As Dragons from Sleep (The Tahaerin Chronicles Book 2)

by J. Ellen Ross

  The road wound around a hill in a wide arc. They would have to hurry to meet the others and get in place in the woods. “No, I haven’t. It’s a lovely day to try. Let’s go,” Tibor said, excitement coloring his voice. Turning their mounts, they raced down to where the rest of the patrol waited.

  Ten minutes later, Tibor heard the signal, a soft whistle sounding like any one of a dozen different forest songbirds. He and his horse burst out of the underbrush a fair distance behind the enemy horses, short bow ready in his hands. Hunting from horseback always excited him. On the ground, he was a skilled archer. On the back of a galloping horse, few could beat him.

  The first arrow took one of the black-robed men in the throat. Pulling another arrow from his saddle quiver, he had it nocked before the Deojrin toppled from his horse. His second arrow flew just as his target turned in his saddle, dying even as his eyes fastened on Tibor.

  The other riders burst from cover, startling the Deojrin. Tibor used the brief instant where the remaining mind reader turned his attention to the Tahaerin soldiers to ready a third arrow and release it.

  But now his weapon fell from limp hands and he felt himself falling sideways as he lost control of his legs. He could no longer breathe. The last thing he saw were the hooves of the horse behind him rushing at his head.

  ***

  Once more, the weight of sleep lifted and Leisha became dimly aware of being nearly awake. She heard the incessant clicking of the clock.

  “They’re coming for you, you know.” Lorant’s voice sounded close to her ear. “They’re coming and they’re going to drag you back to him. He told us what they do to your kind.”

  When she opened her eyes, she saw him leaning over the side of bed, his face almost touching hers. He reached out to pull a strand of her hair between his fingers.

  “Gerolt is very excited to get his hands on you. His plans don’t sound pleasant, honestly. But I can’t say that I care much. You nearly bankrupted my father-in-law after my wedding, and he never gave me all the lands he promised me in return for taking his daughter off his hands. Because you wanted to prove a point, I lost out.”

  Leisha felt the tingling of pins and needles beginning to move down her limbs. They were going to feed her this time, then. She only had the feeling when they let the drug wear off some. Hunger pains gnawed at her.

  “He told us they start with branding. Passages from their holy book. It hurts like hell, but it won’t kill you. They let you recover before moving on to something new, which is nice, I suppose. Scourging sounds just awful.”

  She tried to block out Lorant’s voice, but it was so insistent, caressing her with his words as he whispered into her ear. On and on he went, recounting one form of torture or another, all things she had seen in Edvard’s memories. The blood, the screaming, the smell, all crowded around her. Before, she would have felt her heart beginning to beat sluggishly, fighting against the flowers. She would have felt the panic, the longing to see Zaraki one more time before the Deojrin destroyed her.

  “You know you mumble his name in your sleep, over and over. You don’t know if he’s alive or not, do you? You don’t remember when I killed him.” Lorant chuckled.

  Leisha tried to shake her head and deny it. Some part of her remembered seeing Zaraki flee with Aniska, but the flowers held her tight in their web and she could not think clearly. Too many hours of confused dreams, too many cycles of waking and sleeping left her thoughts a maelstrom of sounds and nightmares and memories. They swirled together in a jumbled mess until she could no longer tease out the strands of her life.

  She remembered a thought, a whispered prayer. They didn’t kill him. It felt more like a fevered wish or hope rather than a memory. And still Lorant droned on. The only respite came when the door opened again and he scrambled back, looking guilty.

  Leisha turned her head and saw Lukas coming in with a tray. “Lorant, let her be. There’s no reason to torment her. Can she sit up yet?”

  The former Lord of Adrojan grabbed her shoulders and pulled her upright. Her head fell back—then lolled to one side. “Still a little out of it, it looks like. But she’s coming around.”

  Lukas frowned. “Be gentle.”

  “Why? Who cares?” Lorant whined. “You know what they’re going to do to her. You heard Von mention what Gerolt intends. I don’t know why we don’t have our fun with her, too.”

