Her eyes were the color of honey, her skin pale and lightly freckled. Her lips looked painfully chapped, and her child's cheeks were too hollow for Toth's liking. She was starving. There was no one else here. No one to look after her. She couldn't have been much older than seven or eight. It must have taken great effort to run from him with such vigor over the snow.
Toth stretched out further, urging her to take the cheese from his hand. "Would you like some cheese?"
She nodded, but she didn't come any closer.
"I'll toss it to you." He wrapped the cloth around the hunk and threw it to her. Her pale hand snaked out and snatched it from the air. She rooted in the cloth and broke off a piece of cheese, shoving it into her cheek and chewing with her mouth open, desperately.
"I have more food," said Toth, whose knees were beginning to protest at having been crouched for so long, but he didn't want to scare her by towering over her. "It's not good to eat too much too fast, but I think we can make you some broth with the supplies we have." He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, toward the way they'd come. "In the valley, where you saw my soldiers."
She looked at him with those pale amber eyes, wanting but uncertain.
"How is it you can be so close to the harpies? They don't hunt you?" Even the crevice, as deep as it was, would offer very little protection from a harpy who was of a mind to make a snack of her.
She shook her head, gobbling down more cheese and licking her fingers.
The girl has to have magic.
"What is your name?"
She picked up a stick from the fire and wrote in the snow. She understood English, clearly, but her writing skills in English weren't strong. Toth could make out the name, after studying the letters carefully.
"Tashi," Toth read. "Is that right?"
She nodded.
"My name is Toth. I'm not going to hurt you. I think you know that."
The girl nodded again.
"Is there somewhere I can take you? Where are your people?"
Using the stick, Tashi wrote another message in the snow. She moved the stick uncertainly and slowly.
No one.
Toth considered her. There was no way he was going to leave her here.
"Listen, Tashi." He moved from his crouch to his knees, bringing his icy blue eyes on the same level as her golden ones. "I'm from Rodania. Do you know where that is?"
She shook her head.
"It's my home. All of those winged people you saw in the valley, they're from Rodania too, and I have to take them home. Would you like to come with us?"
The girl didn't hesitate to nod.
"Are you afraid to fly?"
Tashi shook her head.
Toth opened his arms wide with invitation. Tashi stepped fearlessly into the circle of the mercenary's arms. Wrapping her thin arms around his neck, she let him lift her and carry her away.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
"Wait," said Eohne, pressing her palms firmly against Linlett's skin. "There it is," she breathed.
"Harpy? We've found one?" Linlett's voice was simmering with excitement. "Finally. I can't believe it's taken us this long."
Eohne nodded, tuning in to the vibration just a little longer to be certain. "Yes. It's harpy. I'm sure of it." She removed her blindfold and looked at the filament pinched between Linlett's brightly lit fingertips.
"It originates here," Eohne said, watching as the pulses of light that travelled along the thread originated from the orb near their feet, "at this station."
She and Linlett shared a look of foreboding. They were to inform Balroc of any developments immediately. Now that they had the origin station of one of the harpies, the border guards who worked it would be taken in for interrogation. Every border guard had already been questioned, but now that they had some evidence, they knew who to press on. Eohne didn't want to think about the methods Balroc might employ to extract the information he was looking for.
"I'll let Balroc know," said Linlett soberly.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
On the journey home to Rodania, the Strix warriors broke into groups of twos and threes and spread out, since the need to stay together and travel in formation had passed. Though they were to watch for harpies who might have evaded them, the mood was one of relief. They hadn't suffered a single loss, and their plan had gone off without a hitch. Everyone wanted to get home to their loved ones and celebrate the end of a long rivalry.
Toth had used a batch of Eohne's messenger bugs to send word ahead, informing Rodania of their victory. The Strix anticipated a hero's welcome.
In the evenings, when camp was set up and fires made, Tashi stayed close to Toth's side, observing the Strix around her through wide eyes that missed nothing. During the day, she flew with him, cradled in a makeshift carrier that Chayla had fashioned out of her bedroll.
