Book 3: Chapter Thirty-One

Corec stared, frowning, at the four tower shields—the three they’d hauled up from the armory the day before, and the heavy one he’d found with the enchanted weapons.

“What’s wrong?” Katrin asked, joining him.

“I can’t figure out what to do with them,” he admitted.

She snickered. “Then why did you bring them out?”

“I was hoping something would occur to me,” Corec said. Boktar had refused to carry one, preferring to stick with his heater shield so he could remain more mobile. Nedley didn’t have the experience or the upper body strength to use one effectively.

Setting all four together in a row could have made a decent shield wall for Katrin and Shavala, protecting them from arrows while they participated in the battle from a distance, except for the fact that there were over a hundred thick-walled stone buildings available, many of which were still intact. Some even had openings for windows, which could serve as the crenels in a parapet, offering the women a chance to see their targets while staying mostly out of sight. The buildings would provide much better protection than a shield wall could, especially if there was a wizard looking for obvious targets.

“What about giving them to the wagon drivers?” Katrin said.

“If the fight reaches them, the shields won’t help. They’ll have better luck if they can prove they’re locals, and not part of our group.”

Corec intended to position the five farmboys from Livadi well away from the battle. He’d given them each a staff-spear in case they had to defend themselves, but it was his job to keep them safe. Perhaps he should have sent them home after all, but he couldn’t have let them go off alone into the barrens without protection, and he couldn’t spare enough people to watch over them.

Katrin seemed to sense his concern. “Maybe we’re worried about nothing and there even won’t be a fight,” she said.

A voice came from behind them. “There will be.”

Corec turned to find Razai brushing dust off her clothing. “They’re coming here?” he asked.

She nodded. “You moved the camp farther back.”

“I wanted to make sure they couldn’t see us if they looked this way,” he said. “No mage lights outside the buildings, either. What did you find?”

“They’ll be here this afternoon.”

“That’s what Sarette thought the last time she went up the mountain to check on them. Do they know we’re here?”

“Yes; they’ve got a Seeker with them, tracking us down. It’s the same group that attacked us outside Tir Shar. They’ve got the knives with the snakes on the hilt.”

Corec exhaled. “Well, that’s what we’ve been preparing for. Farmers and villagers again? The ones with the knives, I mean?”

“Looks like it, but they had bows last time. I’m sure they will this time, too.”

“You didn’t see any?”

Razai rolled her eyes. “Why would they be carrying bows in the dark, in the middle of nowhere, while sitting around their own camp?”

Corec waved that off. “Did you figure out why they’re after us? Did Rusol send them?”

“They didn’t mention him. They just said they planned to kill us, and they’re looking for something here.”

“Something from the ruins?”

“They didn’t seem to know.”

“What about their numbers?”

“Over a hundred, like Leena said. An even mix of the armed guards and the men with the knives. I only saw one wizard, but there were two priests.”

“Priests? Priests of Pallisur?” What would priests be doing there? Had Rusol sent them? Corec wasn’t sure whether the Church in Cordaea was independent, or if it was bound to follow orders from Cardinal Aldrich.

“I didn’t stop to ask,” Razai said in an annoyed tone.

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and they won’t be blessed,” Corec said. Blessed priests—those who’d been granted divine magic—weren’t as common as the unblessed. His home town of Tarwen Village had never rated one; they’d just had the fraud Calwell, who’d allowed Corec’s mother to die. Even in Fort Hightower, blessed priests had been in the minority.

“If they weren’t blessed, I wouldn’t have been able to sense them.”

Corec paused. “I didn’t know you could do that,” he said.

“Good,” Razai said. “That’s why I don’t tell you things—so you won’t know them.” Corec wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be a joke or just a simple statement of fact.

“What are we going to do?” Katrin asked. “Can we really fight them?”

Corec said, “If they’re coming after us, we have to. We can’t just hide and hope they pass by, and if there’s a Seeker following us, running will just delay things. At least this time, we’ll be able to prepare.”

“But there are over a hundred men!”

Corec was worried too, but it wouldn’t do any good to show it. “They sent thirty last time, and that was an ambush. Here, we can use the buildings as fortifications. With any luck, Ellerie and Shavala will be able to take out their archers before they find any targets. Then we just need to hit the mercenaries hard enough that they surrender.” When he said it that way, it almost sounded easy.

Razai growled deep in her throat. “You’re going to let them go again?”

“After we question them. If they’re actually mercenaries, then the others probably lied to them, like they did last time.”

“Mercenaries who are willing to murder one group of people just because another group says so? You’re too easy on them. Better to kill them than to set them loose.”

Corec frowned. If a Senshall caravan master hadn’t given him a chance as a guardsman on a caravan leaving Larso for the free lands, he might have ended up as a mercenary himself.

“I’ll think about it,” he said. “We do need to try to take some as prisoners, so we can find out what’s going on. And I’d like to capture the priests and the Seeker if we can.”

Taking the wizard alive would be too dangerous. Their best chance was to kill him before he killed anyone else. Hopefully Ellerie, Sarette, or Shavala would be able to pick him out from a distance. If not, Corec would have to rush him before he could cast a spell.

