.'
'It is why you sent them,' Riqu deduced, and he was right. May-en-ghi had talent of their own, talent most mages were not trained to detect or would not recognise. Brynn knew he was taking a tremendous risk sending the may-en-ghi. Yet to fail in this endeavour was to lose the last members of House of Debanikay. They had suffered too long, Akileena's anguish over his daughter's survival was gradually eroding the mage's conscience.
'Fate's favour to you, Riqu.'
'And to you.'
Brynn severed Riqu's link with him, a technique he learned from the may-en-ghi to ensure the other person could not re-establish the link. If Riqu was captured, they could not trace Brynn through him. It was a little disconcerting to experience it, and among the elvan it was considered down-right obnoxious, but necessary in times of war.
Now, for the next task — fulfilling his promise to Riqu and getting Sariah and Sentary free. As he thought, images and scenes flashed through his mind. They were brief, like lightning — the future, or futures. At each turn of thought they would change, offering him different scenarios.
It had taken him quite some time to get used to it, but now, many turns later, he could make more efficient use of them, even if he was not a master yet. Linuk, now, she was a master! She said that one day he would be too. However, she warned, it was not something he should look forward to achieving. 'A little mystery is good,' she had remarked sadly.
'Would not a true master just turn them away when they wished it,' Brynn had asked earnestly, earning a proud smile from his tutor.
Linuk had considered him in thoughtful silence before she reflected that; 'Words spoken from the heart can reveal rare insight, if you are open to hearing it.'
The elder mage often murmured seemingly obscure statements like this, forcing him to interpret them and 'earn' the knowledge. That time, her message had not been so ambiguous; listen to your instincts, they often perceive what the conscious mind misses. Sarre advised the same. When Brynn was confused and not sure how to achieve something, Sarre would counsel him to take a steadying breath and give audience to the murmurings of his heart.
It was hard to listen to his instincts, this time, for they told him that the best way to release Sariah and the others was to be captured himself. That would mean putting what Nathan Kennelm perceived as the Saviour within his reach. Nathan was of the belief that to capture and kill the Saviour was to extinguish all hope the elvan nation had of obtaining their freedom. The question was, could he free Sariah and the others before Nathan killed him?
Day 15 – Just Before Sunset
North Kenar Woods
Akileena looked into blazing red-gold eyes as the warrior returned to a kneeling position. One of the guards had just tried to enact his inappropriate suggestion upon her. Despite her restricted position, Sariah had kicked him in the throat, following through with a hit to his neck, breaking it.
The accuracy with which the blind warrior defended herself was astounding. Akileena knelt by the guard's side. Incredibly, he was alive. With a resigned sigh, Akileena repaired the break enough for the man to be safely moved. He could not afford to completely heal the injury, not when he was the only able mage left in camp.
Rising, he waved to the men to take the injured man into the makeshift infirmary. 'Support his head. And be careful,' he admonished. He turned to look directly at the hawk hidden in a tree across the camp, 'Do not make the Thane order me to subdue you again,' Akileena warned, being careful to keep his tone low.
'Keep them away if you do not want them to get hurt,' Sariah retorted archly.
With a shake of his head Akileena turned to follow the injured man.
Nathan stepped out of his tent, taking stock of the campsite. He saw two men carrying an injured one into a tent with Akileena following them. He huffed crossly, the female warrior no doubt...
Nathan turned his attention to their newest captive. He guessed her attack had been aimed at freeing the slaves, and yet she had brought no allies believing she could accomplish this feat on her own. Imbecilic was the only word that came to mind.
Had she known of Nathan's hidden forces, she may have reconsidered her strategy. He had half of his men travel parallel to them in groups of five. Their orders were to remain inconspicuous and to this end they travelled in the shadows of the wood as the group made their slow, drawn-out, way to Denas. They came in after sunset to report and seclude themselves nearby and left before dawn, deceiving any onlookers to the real size of his force.
It was immensely annoying that the only elvan mage he had brought with him had been the one to overwhelm her. And he had taken a damnably long time to confront the warrior, making Nathan suspect he had purposely stalled — not aiding the female, while also not opposing her.
He had to admit, he was intrigued by her. According to Akileena, she was blind! Which meant only one thing, she had talent! Discovering her secrets would be a challenge worthy of his skill. And he intended to use every shred of his ability to meet that challenge.
Sariah cursed silently at the elvan mage. He had betrayed his own kin! It was not just any mage either, it was the one who had confronted them on the cliff near the Khira. Thane Kennelm emerged from his tent to see what all the commotion was about and then fixed her with an irritated look as they carried the fallen guard into a tent. The filthy guard only had himself to blame, she had clearly told him she would break his neck if he touched her.
