Kethril

by Carroll, John H.

  Anilyia sat on a stool in the corner while the woman and her assistant took care of the wound. They put herbs on it and used magic to close the wound and amplify the herb’s healing power. About a half hour later, the woman was done. She stood up, swaying just a bit. “Done. He’ll be weak for the next few days, but he’ll make it.” Anilyia couldn’t help but think that Liselle could have snapped her fingers and healed the wound.

  “You have to leave right away. We have a horse that we’ll tie him to,” the woman told her as she took a drink.

  “Right away?” Anilyia replied in alarm.

  “Yes. There are other bounty hunters looking for him. Normally, he would be able to outsmart them, but not in that condition. There are also more people hunting for you. The Empire of Iynath has placed a large bounty on your head, and even with the king killing most of their agents, you’re not safe here.”

  “Who are you? Why are you helping us?” Anilyia asked

  The woman sat down at the base of the bed after pouring a glass of wine from a bottle on a small table. Her helper was bandaging the thigh and putting a new pair of pants on because they had cut the first pair. Tathan would be upset about that. “Who we are isn’t important,” she answered with a thin smile. “You wouldn’t approve of us, but I assure you that Tathan of the Shadows has friends in just as many places as he has enemies. We’ll make certain you get out of Tillg safely, but you’re on your own after that.”

  “He’s ready to go,” the female helper said.

  “He doesn’t look ready,” Anilyia replied. Tathan was still unconscious on the bed looking quite the mess. They had his sword in its sheath leaning up against the headboard. Even though it was valuable, no one was trying to take it, nor had they rifled through his jacket or the money pouch the king had given him.

  “It doesn’t matter,” The woman responded, taking another sip of the wine. She stood and took a pouch out of a drawer in the table where the wine was. Anilyia watched her open it and take a pinch of white powder from it. The woman went to Tathan, opened his mouth and placed the powder under his tongue. “You must go. They’ll carry him out to the courtyard where your horse and his will be waiting.” She pointed at the two men waiting in the doorway. Anilyia jumped because they hadn’t been there a moment ago. They immediately went to Tathan and lifted him.

  “What was that powder?” Anilyia asked suspiciously.

  “It’ll help him wake up so he can ride. He’ll be disoriented at first, but you have to leave now. There’s no time to be gentle. Now go.”

  Tathan was regaining consciousness as the men lifted him onto a midnight-black horse. Mostly he was groaning and looking around in confusion. Anilyia’s horse was being held for her by a young woman about Millia and Chirelle’s age, dressed in the same black as all the others. The woman had a steely look in her eyes that belayed her age.

  Two more men rushed into the courtyard with saddlebags and packs. “We were able to get the saddlebags off his horse and a couple of items off the packhorse, but soldiers came and we had to run.” One of the men put the saddlebags on Tathan’s horse while the other put the extra packs on Anilyia’s.

  The reins of Tathan’s mount were put in her hands and both horses were smacked on the rump causing them to leap forward to the alley. Anilyia looked back at Tathan and saw that his hands were tied to the pommel at the front of the saddle. He was trying to regain his senses, but his head kept rolling to the side and drool was coming out of the corners of his mouth.

  Anilyia was truly afraid for him, but couldn’t think of any course of action other than riding. Outside the alley, she led Tathan’s horse at a walk. At the next corner, they passed the man who had shown them to the temple. “You’ll want to move more quickly,” he said ominously.

  Looking over her shoulder, she saw that Tathan’s eyes had cleared a bit and his head was no longer flopping about. He still wasn’t coherent, but she thought he would be able to handle traveling faster. Both horses were well bred with smooth gaits and she picked a pace that would keep him from being jostled as much as possible.

  She continued on the street for another mile. It was a major road with a few revelers and the occasional worker. The night was still clear and the temperature mild, which helped her fight off the exhaustion from the night’s events. Anilyia figured it would be about two hours before dawn broke. She giggled when she imagined the sky breaking in half as the sun hit it from underneath, then wondered how the expression came to be. Perhaps some time ago in history it had broken.

