Edgewind: Chronicles of Nahtan: Book 4 (The Herridon Chronicles)

by D. L. Kramer

"I think he may be right," Mo'ani said after a moment. "Either you're going to kill him, or he's going to kill you."

  "I know he's right," Nahtan responded, his tone cold. "The only reason he's not dead now is because I didn't have my sword on me." He looked over to where Bear sat with Valry near the fire. It had taken her several minutes to quit crying and Nahtan had asked his friend to keep her away from him until Yenene had stitched the wound and he had calmed down. He knew he wouldn't hurt her, but didn't want her to see his anger, or his blood.

  "They were all ready to take him down for you," Mo'ani continued after a moment, motioning to the warriors in the camp. Even with the flickering light of the fire, Nahtan could see that many still gave Rial dark looks as he tended to his horse, not even willing to leave the camp to let everyone get over the upset he had caused. Tosia in particular seemed to take an interest in each move Rial made. Both Nahtan and Mo'ani knew they wouldn't take any steps on their own, realizing that order was for Nahtan to give.

  "Thank you for stopping them," Nahtan nodded to him. "When this finally ends, it'll just be between him and me." He paused for a moment. "It's probably a good thing Brijade wasn't here," he added.

  "Is she still looking for a reason to kill him?" Mo'ani asked.

  Nahtan nodded his head again, then winced and jerked back reflexively as Yenene tied off her last stitch. "She has a reason, she's just looking for an opportunity," he answered.

  "Then it probably was a good thing she wasn't here," Mo'ani agreed.

  "You're lucky he didn't hit you closer to the neck," Yenene said, handing Nahtan back his tunic. "Or Valry would be our queen now."

  "He hit what he was aiming for," Nahtan told her. "If he'd wanted to kill me, he would have."

  Mo'ani considered Nahtan for a moment. "What if he's trying to get you to kill him?" he asked. "Though I don't see why."

  Nahtan couldn't help but smile. "Then you don't know him very well," he returned. "If that's what he was after, then he wouldn't have stopped today."

  His eyes moved over to Bear and Valry as he thought about what Rial had said when he surrendered his dagger. There was something about Valry that kept the vicious young lord from going too far. But what could it possibly be? Why would her presence alone stop him from finishing the fight they always seemed headed for?

  He remembered the way Rial watched her while they traveled, how he always seemed to know where she was, even when Bear didn't. Maybe his intentions towards her weren't evil as Nahtan had initially thought. Maybe, for some reason, the young lord was trying to protect her, even if that meant protecting her from himself. He turned back to Yenene as she picked up her things.

  "Has Jensina said anything about any connections between Rial and Valry?" he asked her.

  Yenene looked surprised for a second, then shook her head. "She never speaks of him," she answered. "And she hasn't warned me of any danger towards Valry from him."

  "What about Kutci?" he continued.

  Again, she shook her head. "Kutci really only helps me with the healing and to tell me of you and the others like you," she said. "Mostly, she advises me the best way to treat an injury or illness."

  Nahtan sighed and nodded his head, then pulled his tunic back on and stood up from the back of the wagon. He turned to Mo'ani.

  "Did you finish talking to Gaurel and Garren?" he asked.

  "Yes," Mo'ani replied. "They didn't spot any church guards who seemed extremely loyal, and quite a few were almost openly soliciting for bribes. They used up most of the coins we gave them. The church guards seemed to take advantage of their seeming naiveté and tell them they had far fewer than they did."

  Nahtan nodded. "Anything else?" he asked.

  "If what they heard is right," Mo'ani answered slowly. "This 'captain' will be here next week sometime."

  Nahtan stopped, raising an eyebrow at Mo'ani. "Thorvald is coming here?" he asked.

  Mo'ani nodded his head. "But they only heard mention of it at the front gate, so I don't know how reliable it is."

  Nahtan considered this as he walked to his tent. Why would Thorvald come here, and now? Rial had been here for a considerable length of time and hadn't been able to even catch a glimpse of him. And regardless of whatever else Rial was, Nahtan did not question his abilities.