The Thane stalked over to the tent the mage had disappeared into and called him back out, obviously uncaring of the injured man's welfare — not that Sariah cared, but he was Nathan's soldier. Most commanding officers had some regard for the lives of their soldiers if not for any other reason than that maintaining their numbers meant they retained their strength as a fighting force. The Thane sniped at the mage. Sariah could not hear them, but Kaydyr could see the contempt twisting Nathan's face. The mage's body language was interesting. It was part defiant, part subservient. He seemed reluctant to cooperate, giving short answers that frustrated the Thane, Nathan's face growing red with anger.
Nathan was shorter than the elvan by at least half a meter, yet still the Thane gave the impression he was looking down on his servant. The elvan did not hunch his height down, nor did he lower his eyes, and yet he looked ready to flinch, as if he expected Nathan to strike him at any moment.
Suddenly, the Thane reached up and traced a jagged scar that marked the elvan's throat as he spoke. Sullenly, the mage responded, and Nathan smiled smugly. The moment she had a chance, Sariah
intended to ensure the Thane never had a reason to smile again. Be it with sword, dagger, or even her bare hands, Nathan would pay! For denigrating her, for the suffering of the slaves, and yes, even for the coward of a mage that sold his honour for the cheap cost of his life.
Having finished his conversation with the mage, the Thane approached her looking almost elated. 'You have a friend with you,' he said. 'We know he is out there. Care to tell me about him?'
Sariah used Kaydyr to locate the mage so she could find his gaze and meet it. She glared at him. 'Traitor,' she sent. The mage did not react, but his expression was one of deep shame.
'You are wasting your time,' she growled in answer to the Thane's question. 'You credit yourself with great importance, but you are, in actuality, quite insignificant. I am alone.'
'So you say,' Nathan scoffed. 'Yet you did not act alone in freeing these slaves. Nor were you alone in Sal-Cirus. You had a partner. A talented partner, and I do not believe he has abandoned you.'
'Mayhap I abandoned him,' Sariah retorted. 'Did you consider that? Ask your mage, he will tell you I speak truthfully. The reality is, little man,' Sariah drawled in a low, hard tone, 'you are not worth an army, let alone a mage.'
Nathan struck her hard. 'I will deal with you soon enough,' he snarled menacingly. 'Prepare her for interrogation,' he barked at her guards.
Sariah smiled at the reluctant men. They already knew it was not going to be easy getting her chained to the two stout poles from which the Thane tortured his victims. And she was all too ready to confirm that belief.
Akileena turned from the captured warrior and moved to the fire. He needed rejuvenation after all the healing and only food and rest would achieve that. He had done what he could to make the guard with the broken neck comfortable and stable. Fortunately, before Nathan had dragged him away. He was not a natural healer. Until the war began he knew very little beyond the basic theory covered in his apprenticeship. The soldiers had been relatively straight-forward, but drawing Rochester out of death's reach had left him almost unconscious last eve. And even then, he had forced himself to stay awake by the human's side, just in case. If he had allowed himself to sleep, he might not have woken in time to keep the mage alive. What he really needed, was rest. Days and days of it. But as rest was unlikely, he might as well eat before Nathan made him lose his appetite.
The warrior was too bold, goading Nathan like that. She should know better. Akileena mentally shrugged, mayhap she meant to. If Nathan decided to punish her, she might get a chance to escape. Turning over Riqumorgia's own daughter to a monster like Nathan was a shameful action and it burned him. The only boon he could grant the warrior was to ignore her hawk. Nathan had not asked him to do anything more than subdue her, and that was done. She would suffer enough when the Thane tortured her. Not being able to see what was happening would be far worse.
Akileena wondered how far away he would have to go to not hear her screams. He reconsidered this thought. The warrior looked about as cooperative as a stone wall. A warrior who could fight like that, regardless of her condition, would refuse to voice her pain, of that, he was sure. The problem with being talented was that you did not have to hear the screams or see the victim to know they suffered.
Day 15 – Sunset
North Kenar Woods
Sariah tried to look each man in the eye as they approached her, it did not hurt her cause for them to be intimidated. They knew from the mage she was blind, and she knew it disconcerted them when she looked at them. Abruptly, the whole camp came to a stand-still, prompting Kaydyr to hop to a different branch so she could see what had caught their attention. The hawk saw a rider approaching through the trees. A rider on a white and grey charger with tawny-red hair, just like 'the thief' from Sal-Cirus. Sariah resisted the urge to swear. What in the realm was Brynn doing! Did he think he could trade his life for hers? She seriously doubted his intelligence if he did.
The Thane looked stunned. He had made a show of having his tool case retrieved by one of the soldiers and then sitting by the fire for his meal. The idea had been to build up his prisoner's anticipation of the upcoming interrogation. Not that Sariah had been intimidated by his theatrics.
Sariah chastised herself again. She should not have attacked so early. If it had been later, those extra soldiers would have been sleeping and it would have taken them longer to respond. She would have had time to free Sentary and get him away before they had a chance to surround her. If only the Thane had not chosen Sentary last evening. Kaydyr consoled her with the reminder that her intervention had stopped the torture of her brother. The hawk believed there was still a chance for them to succeed.