  Rambling thoughts made her realize how tired she was. Looking ahead, she realized a group of men was at the next intersection. Her senses flared danger and she pulled up. “There they are! We’ll be rich!” one yelled and the others cheered agreement as they started running toward the riders.

  Anilyia spun the horses and galloped back to the last street, turning toward the highway. Someone in the crowd threw a rock that missed. Fear was beginning to rise again and she stamped it down. They disappeared behind her and she was soon on the highway. A tented marketplace on the left was empty and quiet except for a few vendors that slept there at night.

  She slowed to a fast walk to preserve the horses. They seemed to be doing well, even with the stress. The one she was on was a beautiful steed. King Cranwer had given her one of the best. Tathan’s new mount was just as magnificent, much to her surprise.

  The market gave way to businesses. About another half mile further, two horsemen appeared on the highway ahead. They were dressed in dark cloaks and looked dangerous. Anilyia didn’t take any chances and turned onto a side street to her left. There were no other outlets available without riding back a short distance.

  It was a skinny road with small specialty shops that sold trinkets, items of dark magic and other odds and ends, the kind of shop a princess would never be allowed in. The main light was the mellow bluish glow from Siahray directly above. Dim candlelight came from the windows of a couple of shops while torches on the front of the occasional storefront flickered with their last few flames. Anilyia didn’t like it at all.

  The riders followed her into the alley. She looked over her shoulder at Tathan. His eyes were still glassy, though he was sitting up in the saddle better. Then two more riders appeared from the street in front of her, blocking off the escape. Anilyia looked around frantically for an escape and found none. All four riders stopped. Their faces were stone-cold and hard, letting her know not to expect kindness or mercy.

  Shadowy figures dropped onto the men from above. One rider to the front of her managed to avoid having his throat cut and threw his attacker off. The other fell to the ground, not being quick enough. Anilyia felt a few spatters of blood hit her face from the man and threw up an arm to try to avoid worse.

  Thuds from behind indicated that those riders fell prey to shadowy figures as well. Anilyia looked to see the bodies on the street and their attackers making sure the job was finished. In front of her, the lone rider had his sword out and was swinging it skillfully at the two figures who had teamed up against him. A whistling sound came from the street behind him and a bolo wrapped around the rider’s neck, choking him. It gave the other two attackers the opening to slide their daggers between his ribs and he fell to the ground.

  The princess had never seen death and violence so dark. It was more intense and gruesome than bards had ever mentioned in their songs. The bodies were moved to the gutter and the attackers went through the belongings. It seemed disrespectful, but she knew it was the way of the things. That didn’t make it any less unnerving.

  The shadowy figures finished looting the bounty hunters and took the horses away, two disappeared back down the street toward the highway and the other two turned north on the next street, silent except for the clopping of hooves. Anilyia sat there for a moment until she realized it was just her, Tathan and four dead bodies in the narrow passage. Curtains moved in a shop window and she saw an old woman’s face appear. The crone’s eyes grew wide and she disappear
ed back behind the curtains.

  Anilyia decided it would be unwise to stay around any longer and went back to the highway. Tillg was turning out to be a much larger city than she had imagined as she rode another mile and still saw buildings along the road.

  Her heart sank when she saw three more riders waiting. Anilyia looked around for the best way to escape them, but two more came out of the closest side street behind her. Looking back at Tathan again, she saw that his eyes were half-lidded and there was no real awareness. It was unfair that she was doing all the work when he was supposed to be protecting her.

  The sound of thundering hooves echoed off buildings as a squad of cavalrymen came around a corner behind the three riders. The sergeant raised his fist and slowed. “What goes on here?” he challenged. Anilyia saw a young wizard with the group. Sensing danger, the wizard cast a spell that visibly sent magical energy to the other members of the squad.