  He shook his head, clearing the thoughts from it. He had other things to worry about right now. Brijade should be back within a few days, and until then, he didn't dare make himself too obvious. If Garren and Gaurel had done what they were sent to, word would spread through Edgewind that he was here. By the time Brijade returned, the church guards would have had plenty of time to decide which side they were going to join.

  Although the knowledge that Thorvald was calling himself their king complicated things, Nahtan figured his presence would only draw the renegade church guard out all that much sooner. And if Thorvald was indeed coming here to Edgewind, the time and circumstances might be right for them to confront him in battle. Or at the very least for Nahtan to hunt him down personally.

  Twenty One - "Did he threaten Valry?"

  Brijade came riding back into camp five days later. Her black hair was windblown and hung to her shoulder blades in a tangled mass. Her red cloak was thrown back behind both shoulders as she pulled Essian to a stop near the picket line for the horses.

  "Is everything all right with the army?" Nahtan asked, standing from his seat on the back of one of the wagons and walking towards her. He carried his skinning knife and sharpening stone and the blade was now exceptionally sharp.

  "How many did you send with Arlend?" Brijade asked. She tossed her head, flipping her hair back.

  "A thousand," Nahtan asked, sensing something was wrong. "Why?"

  "Hmm." Brijade paused for a moment, her expression considering something only she could see, then shook her head and led Essian over to unsaddle him and tie him with the other horses. "You don't have that many there now," she finally answered.

  "What's going on?" Nahtan asked her, hoping she wasn't going to tell him the army had been discovered and ambushed. She was already two days late returning, and he had been only a few short hours away from sending scouts out to track her.

  Brijade turned serious eyes to him, her expression just as somber. "I'd say you're closer to about fourteen hundred now," she finally said, then broke into a smile. "Arlend had a serious problem with church guards wanting to join his ranks on the march down here."

  Nahtan let out a sigh, then shook his head at her, not letting himself get angry with her. He found it wasn't easy. "Don't do that to me," he admonished her.

  Brijade chuckled. "You're awfully tense," she noted, unbuckling Essian's saddle and pulling it off the Dwellers' horse.

  "It hasn't been a good week," Bear noted, sauntering over casually. "Besides all the children in town coming out for peeks at the camp, there have been a few adults who just happened along the road."

  "I thought you wanted to let them know you were here," Brijade said to Nahtan.

  "There's been a slight change," Nahtan told her. "I'm not making my presence known for a few more days."

  Brijade looked from Nahtan to Bear. "So what did I miss?" she asked deliberately.

  "Just him and Lord Valin trying to kill each other," Bear said easily. "It was pretty much a unanimous decision that we're glad you weren't here."

  Brijade's green eyes narrowed and her gaze shifted to the dark haired Lord of Valin Hold. Rial stood at the north end of the camp, leaning against a twisted elm tree and watching Valry and Tion play around the other nearby trees.

  "The tension is finally starting to let up," Bear told her. "Let's not start anything else right now."

  Brijade's eyes moved to meet Bear's. "Did he threaten Valry?" she asked carefully.

  "No," Nahtan answered her. "She's the reason he stopped before anymore blood was lost."

  "Damn," Brijade muttered. She looked back to Nahtan. "Next time someone else goes."

  "The next time will be to delive
r orders to march on the town," Nahtan told her.

  "And someone else can do it," Brijade repeated. She patted Essian's neck, pausing for the slightest moment. Nahtan saw Essian tilt his head towards his mistress, then shake his mane and go back to eating the grass between his hooves. He wondered what she had just instructed the horse to do, but didn't ask. He doubted she'd tell him the truth anyway.

  Two days later, the scouts to the west of the camp came riding in early one evening with the news that Thorvald's procession was coming their way. Thorvald himself was riding in the center of the parade, surrounded by nearly two dozen church guards and a number of functionaries. Nahtan didn't pay much heed to the numbers. They weren't here to start a fight just yet. He was more interested in getting a look at just who exactly this Thorvald was and what sort of people he surrounded himself with.

  As Nahtan and the others started preparing themselves to stand in Thorvald's way, Bear saddled Chase and Ayita and left with Valry and Tion, riding overland towards Nahtan's army in the east. He would carry news of Thorvald's arrival to Arlend, plus ensure Valry's safety in case there was any fighting.

