by B. T. Narro
He rode down the western side of the hill and then turned sharply to the north and forced his mount into a swift gallop, steering him into a bosk a good distance from where the woman would be approaching. Hidden among the trees, Neeko tied his mount and rose above the canopy.
He saw that she had followed him. He was behind her now, carrying himself with py toward her as she dismounted. She started up the hill, walking quickly with the deft crouch of a person who’s been taught to sneak.
Neeko launched himself at her, descending as hard as a falling boulder onto her shoulders. They fell together against the grassy hill, Neeko grabbing her hair as he put a knee into her back.
“Who are you and what—”
“I’m with child! Get off me!”
The desperation of her words fought through reason, forcing Neeko off her without a single thought about defending himself. He almost apologized as she rolled over and clutched her distended stomach. Neeko knew enough about pregnancy to realize this woman was nearing the middle of her nine childbearing months.
Something about her was painfully familiar, the thought alarming him as he couldn’t decide whether to ready himself for combat or grovel for forgiveness. Her long hair of dusty brown hung in a tight braid. She was certainly older than him, but not by many years.
It was her face that screamed to be remembered. She had deep-set eyes that seemed capable of terrible fury. Along with her pointed nose, they were too familiar for Neeko to believe he was imagining it.
“Why are you following me?” he demanded.
“Please believe me—I’m just going to Cessri. If I was following you, it was only by coincidence.”
“I might believe you if you hadn’t gone out of your way to come to this hill.”
Both of her hands covered her stomach in a protective gesture. “I noticed you earlier.” Her eyes lifted to his face as he stood formidably over her. “I was curious where you went.” She looked around for something, appearing confused. “How did you jump down on top of me? There are no trees.”
Gods, could she really be innocent? Neeko didn’t want to believe he’d tackled a pregnant woman who didn’t mean to do him harm.
He wished he had a knife he could point at her, but all he could do was use pyforial energy, and that would reveal too much. He noticed her bag on the ground. He must’ve knocked it off her back in tackling her.
“I need to look through your bag.” He started toward it.
She snatched it and clenched it as if it meant more to her than her baby. Then one of her hands slid down over her stomach. “Please, leave me.”
“I need to know who you are. I’m not going to steal from you.” Though the thought was tempting given his hunger and the long trip ahead.
“What do you mean, who I am?”
“You might be someone wanting to harm me.”
“I’m not. I’m just trying to get to Cessri.” Her eyes glistened as her voice shook. “Are you going to kill me and my unborn child?”
My gods, this woman. He looked around to make sure they weren’t being watched. The land was clear.
Neeko sighed and shook his head, realizing he couldn’t do anything to her and her unborn child.
“There’s no need to be dramatic. I’m not going to hurt you. Just let me look through your bag.”
She took her hand from her stomach to wipe her eyes. Neeko held out his hand, but her grip tightened around the bag as she glared at him.
Neeko gestured with his open hand. “The bag.”
She pressed her lips together and released her grip as Neeko took it from her.
“Stay on the ground,” he told her, undoing the lace. Water and baked bread cut into thin squares were on top. Her clothes were wadded beneath. He took everything out and saw the bag was now empty, no hidden compartments.
Then he noticed scrolls rolled together. They’d come out with her clothes. He gauged her expression as he undid the string keeping them together. She wore a fixed stare, unreadable.
Neeko glanced at the first scroll. The penmanship was neat, but he recognized none of the words. Noticing the woman sitting up, he pointed at her.
“Don’t move.”
She frowned but obeyed. He looked at some of the other scrolls, soon realizing they were all identical:
“Na amaebush sis ot ebd stes ni asstine uofretss. Meted ata asstines laek foer ufrthreds uniestruction. Leaev aoens daey aftred erceivigns theis ucseroll. Rieds abuetd noet wieths uhaset. Od anoetds ocnfre wieth tohesrs yoeu seed ogeings teh saem uidrectinos. Tehd aapsscoed ots eb psokne upeonds raerival si niappropriaets ewathre foerd as usweim.”
“What are these scrolls?”
“Why does this matter to you?” she retorted.
“Because the same message is on each one, so you must be delivering them to multiple people. Now tell me what it is.”
“It’s a language I speak with my family.” Her voice came out surprisingly loud and annoyed, making Neeko think she was lying, especially considering many of the words looked impossible to pronounce. “The scrolls are for my cousins.”
Neeko handed one to her. “Then read the message to me in this language of yours.”
She squinted. “Na amay-bush sees aught…eb…um.” She began to stammer. “Eb-duh suh-tes ni ass-tine…u-e-frey…tess.” She sounded like a child trying to read.
“Stop.” Neeko took the scroll from her. “This is clearly a code, and the second word looks to be ‘ambush.’ ” He peered closer at the words. “The third sentence is definitely ‘Leave one day after receiving this scroll.’ Tell me what I’m really reading.”
A tight ring of energy pushed against his throat. He couldn’t get his hand within it before it began to squeeze. Pyforial mage! She was already on the ground, so he couldn’t throw her anywhere with energy of his own. Nor could he reach her with his hands or feet.