  The bounty hunters behind Anilyia slunk back down the street they had come from. The other three between her and the squad moved to the sides of the highway and started to follow their compatriots. The sergeant gestured for his men to spread out. “Hold I say! Go no further. You are wanted for questioning by the crown.” The riders spurred their mounts to a run. The squad galloped after them, leaving Anilyia to stare after in shock.

  “You should keep moving, you know.” A cowled woman leaned against a porch post of a general store. She was dressed in the same black clothes as the people from the temple. “Ride four miles outside of the city and then turn east on a lonely dirt road called ‘Crow Lane’. You’ll see a crow on top of the sign. There’s always one there. Ride ten miles until you reach an abandoned church with a rotting roof. There’ll be crows on it as well. You can rest there without being disturbed until tomorrow morning.” With that, the woman climbed up the post, grabbed the bottom of the second floor balcony, swung herself up and disappeared over the roof to the darkness beyond.

  Anilyia stared after her. The people in black had helped her every step of the way, so she had no reason not to take the advice. She set the horses at a distance-eating trot, knowing they would be able to keep the pace for a few hours and hoping Tathan would be able to handle the jostling.

  ***

  Other than stopping to give the horses water, Anilyia continued traveling until she reached Crow Lane just as the sun was beginning to rise. Sure enough, there was a crow sitting on top of the sign. It cawed at her once. She didn’t know what to think about it and was too tired to care. The horses were tired too, but she didn’t dare take the time to rest them. Clouds coming in from the ocean threatened to make it a wet, dreary day and she hoped she would make it before the rain came.

  ***

  A little over an hour later, just as the first drops of cold rain were beginning to fall, she reached the abandoned church. The clouds had sped across the sky along with a brisk wind that whipped Anilyia’s hair about her face. In most of the areas she had ridden through, the leaves wore brilliant fall colors. However, the trees here had already lost all but a few scraggly leaves, giving the place a stark and uninviting feel.

  The church walls were dark stone and it had a red, wood-shingled roof that was rotting. Past rains falling on the roof had left red trails down the stone, making it appear as though the church was bleeding.

  Crows stared at them from the roof and trees. She felt like she was being judged as she walked the horses past the rusted iron gate that was lying ineffectively on the ground nearby. There were hitching posts in the yard outside. Most were fallen, but one was good enough to tie the horses to.

  It was the first time she had been off the horse since the temple. After tying the horses to the post, Anilyia stretched her aching arms and legs. Another bath and a nap would have been lovely. She moved to Tathan who was staring blankly ahead. His hands were still tied to the pommel. The person who made the knots was an expert and it took her five minutes to get them undone. She even cussed once during the process.

  “Tathan? Tathan, you need to get down so we can get you some rest.” He didn’t respond. She smacked his uninjured leg and yelled, “Hey! Tathan! Come on, get off the horse.” He finally looked at her with a confused frown before nodding and sliding off. She had to catch him as he stumbled.

  Putting his left arm around her shoulder, she helped him inside the church. Inside were a number of broken pews littering the ground and an untouched statue of a hooded woman kneeling on a dais at the far wall. Shafts of grey daylight leaked in from the broken ceiling, letting drops of rain patter inside.

  The princess set Tathan at the edge of one of the pews that was still upright and went to look around. A door at the far end was still intact and unlocked. Inside was a large room with a firepit in the middle of the floor. Wood was arranged in the pit for a campfire. More wood was stacked along one of the walls and straw was lain out for five beds. The ceiling was even intact. She got the impression that they weren’t the only ones who used the church as a hideout.

  Remembering something Tathan had told her back at the Lost Inn, she checked the rest of the building to make certain there were no hidden surprises. In the process, she found a watering trough and feed for the horses.

  She brought the horses inside and tied them to a rail along one of the walls. Anilyia realized she should take off the saddles and brush them down, but was too tired and honestly hated taking care of mundane tasks. Plus, the rain was getting heavier and dripping on her. She was feeling petulant and abused.