  When they were ready, Nahtan and the others took to their horses, riding up and spreading themselves across the road in four rows of five each and the back row consisting of three people. Nahtan sat in the middle of the first row, his red and gold cloak ruffling gently in the breeze. To his right sat Brijade and Mallin, and to his left Mo'ani and Tosia. Behind them, Adie, Calan, Rial, Yenene, Gaurel and Garren were spaced with the other Mo'ani.

  Nahtan had wanted Garren to stay with Adie, but Gaurel had quickly and quietly led Nahtan's brother to a position near the rear, and now sat on his horse beside the other young man, Yenene on Garren's other side. For some reason, Nahtan knew the position was the safest place he could have found for Garren. As long as he stayed with these two, he would be safe.

  Just before the approaching procession rounded the curve in the road ahead, the giant falcon let out a despairing cry and jumped from his place on Gaurel's saddle horn. The bird cleared the waiting group with two flaps of his giant wings, circling higher, then turning to the west. After flying a short distance, Nahtan felt a mental nudge against his mind, similar to Renato's greeting to him. He shook his head, his eyes studying the distant bird.

  "And he shall speak to animals other than thy loyal Dwellers' horses," Tosia's voice came to him, quoting to him part of the prophecy that told his loyal followers how they would know him.

  Nahtan suddenly remembered Tiimu, Bear's pet kit fox. He had been able to touch Tiimu's mind as easily as the stallion's or Tyran's. He looked over at Mo'ani, and the old man nodded solemnly. Turning back to the circling falcon, he opened his mind to the bird, returning the mental nudge with one of his own. Images flooded his mind then, of a group so far below that he could barely distinguish the men from their horses. The falcon possessed an incredible intelligence, and Nahtan caught a brief inquiry of why they hadn't spoken with each other that way before. The falcon was also incredibly old, and Nahtan could sense a deep regret within the ages the bird had seen. There was something else, too, but when Nahtan tried to follow the thought, the bird pushed him away from it.

  With another nudge from him, the falcon circled lower. Nahtan let him continue to send the images to him, noting the placement of the church guards, as well as those who were not obvious threats. In the center of the group, a man of nearly sixty rode with an imperial air. His expression was detached from those around him and a heavy white cloak with a fur collar sat over his shoulders. His hair was nearly white and cut short. His beard was peppered with both dark and white hair, and also trimmed short. Just behind him rode three cloaked figures, the hoods on their cloaks pulled up to conceal their faces. Nahtan felt the falcon shudder at the three figures and sensed the evil that emanated from them.

  "Thorvald is in the center," Nahtan relayed what he saw to those around him. "He's wearing a white cloak." He paused for a moment. "There are three people riding behind him that aren't warriors, but they can still be dangerous." In the visions in his mind, he saw several church guards point to the falcon and one draw his bow. Before Nahtan could warn the bird, the falcon let out another cry and dove down on the church guard with incredible speed and force. He pulled away at the last moment, nearly knocking the guard from his saddle. Before the guard could recover, the falcon had circled around and flown back to settle on Nahtan's arm.

  Nahtan took a steady breath. "Don't do that again," he told the bird. The falcon regarded him with one golden eye, blinked twice, then hopped down onto the saddle horn and began straightening his feathers.

  "Nahtan?" Adie's voice came from directly behind him. Nahtan turned to look at her. "Yenene says there's someone very evil in the group," Adie relayed Yenene's message. "Jensina is warning her that you should be cautious until you know exactly who it is and what they can do."

  Nahtan nodded his head, turning forward in his saddle again. It was only a few moments later when the first church guards rounded the curve in the road.

  Obviously startled to see the road blocked by grim-faced, armed warriors, the church guards pulled to a sudden halt, nearly being run into by those behind them.

  "What's going on?!" a commanding voice demanded from further back in the procession. Nahtan guessed the question came from Thorvald himself. One of the front guards turned and spoke to someone behind him, and a moment later, the man in the white cloak pushed his way to the front, his roan stallion stamping impatiently on the ground.

  Nahtan heard Tosia mutter a curse as she recognized Thorvald's horse as one of the Dwellers'. Thorvald spurred the roan forward, his eyes intent on Nahtan. Several yards away, he reined in.