“Good luck trying to take a priest prisoner,” Razai said. “I’m going to go get some sleep—I’ve been awake all night. Wake me up when it’s time to kill people.”

She strode off without another word. Corec stared after her. It felt like he should try to ask her more questions about what she’d seen, but he couldn’t think of anything else he needed to know. He was no general—he’d barely passed his classes on tactics.

Shaking his head, he turned back to Katrin. “Well, at least we know for sure,” he said.

“Tell me honestly,” she said. “Can we win? I usually like it better when you tell me everything’s going to be all right, but this time I want to know the truth.”

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He sighed and took her in his arms, resting his chin on top of her head. “I don’t know. If it was soldiers fighting soldiers, the fortifications should be enough to tip the balance, but the truth is, we only have three soldiers and one archer. That’s not enough, regardless of the circumstances. We’ll have to depend on magic, and I don’t know how to measure that. How many of them do you think you can scare away?”

“I’m not sure,” she said. “It depends how close they have to get before they can hear me. Maybe five? Ten if we’re lucky?”

Corec had never tried to plan his strategies around the use of magic before. He’d rarely been given enough time to plan any sort of strategy at all. He sorted through the possibilities in his mind. Their best bet was to strike first, before the enemy had figured out their positions. That meant he’d have to take Razai’s word that the other group intended to attack. He couldn’t wait and try to talk it out, because doing so would give up their biggest advantage.

“This is just about the best battleground we could have hoped for,” he said. “The only thing better would be an actual fortress, but this will work fine. We can lead them to exactly where we want them. And if they’re like the last group, half of their men will be useless in a fight once we take out their archers. We may not be soldiers, but neither are they. They took us by surprise last time and we still beat them.”

Katrin stepped back and looked up at him. “You didn’t answer my question,” she said.

He stared into her eyes. Could he send her away before the battle, to keep her safe? Perhaps with Shavala to watch over her? But if the Seeker was searching for all of them, that would leave the two of them alone and unprotected. It was safer to stay together.

“You asked me for the truth,” he said, “and that’s as much of it as I’ve figured out so far.”

She nodded, then glanced at the last two items he’d brought back from the ruins. “Are you going to give those to her?”

“Yes, I should probably do that now. I don’t know if it’ll help, but it can’t hurt to ask.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

“She doesn’t seem to want to talk to anyone. Maybe it would be better if I went alone.”

“Then I’ll go let Ellerie and the others know what Razai said, in case she didn’t bother to tell them.”

“Thank you,” Corec said.

Katrin headed back to the main camp.

Corec went in the opposite direction. He found Ariadne dropping pebbles into what appeared to have once been a communal well, though there was no water and it was now nearly filled in with the same dry, dusty soil as the rest of the barrens.

“I brought your sword and helmet,” he said, holding them out to her.

She snatched the weapon away and sheathed it, speaking in a language that sounded almost like Sanvari.

“I can’t understand you,” he said, setting the helmet down on the rim of the well.

She grimaced, then pointed to his hand.

Treya had told him what to expect. He held his arm out, and Ariadne grasped his wrist. She moaned in pain and dashed tears from her eyes as Corec’s strength drained away. He had to sit down to make sure he didn’t fall. Then it was over.

He drew in a deep breath, trying to steady himself.

Blood had dripped from Ariadne’s nose. She wiped it away. “What is this?” she asked in Corec’s birth tongue. “Another language? How many must I deal with?”

“You’re speaking Western,” he said. It seemed like a strange topic for his first conversation with one of the Ancients, but Leena had warned him that Ariadne didn’t seem to fully understand what had happened to her.

“Do none of you speak the same language?”

“When we’re all together, we speak trade tongue. It’s the only language we all share. Can you learn it?”

“I have no desire to speak to more of you. I demand that you return me to my people!”

“I don’t think I can help with that,” he said. “Unless your people are the seaborn.”

“I do not know this word. My people are The People.” She grunted. “The Chosar, I mean.”

“I wish I could tell you what happened to them, but I don’t know.”

“You cannot continue lying to me forever. Go away.”

“I will, but first I need to tell you that there’s a big group headed this way. They’ll be here in a few hours. We expect them to attack us.”

“Humans?”

“Yes.”

“What do I care about one group of human invaders fighting another? You fought each other before the war, and now that it’s over, you already start back up again.”

“War? What war?”

She scowled at him. “Everyone knows of the war, human. Don’t play games.”

She didn’t seem willing to accept what had happened. Was there any way to get through to her? According to Treya, she claimed to be a knight, but perhaps the word meant something different to her. Corec was no longer even sure what it meant to him. As a child, it had represented a new future; as an adult, it was a past he wanted to leave behind—he certainly didn’t see himself as a warrior of Pallisur. But beyond the religious trappings and cultural differences, knighthood had to mean something.

All he could do was try. “Whatever you think about the rest of us,” he said, “the drivers are innocent. They’re just farmboys we hired to haul supplies. You can fight—I saw it. Would you watch over them, and make sure our enemies don’t harm them?”