As his pain and panic increased, he thought of pushing py down onto her most vulnerable spot, her stomach. He wanted to threaten her first to avoid injuring her baby, but his words came out as clicks of his tongue. She looked strangely fearful as she choked him, deep lines in her brow.
He wrapped py around her outstretched arm and willed it toward him. Then he grabbed it at the wrist and began to twist.
She let out a short scream before she clenched her teeth shut. She wouldn’t let go, even as he twisted harder. He started feeling faint as he came close to breaking her arm, but she still wouldn’t stop.
He cocked his free arm, motioning to strike her stomach.
“Stop!” she yelled, the ring of py coming free from his neck.
She stumbled backward out of his grasp, holding her stomach as Neeko fell to his knees and gasped. She grabbed her bag with one hand, the scrolls with the other, and ran for her horse.
Neeko barely managed to stand. Knowing he had no chance of chasing her, he pushed an open ring of py out at her. He couldn’t see it in the fading light of the sun, so he was forced to guess how far it needed to go.
His aim was perfect, the py locking around her thighs. She thrashed against it, her resistance feeling nearly the same as if his arms were around her, but he held her long enough to find his strength and trudge over. He got his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to a seated position. He went down with her, swinging his legs around her hips while keeping his arms around her shoulders and collar. She wasn’t going anywhere.
“Help!” she screamed.
“Quiet,” he urged, his voice a fiery whisper, his throat stinging. “I won’t hurt you if you stop struggling.”
She continued to yell for help. He had no limbs left to silence her. Gods, this would look awful to anyone who caught sight. He willed py over her face, muffling her screams, though inadvertently preventing her from breathing.
“Stop yelling,” he told her, giving her one quick shake out of anger. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if you yell.”
The muffled noise ended. He removed his py.
“When you be
gan to choke me,” he explained, “I could’ve crushed your stomach with py, but I chose not to. I wasn’t going to punch your stomach either unless it was to save my own life. But now, if you try something else, I won’t hesitate again.”
She was silent.
“Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Yes. Will you let go of me?”
Instead, Neeko got to his feet, lifting her with him. “I’m checking you for weapons.” Should’ve done so from the start. Won’t ever trust a damned pregnant woman again. He spread her arms. “Leave them like that.”
He patted her arms first, feeling for any straps that might be holding a hidden knife. His hands ran down her sides next, her gray tunic tightly formed to the curve of her body, the fabric pulled by her protruded stomach.
He felt her legs, then her ankles—her tall boots came up to conceal them. He found a small knife strapped to her shin after removing her left boot. Feeling as if he could use a blade of some kind, he pocketed it without the slightest guilt. It wasn’t one of the short swords he’d left behind, but it made him feel safer already.
Turning her around, he could read the defeat in her familiar eyes.
“Tell me the truth,” he said, “and I’ll let you go. You are of the PCQ.”
“Yes.”
“You followed me after you saw me in Aylinhall.”
“Yes.”
“With intentions to kill me.”
Fright flooded her eyes as she shook her head. “No.”
“Then explain your actions.”
“I figured you were Neeko Aquin but I wasn’t certain. I was on my way to Cessri anyway, so I took it as my obligation to keep my eyes on you to see where in the city you went.”
“Why do you sound so reluctant to kill me? I know every person in the PCQ has orders to kill me, so stop lying. You were going to do it while I slept.”
She tilted her head, looking surprised. “My task has never been to kill. There are many like me in the PCQ who do other things besides chasing after quarries. Most have no idea what you look like or even who you are.”
“These people like you, what are their tasks?”
She squinted at him curiously. She’s trying to determine if I would actually hurt her if she doesn’t answer. He drew the knife and used his most threatening voice. “Answer quickly and honestly.”
“We have members all over Sumar. Many of us are tasked with strategizing, holding meetings, keeping up rituals, and completing deliveries.”
“Like those messages.” Neeko pointed his chin at her bag.
“Yes.”
“Do all of your members have control over pyforial energy?”
“No. Many of them are born to parents of PCQ members and never learn. They’re still members, nonetheless.”
The scope of the Pyforial Council of Quosae increased in Neeko’s mind to ten times what it had been before. There were probably thousands of them, an army of their own.
As she stared at him, her features called to be recognized, to be remembered.
“What is your name?”
Her eyebrows arched. “Why?”
“I feel as if I’ve seen you before.”
She looked away while offering her admission in a cold tone. “Jessila. Jonen is my brother.”
The realization shot through him. Her eyes and nose were just like Jonen’s, the pyforial mage who’d held Shara captive with Swenn and nearly killed Neeko.
Her arms folded. “I’ve said enough.”
But Neeko wasn’t even close to finished with her. How many people were in the PCQ? How many would attempt to kill him? What did they have planned in this war?
Before she became more irritated, Neeko asked the most important question that came to mind.
“Is Jonen in Cessri?”
“No.”
“Then who are you delivering the scrolls to?”
“No one you know.”