  “Because we’re not animals like they are, Lorant. Gods above, do I really have to say that?” Lukas snapped, sounding annoyed.

  Leisha closed her eyes, a decision forming in her mind. Sadness turned to confused acceptance. Nightmares and visions, memories and reality wove themselves together into a single thought that felt authentic. Zaraki was dead, no one would come for her and no one could save her from the torturer’s knives.

  Though she could not free herself, she would not sit passively and await her fate. That had never been her way. She would not eat. Not this time, or ever again. She would not help them murder her, and no tears fell this time as she said goodbye.

  Rescue

  Before dawn, Zaraki cracked open his door and slipped into the hallway. They wanted to keep knowledge of the rescue as secret as possible to avoid alerting Lukas. He heard footsteps and saw Danica rushing towards him.

  “Here, my lord,” she said breathlessly, thrusting one of the two packs she held at him. “I thought I’d missed you. Here, you need these things.”

  “Danica—” he tried to say, but she cut him off.

  “I know you’re going to save her. I didn’t tell anyone, but I saw you and the spymaster smiling yesterday. There’s a light riding dress and combs, ribbons and hairpins, food she likes. And boots, I remembered boots, too. Everything she’ll need when you find her. Good hunting, my lord.” She stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek.

  Zaraki watched her rushing down the hallway to knock on Eamon’s door. Then he looked down at the pack she had handed him, stunned into silence and relieved someone had thought of a change of clothes for Leisha.

  ***

  Six riders left Cheylm Castle together, heading for the Vinca. Their first night out, they slept on the Tahaerin side of the river, steering clear of the main road and anyone who might see them. They could not risk raising a warning for Lukas.

  The next day at mid-morning, they approached the river. Ani sent Jan and Eamon to scout, and they killed a man crouching in the tall grass, watching the crossing they intended to use. Inside his pack, Eamon found a shirt embroidered with Lukas’s badge.

  Ani turned them south until a long, wide stretch of river appeared where few trees grew to give cover to prying eyes that might betray them. The Vinca flowed slowly here, and she stood watching for an hour before giving orders for them to ford. They put their horses in the river and let the animals pull them across, holding packs over their heads to keep their food dry. When they landed, she and Zaraki searched for any tracks to indicate someone had seen them and run off to report it.

  “All clear,” Ani declared finally. “Everyone a bit drier? Are we ready to move?”

  Heads nodded and the party moved into the woods. Just as Eamon suggested, they found a small cart path leading north towards the road to the keep. Aniska kept them moving, noting landmarks and scouting for good campsites for the return trip. She would not have them racing back blindly through woods they knew nothing about on their return.

  Before night fell, Irion found a small clearing, well off the cart track. Ancient trees and an outcropping of stone provided a good deal of cover, and Ani ordered a stop. “This is the last fire until we’re back in Tahaerin,” she announced. “So everyone enjoy being warm tonight.” Out in the open, even in summer, the nights were cool.

  In the middle of the night, Jan took his turn on watch. He missed his son and daughter when boredom overtook him. During the day, he could push that part of his life aside, but here in the woods, he felt lonely. Suddenly, Zaraki startled and sat upright, sweating. “You all right, sir?” he
asked.

  His friend sighed and ran his hands over his face. “Fine. It was just a dream. I’m used to them.”

  For a long moment, Jan said nothing, then he came to some decision. “Don’t tell her.” He jerked his head at Aniska’s sleeping form. “But if this doesn’t work, I’m with you, whatever you’re planning. Ivanka said she understands.”

  Right now, assuming they did not find Leisha at the keep, Zaraki’s plan mostly consisted of slicing off parts of Lukas until the prince told him where she was. After that, he would come up with something more detailed, and though Ani put up a fierce front, he knew she would come along. She would be deliberate, try to play the part of the Ostravan spy acting in her employer’s best interests until circumstances demanded action and her natural pragmatism asserted itself. Then he knew she would discard her vows and training as easily as he did. “I hope it doesn’t come to it, but thank you.”