“I’m sworn to protect The People and Tir Yadar, not barbarians and thieves.”

“You’d let innocent people suffer just because they’re human?”

She drew in a sharp breath, then turned her back to him. “Go away. I don’t want to talk to you.”

Corec gave up and left.

#

Leena dug through the remaining bags of food, trying to decide what to serve for the midday meal. The next supply caravan—the small one—was still a week away, and she would have to portion everything out to make sure it lasted. They hadn’t expected to be feeding the wagon drivers for this long. She debated teleporting to Aencyr and buying a whole cooked roast, but she needed to preserve her strength.

“Hey,” Razai said from the doorway.

Leena hadn’t realized she was back. “Was it them?” she asked, trying to keep her voice from wavering.

“Yes. Same knives. I made sure of it. And I listened in—they’re after you, but I didn’t tell the others that.”

Leena swallowed. “Me? Why?”

“They didn’t say, and I’m not sure they know your name, but they definitely know you’re here. They’ve been tracking your trips to Aencyr. The Sanvarite, he’s a Seeker.”

A Seeker was helping them? Leena felt like she should be shocked, but it made a lot of sense. How else had they known where all the Travelers and their families lived? How else had they tracked her down, twice, on a completely different continent?

“Why didn’t you tell the others they’re coming for me?” she asked.

“After Marco suggested we should kick you off the expedition because of the last attack? The only reason he didn’t keep pushing for it was because Corec convinced him they were after the whole group.”

“Marco is Marco, but I don’t think Ellerie or Corec would let him leave me behind.”

“Then you have more faith in them than I do.”

Leena shrugged. “It doesn’t matter anyway. If they’re after me and they have a Seeker working for them, I’ll just go back home. Well, not home, but somewhere in Sanvar where they can’t get to me.” Maybe she could lead them on a chase into the Wadalli Desert. As long as they didn’t have a Traveler, she could stay ahead of anyone trying to follow her. “If the Seeker learns I’m not here, they won’t have any reason to attack you.”

“They’re coming whether you stick around or not. They know we’re protecting you, so they want to get rid of us, too. And they’re looking for something here.”

“Looking for what?”

“Two things, I guess. Something to take and something to destroy. They didn’t seem to know what they were. It sounded like they were going to get more information once they arrive.”

Leena frowned, considering that. Tell me where the things are that my enemies are looking for. She didn’t get a response, but she hadn’t really expected one. The question was too imprecise. But then, so were the Seekings she’d done that had led her here. Whatever intelligence had been guiding her would only allow her to break the rules enough to bring her to this spot. Beyond that, her Seeking was more limited.

Then she had a thought. Tell me where to go to protect my brother and avenge my parents. She hadn’t tried in days, not having had any luck since they’d arrived at the ruins.

This time, though, there was a response. It was coming from less than ten feet away. The next room over.

“Come with me,” she said.

“What?” Razai asked.

“Watch the hall,” Leena said. “Warn me if someone’s coming.” She stepped through an empty doorway into a dark room without windows. They’d chosen this room as the most secure place to store the things they’d hauled out of the mountain, but they hadn’t posted a guard. They didn’t have enough people for that, and it was unlikely anyone could approach their position without being observed. The mage-light lanterns were also kept here when they weren’t being used, and one still had a light shining inside. Leena picked it up and uncovered the glass, illuminating the supplies and other bundles stacked around the room.

This close, she didn’t have to repeat her Seeking. She could still feel precisely where the pinging sensation had come from. Reaching into a wooden crate, she pulled out a tightly bundled blanket, then unrolled it on the floor. Several pieces of jewelry lay on the cloth. Since she’d moved the bundle, her Seeking was no longer accurate, but she remembered the signature of the object she’d felt. It matched a solid jade bracelet with a band approximately an inch wide.

“This is what I came here for,” she said. “This is how I’m supposed to protect my brother.” The bracelet had been locked behind a warded door. The warding must have been designed to do more than just keep people out. The Seeking had sent her to Tir Yadar because she had asked it where to go next, but once she was within range of the bracelet, the warding spell had blocked her from actually finding it.

“A bracelet?” Razai asked skeptically. “What does it do?”

“I have no idea. Do you think Marco’s catalogued it already? Will he notice if it’s missing?”

“Of course he has, and of course he will. Are you going to steal it?”

Leena slid the bracelet onto her wrist. Without warning, it tightened in place, flush with her skin. She drew in a sharp, startled breath, but then relaxed. It was magic, after all, and the tighter fit would ensure it didn’t fall off. She slid her long sleeve back down to cover it.

“I don’t know,” she said. “For now, let’s just say I’m borrowing it until I learn what I’m supposed to do with it. Please don’t tell anyone.” She rolled the blanket up into a bundle once more, and put it back in the crate where she’d found it.

“I won’t, but it’s not going to take them long to find out.”

“I’ll figure out what to do about it before then. For now, I need to go talk to Corec.”

Razai furrowed her brow. “He’s not going to keep it a secret.”

“I’m not telling him about the bracelet. I’m telling him about the Seeker looking for me. Maybe we can use that against them.”