As Sariah watched Brynn ride into the camp, she found herself agreeing with Kaydyr. Brynn spotted the hawk and grinned. Sariah swore out loud this time. If the cursed mage did not take his foolhardy act more seriously, their chances of getting out of this would diminish greatly.
Brynn dismounted, tossing the reins over Sershja's saddle before patting the horse on the neck, directing him to graze out of the way and then sidle off into the forest. He was to remain close, but to avoid being hobbled with the other horses. Brynn approached the fire where Nathan sat. It took all his control not to seat himself before it and warm his hands. He did not have to look at Sariah to know of her incredulity, but, despite her doubts, he knew exactly what he was doing.
As he approached the Thane, Brynn tilted his head. 'I always thought you would be taller.'
Nathan frowned, but before he could say anything, Akileena cut in, shaking with rage. 'Ti echa-narn et tu si en toor it kannan raik ni sen?' How dare a coward who attacks without thought behave so impertinently, Akileena demanded, reverting to his native language. This elvan had almost killed his brother. It was even possible Andarin would never wake from his coma. As a mage, he should never have disabled Andarin or Dematica as he had chosen. It breached all ethical considerations. Such barbarity was an insult to the House of Debanikay.
Brynn did not move, even as Akileena charged around the fire and brought himself close enough for Brynn to feel his breath whisper across his cheek. He registered that Akileena was using talent to keep Nathan by the fire. The Abbarane mage was using a protection ward, but in truth, Brynn could sense that Akileena's motive was to confront Brynn without the Thane's intervention. It meant that underneath the raw emotions of fury and indignation, Akileena's rational mind was still in control. Brynn recognised that he would need to exercise the most delicate diplomacy with the mage. Especially if he wanted his plan to work. Indeed, that was why he was here — to save one of the few remaining Debanikay heirs. His review of the paths had revealed that it was not only his life that was at risk, but that because of Sariah's actions, Nathan would end up killing the mage. Akileena had hesitated when he first saw Sariah and that hesitation would lead Nathan to decide that despite his seeming obedience, Akileena was too risky to keep alive. So he needed to win enough of the mage's trust to get him to listen if Brynn wanted his plan to work.
'Esteemed soul, know that sometimes the motives of Fate mean that our intentions are ignored. I meant not to strike your brother. He was protecting one who meant ill for me. His fate, he chose in that step, and I regret that one so honoured took that step,' Brynn sent in apology.
Although they were almost the same height, Akileena was noticeably slimmer. Akileena's blue-green eyes seared with anger. 'Do you think your extravagant apology redeems any honour?' Akileena refused to be polite and send in return. 'Be sure of this, you will regret your thoughtlessness, for I will make you curse every moment that brought you here today,' he seethed.
'Look to the past paths, Akileena. Watch your brother walk them. You will see I speak truthfully.'
Brynn felt the mage's focus waver. He could feel that Akileena was exhausted. That would be all the healing he had to do as a result of Sariah's attack.
Distracted, Akileena's ward about Nathan fell away. 'Enough!' Nathan interceded.
At Nathan's exclamati
on, Akileena gave a little jump. Then, remembering his station, he bowed submissively towards the Thane and stepped back. Taking a deep breath, Akileena realised that regardless of his personal feelings, in Nathan's presence, only one agenda would be served. If he wanted to ensure his daughter's safety, he would have to serve that agenda, too.
Rising, Nathan gave Akileena a disgruntled look and then turned back to Brynn. 'I can easily guess the idiocy that led you here, however, do not mistake me for a man of honour or mercy.'
'I see this more as a business transaction, so emotion has no place,' Brynn responded evenly. 'You have invested a lot of resources searching for me. So, I suggest an exchange.'
'Let the slaves go?' Nathan sneered.
'Yes,' Brynn confirmed. 'They go free and stay free. For this, I will voluntarily relinquish my freedom. Now, once you have me, it will be up to you to keep me. I offer nothing more, so as far as interrogation goes, that too depends on your competence.'
Nathan scoffed. 'You are as reckless as you are brash. Like a bird you ruffle your feathers hoping to seem formidable, but you have hollow bones and snapping your neck will take little effort. What if I refuse your terms?'
'You think you can keep me?' Brynn asked with a tone of smug bravado. If Nathan thought him overconfident, the Thane would credit himself as the smarter strategist and be more inclined to agree. 'As you said, only my foolish honour brought me. You should take advantage of that. You know I am of advanced skill. Your mage might be able to hold me, were I in less than perfect health, but until then, I am the more powerful mage. And if you force me to overpower him, I will have you all.'
Akileena bristled with offence, but Nathan held up his hand, halting the mage, while keeping his gaze on Brynn. 'That goes the same for my hostages,' the Thane pointed out. 'My men could kill them before you win a fight with my mage.'
Prophecy's Quest Page 17