  “We’re going to get her back, sir. That’s the only choice.”

  ***

  In the morning, they found the main road. Here the trees grew thick and tall. No one had cleared underbrush in years, though someone kept the road in good condition. They would spend several days mostly scouting the old forest, looking for places to hide the horses and camp at night. But for now, they left their mounts with Irion well back from the road and made their way through the trees.

  When a squat keep surrounded by an imposing curtain wall came into view, they crouched down, watching from the woods. No flags flew to announce a prince in residence, surprising Aniska a bit. “Lukas must have someone advising him,” she said, pointing it out to Eamon. “Usually, he’s an entitled fop.”

  Squinting into the morning sun, Jan said, “We don’t know if she’s still in there. Should we try to get someone inside? Scout it out?”

  “It would have to be Eamon,” Zaraki said. “All the rest of us are known to Lukas.”

  “No.” Aniska dismissed the idea. “Any hint we’re here and they’ll never open the gates. Our patrols haven’t found any sign of them crossing the Tymek. If they really are going to give her to the Deojrin, they’re still here. If not, they’ll have taken her deeper into Embriel already. We wait.”

  They retreated back to Irion and the horses.

  “All right. We’re here, so let’s get started,” Ani said. “Eli, you and Irion will take first watch on the two gates. Eamon, take Jan and go look for patrols. I want to know how vigilant they’re being. Be sure not to kill anyone unless it’s necessary.

  “You all know where the camp is for tonight? Good. Zaraki and I are going to scout it out again and make sure it’s still safe. If you can’t find us later, we all know where to meet, right?” Heads nodded. Ani knew success or failure here largely depended on their ability to stay out of sight and keep the little tower under constant watch. Boredom and frustration would be their true enemies until the gates opened.

  For a week, the six of them ate dried food and slept huddled under cloaks. They could not light fires for fear of alerting the keep to their presence. Aniska assigned them their tasks each morning and tried to rotate them so no one got too bored. Horses still had to be cared for, the gates had to be watched at all times, as well as the roads leading to the little fortress. Someone had to remove any trace of their presence each morning. None of the Ostravans ever trained for combat on horseback, so when they could, they passed the time with Irion giving them all very rudimentary lessons and ideas of how to adapt to it.

  ***

  “Symon, they’re running out of time.” It did not need to be said, they both knew it. Still, Andelko released the words mournfully as they sat together after dinner. Two weeks since the abduction, and nearly a week since Aniska and the others left and there had been no word. More than enough time for Gerolt to send people to retrieve her.

  “I’m going upstairs early. I don’t want to think tonight.” The big man pushed himself out of his chair by the fireplace and stalked out.

  Symon said nothing as he watched him go. Leisha’s kidnapping hit Andelko especially hard, and most evenings he locked himself in his room to drink after his duties were over. By morning, he would be sober and clear-eyed, showing no signs of an evening spent in his cups.

  Climbing the stairs back to his rooms, Symon once again reflected how lonely and quiet the castle felt without the others. Now almost all of his collection of young people, all of whom he loved, were missing or lost as a war tore his kingdom apart. He never imagined spending his later years this way.

  An hour later, huddled over a pile of papers on the desk in his room, his head resting in his hands, Symon heard someone rushing down the hallway. He jerked himself upright. People could not see any sign of despair now, especially with both Leisha and Zaraki gone. Andelko’s presence steadied the army, but it would not last forever. The men levied from the lords would be the first to desert.

  A servant poked his head around the open door. “Sir? There’s a patrol just come in. Says they need to speak to you or the Lord Constable. He’s not answering.”

  “Yes, let’s go and see what they need.”

  Retracing his path down the stairs, Symon found two filthy soldiers, one sporting a black eye and an arm in a splint. “What’s happened?” he asked, alarmed and trying to imagine why they would come to him and not to their captain.

  The taller one, with a young man’s beard, said, “I’m Petrick, sir, and this is Tibor. We wanted to report we found a group of twenty of those Deojrin fuc— Ah, sorry. Twenty enemy riders heading east three days ago.”