The weather grew warmer, and the cold weather gear was stowed away. When the floating masses of Rodania appeared on the horizon, a shout went up from the Strix nearest the front, which was echoed by those at the back.
Toth and Sol brought up the rear, with Tashi bound to Toth's chest.
The Strix approached the training islands first, and a few dozen of them descended to clean and organize their weapons and mingle with each other before saying goodbye and heading home. Sol and Toth descended to the largest training ground, and Sol unhooked Tashi, setting her down on her feet.
"We won't stay here long," he told the girl as he unstrapped her and let her down to stand on her own legs. "I'll have to take you down to a border station and register you. You can't see it, but there are three big islands just East of us. That's our home. You can come and stay with me."
Tashi was all eyes, wide and staring, taking in everything around her. She searched the horizon in the direction that the Strix around her were looking, but could see nothing but horizon.
"It's part of the magic that protects us," Toth explained. "Once you register at the border, you'll be able to see them, too, and always and forever after that."
Tashi pulled her scarf away from her face—–which she'd kept on to keep the wind from buffeting her as they flew——and followed Toth. He found Teetch, and the brothers spoke about getting together the next day for a debrief.
"Hey!" A shout went up from the crowd of Strix. "Looks like the palace has sent a welcome party!"
Four Arpaks dressed in matching uniforms featuring Rodania's colors, blue and white, were winging toward the training grounds in tight formation.
"They look pretty grim for a welcome party," said one of the Nycht warriors. "Didn't anyone tell them we won?"
"Yeah! We won!" Someone belted out at the approaching foursome.
Toth and Sol shared an uneasy look. If the palace had wanted to send a welcome party, they wouldn't have sent armed Arpak soldiers from the king's own Royal Guard.
"Arpaks?" Sol mouthed to Toth, a question in his eyes.
Toth knew what Sol was thinking. The Royal Guard was sixty Strix strong, but fifty-five of them were Nychts, since Nychts made for better night guards. The fact that all four of the guards now approaching the training island were Arpaks seemed a strange but strategic choice.
The Strix warriors parted to leave room for the Royal Guard to land. The Arpaks were big and stoic. Wide jaws, broad hands and shoulders, huge wings. These Arpaks were of the kind who were born to be physical, born to fly. It was this kind of Arpak, not unlike Sol, who chose the life of a soldier because it was what they were best at. There was not a smile or a soft eye among them. One of the Arpaks with a crest over his heart that signified an elevated position, broke ranks and approached Toth. The three others followed behind, marching together in unison.
Apprehensive looks were shared among the Strix warriors, and there were murmured questions among the crowd.
Tashi inched closer to Toth and hid behind him, peeking out at the Arpaks from under his wing.
"Toth Sazak?" the first guard addressed Toth with a booming voice. "You're under arrest
for treason against the crown. Hand over your weapons. You'll be coming with us."
An angry cry of protest went up from the crowd, intermingled with disbelieving laughter. Toth's expression was one of stone, but some of the color in his cheeks, heightened by the wind and the spirited journey drained away.
"It's a joke?" someone asked.
"This is no joke. Weapons please." The guard gestured to the multiplicity of Toth's scabbards and holsters. His own hand was on the pommel of his dirk.
Sol moved in. "You're making a terrible mistake," he said. "This man is a hero to Rodania, not a traitor. When The Council hears of this, you'll be punished and humiliated. You don't want that, now, do you?" His flinty blue eyes flashed steel, but his tone was light and cajoling.
The guard's cold and precise gaze fell on Sol. "You're the courier who got expelled for abandoning your post, aren't you?" His lip curled in a sneer.
"To get the guns that helped save your ass," snarled Chayla, as she emerged from the crowd.
"Solomon Donda? Perfect. You're under arrest, too. Thanks for making it easy."
Chayla ripped back the black cowl which had been shrouding her face and stalked between Toth, Sol, and the guard, shoving herself in the middle of them, and met the accuser nose to nose. The guard almost took a step back from her but stopped himself. Chayla bared her teeth in his face. "Go home, shithawks. You're not taking these Strix anywhere."