  Her biggest concern was Tathan. Once she had the sleeping rolls off the horses and set on the straw beds, she started a fire in the pit. Then she went back to Tathan. He was still sitting on the pew, his arms slumped on his lap and his gaze straight ahead. She knelt in front of him and caressed his cheek. “Are you going to be alright, love?”

  Tathan blinked twice and looked at her. His eyes were still glassy, but there was some comprehension. He smiled and said, “Mabibble honk to the wibble.”

  Anilyia laughed helplessly. It was either that or cry. “Alright then. Let’s get you to bed.” She put his arm around her shoulder again and helped him limp to the sleeping rolls. His was on the bottom and hers on top so they could sleep next to each other. Anilyia took his boots off and helped him inside the makeshift bed.

  The princess took one last look around the church before going back into the room and closing the door. Then she curled up next to him and fell instantly asleep out of sheer exhaustion.

  Chapter 19

  Anilyia woke to the smell of cooking food. She groaned as she pushed herself up and looked around. Tathan was sitting on a stool and frying something in a pan. A cloth partially covered sliced bread and cheese on a wooden cutting board. Her stomach growled in response, demanding she get up and seize the food that taunted so cruelly.

  Tathan smiled tiredly at her. To her relief, the glassiness was mostly gone from his eyes. His hair was sweaty and knotted with dried blood from killing the kidnappers the night before. He had rinsed his face at some point, but there were still a few spots.

  “Gar ish magg di,” Tathan told her while holding up the pan he was frying food in. He pointed at a clean plate in front of her and then pointed at the bread and cheese.

  Anilyia sat up straighter and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Frowning, she tried to piece together the words he had spoken. She failed. “Huh?”

  “Ible wug froo,” Tathan clarified.

  She shook her head to clear it. The words still didn’t make sense. “Tathan? Are you alright?” she asked in a worried voice.

  “Mabibble honk to the wibble,” he answered reassuringly. “Gar zif wawa.” Grabbing a cooking spoon, he began scraping some of it onto her plate. It looked to be a mix of potatoes, bacon, eggs, vegetables and some herbs. He stopped upon seeing the horrified look on her face.

  Anilyia gulped. “Tathan . . . can you understand what I’m saying?”

  “Mabibble honk to the wibble,” he replied with a nod. The expression on his
face was one of concern. “Imshammalla?” He was speaking nonsense, but seemed to understand what she was saying.

  Tears came to Anilyia’s eyes. The stress was beginning to get to her. This adventure was not what she bargained for. At the same time, she wasn’t about to start crying again. She had used up her quota back at the castle.

  Tathan came over and wrapped his arms around her. She held onto him, letting his strength flow into her. There were times when she wished she could climb into his skin and just stay there with him. He lifted her chin with his finger and looked her closely in the eyes. “Zub zub?”

  “Oh, Tathan! You’re speaking gibberish. None of the words you say are making any sense,” she said. “I think you hit your head or something.”

  He disagreed. “Gabble fom. Zabibble ho frr ghl.” Tathan explained what happened. He stood up, wiggled his fingers and made ominous gestures. “Ga zzii mu mu mu foooo az!” A spin and a hop on his good leg was added for emphasis. Then he got on his knees and began stuffing food in his mouth.

  “The squirrel! Steve the squirrel, right?” Anilyia guessed. He nodded and began making the gestures again. Anilyia knew exactly who he was talking about. “Felina, the bounty hunter! Is that it?”

  “Mabibble honk to the wibble!” he mumbled around the food.

  “So, she did this to you? How?”

  He thought for a moment before continuing the charades. She watched him point at both of them and mimic riding a horse. “We were both riding,” she guessed. He nodded and pointed at her. Then he did the gestures again and thrust his arm forward. “Felina cast a spell . . . as we were riding away.” Tathan jumped up and clapped, pointing at her again. He mimicked riding again and smacked himself in the back of the head.