  “We did just like the queen said,” the injured young man said, interrupting and sounding very animated. “Just like she showed me in Savne.”

  “Tibor was amazing, sir. He shot three of their mind readers clean off their horses. Dead, all of them. Then it was easy to kill the rest.” Petrick grinned at him expectantly.

  Symon smiled, hoping his disappointment did not show. Certainly an accomplishment, but nothing that warranted a visit to the Lord Constable. “Excellent news, men. Excellent.”

  “Sir,” Petrick said, looking to his friend and back. “These men, they were headed to Embriel to get the queen. Show him.”

  With awkward movements, Tibor pulled his pack off with his good arm and rummaged around before producing a large, oiled leather pouch. “When we searched the bodies, we found this.”

  Symon looked inside and found several letters, the first of which he could not read. The flowing Deojrin script looked much like the words carved into the stone in Branik. However, one letter, addressed to Lukas, thanked the prince for his cooperation and introduced a man called Mogens as Gerolt’s representative. It spelled out the terms of their agreement and detailed what Lukas and Lorant would receive in exchange for Leisha. Further down, and more puzzling, Symon found additional rewards if the prince managed to also take Andelko alive.

  This did not seem like the young man Symon met nearly three years ago in Otokar. Spoiled and entitled for sure, Lukas did not seem the type to barter away a life so easily. Either way, he understood Petrick and Tibor’s excitement. It was the first good news they had received since this debacle began.

  “Find a servant, ask for dinner and rooms for you and the others tonight,” he said. “Tomorrow, I want you to tell everyone in the camp who will listen. They need to know. I have to go tell the Lord Constable.”

  Trotting as fast as his aging legs permitted, Symon hurried through the halls to Andelko’s rooms. He knocked twice, and receiving no answer, let himself in.

  Sitting in a chair, facing away, Andelko did not look back. “What is the point of having a door and not answering it, if you’re just going to come in any way?” he asked sourly.

  Symon marched in and plucked the glass from Andelko’s hand. “My friend, I have news and I want a drink.”

  ***

  “Lorant, we’re going to have to do something,” Lukas began as the two men sat down to dinner. “You saw her this morning. She’s losing weight. Also, I’
m sick of venison.” He pushed the plate of roasted meat away, annoyed as the choices for meals dwindled and supplies ran low.

  “That’s going to happen if she keeps refusing to eat.” His friend looked unconcerned and went to work on his plate of food. “They said they’d be here. I’m sure they’re on the way.”

  “I know, but they’re not here yet and we may have to think about taking her to them or meeting them halfway.”

  Lorant made a disgusted face and gave a dramatic shudder. “I don’t like the idea, Lukas. We’re safe here, right now. Her people won’t invade. They’re too tied up with the Deojrin bearing down on them.”

  “We don’t have a lot of options,” Lukas said, spearing a roll from the plate in front of him. “Kill her and dump her body in the river? Put her outside the walls and pray she goes away? Stop giving her the drug and she’ll kill us. None of those gets us anything. Let them do what they want with her, but I’m not willing to starve her to death.”

  Sighing, Lorant realized Lukas would not let this go. “If it bothers you so much, make her eat then, brother. As long as we keep pouring water down her throat she isn’t going to die right away. Though, I suppose we could march the army to them. Gerolt should be well past Otokar by now.”

  Lukas curled his lips, grimacing. “You know most of these men aren’t mine. They won’t follow me into Tahaerin lands. They’ll just go back to my father.” He knew he sounded bitter. “Plus, her people will easily spot our army and crush us.”

  Lorant looked thoughtful, and stretched in his seat. “And as far as we know, none of her people know where we are. The scouts haven’t found any signs of people skulking around the keep. So we could sneak out with a small party, I suppose. We could move fast that way. Be back near Otokar in what? A week or more? Let’s ask your men.”

  Even though he suggested it first, Lukas hated this idea. They would be exposed, sleeping on the ground, carrying an unconscious woman two armies would happily tear him apart for. But he so wanted to get Lorant’s lands back and please his friend.