"Step back," the Arpak guard snapped, his hand tightening over the pommel.
"Or what?" Chayla's eyeteeth glittered in the afternoon light, her eyes lit up with a dare.
"Chayla," said Toth, his voice calm. "It's alright." Fighting the Royal Guard wouldn't lead anywhere good. "It's just a misunderstanding. I'm sure we'll get it sorted out."
Chayla ignored him.
"Listen to your captain, hagbird." The Guard put a hand on Chayla's shoulder and shoved.
Chayla's fist was a blur. The guard's head snapped up and back, blood flying from his nose as he staggered back with a cry. He recovered himself, the blood flowing freely down his face and into his teeth. He spat off to the side and pulled out his sword.
Chayla had two short spears in her hands, and one of them did a graceful twirl as a slow smile spread across her face. Her body lowered, as tightly wound as a clockspring.
Suddenly all the guards had weapons drawn and moved into a widely spaced, back-to-back formation. The Strix warriors closed in, blades and teeth bare. The sound of multiple pairs of wings snapping open punctuated the air. The guards shifted into a circle in small, tight steps, their wings opening, preparing to take off and fight in the air if need be.
"At ease! That is an order!" Toth bellowed.
The Strix warriors glanced at one another, unsure of what to do.
"I won't say it again."
One by one the Strix put their weapons away and stepped back. The four guards watched, eyes shifting—–mostly to Chayla.
"Chayla." Toth put a hand on her arm and pushed the short spear down. "This isn't the way." Toth began to unbuckle and unstrap his weapons. "I need you to take Tashi. After you register her, take her to Mareya. She'll look after her until I get this dealt with. Whatever this is."
Chayla's eyes widened and shifted to the girl, who stood in Toth's shadow, trembling. Chayla nodded. She held out a hand to Tashi, but Tashi moved further under Toth's wing and hid there. Up until they'd arrived on the training island, Tashi and Chayla had had no interaction, and Chayla's face was still lit with a fierce anger, her movements abrupt.
Toth dropped his scabbard and knelt to face his new ward.
"I know she looks scary," Toth said, a ghost of a smile playing at the corners of his lips. "But Chayla will take care of you. She'll take you to my sister, Mareya. She has a big house and a big yard, and lots of delicious food. You'll have a room to yourself until I come for you. You can take a bath and sleep as long as you want. Okay?"
Tashi shook her head.
"You can't come where I am going." Toth stood and put a hand on the girl's flaming red curls. "I'm sorry, but I'm sure I'll see you soon."
Chayla reached down and took Tashi's hand. The girl looked up at the fierce Nycht woman, but she didn't pull her hand away. Her honey eyes were huge and shining, lined with unshed tears.
Toth stood and faced the guards, alongside Sol, who had also shed his weapons. As the soldiers stepped forward and cuffed Toth and Sol, Sol stared into the face of the Arpak who was chaining him, his expression full of disgust.
"That's why they sent Arpaks," Sol said, "isn't it? Because there is no way even the Nychts of the Royal Guard would dare arrest the captain. They won't admit it out loud, but Toth is a hero to them. No one would take the post but you four sorry palace-crows. Am I right?"
The Arpak Guard snapped the handcuffs closed and stepped back. "Shut your mouth, traitor," he said. But his words lacked venom, and he didn't look Sol in the eye.
Chayla, Tashi, and the rest of the Strix warriors watched as the Royal Guard flanked Sol and Toth, and the six Strix took to the sky in the direction of Upper Rodania.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The beating of wings outside the apartment brought Jordan hurrying from the bedroom, where she'd been tidying up. Jordan had slept only fitfully the night before, and was becoming well acquainted with the feeling of malaise and agitation. If the palace had received news about the Strix party, it hadn't yet been shared with the rest of Rodania. Foremost in her mind was the safety of Sol and her fellow Strix warriors. Secondary to that was what on Oriceran the Council was up to. Eight days had passed since King Konig's death. Balroc had said it would take a number of days for all the Council members to return home and have their hearing, but… over a week?