  "So the prophesied king of Herridon would seek to challenge my authority," he said, his eyes intent only on Nahtan as he disregarded the others. Thorvald's voice rang through Nahtan's memories, and he remembered being pulled by his arm from his parents' hut in Edgewind by this man. "Go back to Herridon and wait for my siege army," Thorvald continued. "You have no name here, and soon will have no name there."

  "I had no name for a long time," Nahtan returned, clenching his left hand into a fist. The familiar pain served to distract him from his anger for only a second. "But I do now, and the power is in that name."

  "Surely you can do better than to quote old prophecy to me," Thorvald taunted. "Now clear the road before I have my men clear you from it."

  Before Nahtan could respond, Yenene pushed her horse forward to stand beside Renato. Her black eyes searched the road where it was hidden by trees, obscuring the rest of Thorvald's party.

  "Move," she whispered.

  Nahtan looked at her, his eyes asking her what she was being warned about.

  "Move," Yenene repeated, her voice quiet. "If you confront him now, you'll die."

  "He will not go to Edgewind by this road," Nahtan said, clenching his fist again. "The road is mine and he will not continue to use it."

  Yenene's eyes were filled with tears as she turned to him. "I can't let you die," she said, her voice still a whisper. Turning forward again, she tapped her heels to her horse's flanks. The stallion responded by moving forward. Yenene rode to stand directly in front of Nahtan, then pulled her horse to a stop.

  "Yenene, move!" Nahtan ordered her, his anger finally flooding over the last of his control. His hands began to shake with rage as he gripped Renato's reins.

  "Dissension in the ranks?" Thorvald asked, his tone amused. He shifted his gaze past Yenene to Nahtan. "You had best gain control of your own companions before you try to gain control over my land--especially your women."

  Nahtan turned to Tosia and she nodded her head a single time. A moment later, Yenene's horse seemed to pause, then turned to look over his shoulder at the slight Dweller woman who had touched his mind. In response to Tosia's summons, Yenene's horse stepped back to stand between Mo'ani and Tosia.

  "No!" Yenene turned a desperate look to Tosia. "Let him go."

  Tos
ia's only response was a solemn shake of her head.

  "There is no dissension in my ranks," Nahtan said to Thorvald. In response to his mental request, Renato moved forward several steps, then stopped again. "And I know how disloyal your guards within the village are. If you want to enter Edgewind tonight, you will not do it by the road."

  Thorvald chuckled. "The guards within the village are expendable," he said. "They are nothing more than second and third rate soldiers who refused to dedicate themselves to more advanced training and a higher purpose." He paused for a moment. "You're more than welcome to kill them if it would make you feel you've accomplished something. I haven't gotten around to eliminating them just yet."

  "Careful," Mo'ani's voice warned Nahtan, barely loud enough for him to hear. "He's looking for something."

  Nahtan didn't bother answering; he already knew what Thorvald was trying to bait him into. "But for the moment they serve a purpose," he returned. "And they aren't who I'm here to kill." He struggled to stop himself from drawing his sword and charging the man. The falcon sensed his aggression and shifted from foot to foot on Nahtan's saddle.

  From behind Thorvald, one of the cloaked riders appeared, his horse walking slowly and deliberately to Thorvald's side before stopping. Leaning slightly towards Thorvald, he seemed to speak, though Nahtan could not hear any hint of a voice or make out a face between the shadow of the cloak's hood and the fading light. Thorvald's eyes narrowed and his gaze shifted to Yenene, then over the rest of Nahtan's companions. Finally, they returned to Nahtan. "It would seem our encounter is premature," he said finally, his voice with an oddly subdued tone to it. "As your priestess no doubt tried to warn you, also." His gaze shifted over the group beside and behind Nahtan again, stopping two or three more times on individuals, though Nahtan didn't know who he was looking at when he did. Thorvald held up one hand and motioned his group forward to where he was. The church guards who had headed his procession led the rest forward and they stopped again behind Thorvald. "Your victory is the road today," Thorvald told Nahtan. "When we meet again, my victory will be your life." Without another word, he led his party off the road and around Nahtan's group.