“Tell me the message on the scrolls,” he demanded.
“I won’t say.”
He pointed the knife, sick of getting nothing from her. “Tell me.”
“I won’t.”
“Then you’re going to die.”
“You’re not going to kill me.” Her confidence stunned him. Unfortunately, she was right, but she couldn’t truly know that.
He took a step back, then wrapped a rope of py around her throat. She didn’t startle, her hands clenched at her sides.
So he squeezed.
Her eyes widened, but as a reaction, not out of fear.
He squeezed harder. “Are you going to tell me?”
By the shake of her shoulders, she seemed to be saying no.
He knew the hold around her throat was tight enough for no air to slip by. As her cheeks went from crimson to blue, Neeko began to worry. But then he felt some relief as she grabbed the py around her neck, finally succumbing to her body’s urge to fight.
“Tell me.” He spoke with as much confidence as his concerned voice would allow. “Or you will die.”
She shook her shoulders again.
Damn this woman.
Neeko realized he could keep going. He could kill her. He just had to keep squeezing. She was an enemy after all.
After another moment her arms went limp and her knees buckled. Her eyes rolled back. Her body wanted to fall, the weight of it pulling on the ring of py.
How could a message be worth her life and her child’s?
He jumped forward and caught her as she fell, letting the py disperse. He gently set her on her back. She was still breathing, thank the gods.
Neeko hadn’t noticed his galloping heart until he collapsed beside her, out of breath.
“Stubborn as a mule,” he muttered, taking the scrolls and putting them in his bag. If she wouldn’t tell him what they said, he would figure it out. Or at least he would prevent them from being delivered.
Life came back into her eyes. She grimaced, touching her throat tenderly as she sat up, showing him a smug smile through it all.
“I knew you w—” Her teeth clenched from the pain of speaking. “Wouldn’t kill me.”
“I can see you won’t say anything about the scrolls, but I’m not above hurting you if you don’t answer some easier questions.”
She nodded.
“Are you and the other members of the PCQ working directly with the Southern army?”
“No.” She coughed. “They have our assistance in some sense of the word, but they don’t know anything more about us than the North does.”
“I understand you side with them because they fight for recommencing the sacrifices, but I find it hard to believe that all of you can be so sure the sacrifices are necessary. The rain stopped without them. This proved the gods—if they exist—don’t care about the sacrifices.”
“The rain stopped because there have been other offerings by the PCQ and the Southerners. The gods are appeased by this, but we cannot keep it up. The sacrifices are necessary. If you’d gone with Jonen, you would’ve come to believe the same eventually.”
Neeko realized he was wasting his time. Night was approaching and he still needed to distance himself from her.
“Will you ever let me be?”
“I will, I promise.”
“What about the rest of the PCQ?”
She paused, looking as if she didn’t want to say it.
“Just give me the truth.”
“You aren’t safe on this continent.”
“What about Shara?”
“She is to be questioned as to your whereabouts. If she doesn’t pose an immediate threat, she will live.” Her look became intent. “But she may be tortured for answers.”
Neeko cringed at the thought of any more pain coming to Shara. “I’ll leave you now,” he said. “I took the scrolls, and you’re not getting them back.”
She nodded.
“You are to sleep around here. I’ll continue riding before settling. If I see you again, you should be ready to fight, because I�
��ll take your presence as a direct threat to my life, and I will kill you.” His voice held no doubt.
She gave one more nod as her hands moved protectively over her stomach.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CEDRI
Her tears finally stopped, and still no one had come. She’d given up trying to free her arms and legs from the chair, figuring the guards would be here any moment, but she was beginning to reconsider. Too much time had passed since the pyforial mages had left to kill Neeko. Something was wrong. What could’ve stopped the tavern keeper from getting to the guards?
Her left eye had swollen closed. Blood dripped from her throbbing forehead. Even her throat still burned from the choking.
At least she still had her fingers and eyes, but it was nothing to celebrate until she found out if Neeko had escaped. They’d beaten her even after she told them the correct room number, demanding to hear the truth. She’d wept and pleaded for them to stop, asserting that it was the truth. Eventually, they’d believed her and left.
That was at least half an hour ago. Please be alive, Neeko. She couldn’t bear the thought of him dying instead of her, especially when her life had such little purpose while he might go on to end the war. She could feel herself falling into a pit of sadness, the walls of the pit still low for now, ascendable. But depending on what she found out next, she might never get out.
Finally the door opened. The tavern keeper walked in hesitantly, no guards behind him. He found Cedri and cursed, running to her.
“Thank the gods you’re alive.” He stopped suddenly and glanced around the room, his nerves evident. “Are they still here?”
“No.”
He knelt and started working on the ropes around her leg. “I’m so thankful they didn’t kill you.”
“Because I gave them what they wanted.” Cedri could feel tears returning.
“What did they want?”
“Someone else.”
He couldn’t seem to untie the rope. He tried the other, the extended silence getting heavier.
“I’m so sorry, Cedri. I didn’t know they would do this, and I was scared to disobey them.”