When she heard a Strix outside the apartment, her heart leapt into her throat. Hopeful for good news or Sol in the flesh, she dropped the bedsheets she'd been wrestling onto the bed and hurried to the terrace.
"Jordan Kacy?"
An Arpak courier greeted her instead, the same one who had delivered Sol his discharge papers when Sol had skipped work to go to Earth with Jordan.
Jordan's face fell, and she worked to fix her expression into one of stone. "Yes?"
"You're wanted at the palace," he said, his voice monotone. He focused on something over her head. "I'm to escort you." His arms were crossed, his expression flat.
This Arpak was giving nothing away. If he even knows anything. Jordan reminded herself that couriers were not often privy to the contents of the messages they delivered. This courier wasn't delivering a message per se, he was coming to bring her back to the palace, but it was likely he didn't know why.
"Fine. Give me a minute." Jordan turned away from him and headed into the kitchen.
"No weapons," the Arpak said, hovering gracefully just beyond the tile balcony. He uncrossed his arms and shook a finger at her like she was a petulant child. "No weapons," he repeated.
"I got it the first time," Jordan muttered, looking longingly over her shoulder at the closet where her knives, spears, and holsters were hung.
She pulled on her boots and tightened the stays on her vest, before spreading her wings and leaving the balcony. She wondered distractedly whether she'd ever return to the apartment she shared with Sol. A feeling of foreboding grew in her stomach as she winged ahead of the Arpak courier. At least they hadn't sent a bunch of guards to retrieve her. That would have sent her into a proper fit of panic.
"Not that way," called the courier to Jordan when she headed up toward the same terrace where she and Ashley had delivered the fungus to Juer. "There." He pointed to a terrace on the second floor. A long line of arched windows lined the black marble of the balcony. Jordan landed and folded up her wings, and the Arpak courier landed beside her. He stood at the balcony's edge, arms folded, watching her. The windows were dressed with gauzy blue curtains, and lights behind them lit the fabric to make it glow.
At a nod from her escort, Jordan pushed her way through the curtain.
<
br /> Inside was a vast, long room, high-ceilinged, like every other room in a Strix abode. There was a gaping, cold fireplace, a long wooden table with high-backed chairs, and huge mirrors leaning against the wall. Jordan caught a glimpse of herself in one of these mirrors, her shape made long and lean by the angle of the glass. What she saw was a pale, frightened Arpak with lines of confusion on her brow. Her lips were tight, their corners pulled down. Jordan tried to relax her face and mouth; whatever was going to happen next, she didn't want those she faced to know just how frightened she was.
She looked back through the crack in the curtain in time to see the courier spread his wings and take off.
"Jordan Kacy," said a voice at her elbow.
Jordan turned to see a tall Nycht dressed in the blue and white of the Royal Guard.
"Yes. Who are you?"
"It's not important. Follow me, please." He spoke kindly enough, and his eyes didn't look through her the way her escort’s had. Jordan took comfort in this and fell into step behind him. The small amount of reassurance she took from his attention evaporated when another Nycht fell in behind her.
Where are these guards coming from? She could have sworn when she arrived this room had been empty.
"Oh, hello," she said over her shoulder to the Nycht now flanking her. She kept her voice light. "You boys really know how to move quietly." She almost gave a nervous laugh, but the words echoed hollowly with no response from either guard. She bit her laughter back, swallowed hard, and shut her mouth.
The guards took her through the mirrored room, to an arch at the end. On the other side was a circular foyer with three doors and a huge table, on which sat a vase full of spectacular, ornamental grasses. It reminded her of her own foyer back in Virginia, where both Cal and Maria used to place similar vases full of plants on the big circular table that welcomed Jordan and Allan home every weekend. A shard of homesickness pierced her momentarily.
Transcendent: The Revelations of Oriceran (The Kacy Chronicles Book 4) Page 16
