Steel and Sorrow (35 page)

Drake smiled and Krytien realized it had been too long since he saw the boy do so.

* * *

Krytien entered the command tent. Kaz sat alone at a table cleaning his armor.

“Did you already speak with him?” asked Krytien.

“No,” said Kaz. “I wanted to make him sweat a bit. I just sent Grayer and Crusher to get him. They should be back soon. Did you find Drake?”

Krytien nodded. “Yes, we talked.”

Kaz put down the cloth and the helm he worked on. He leaned back in his seat. “Tell me.”

Krytien spent the next few minutes going over his conversation with Drake.

“Thank you,” said Kaz when Krytien finished. “You probably handled that better than I would have.”

Krytien shrugged. “It was nothing. You should still talk to the boy sometime tonight if you can.”

“I planned on it. Other than general updates, I haven’t talked to anyone on a personal level since the battle ended.”

As if on cue, the tent flap pushed inward and Crusher entered. The Ghal walked with a limp, still wearing the scars from his injuries against Tomalt. He flung Bronn to the floor of the command tent. Krytien hadn’t seen the duke before, but based on prior descriptions of the man from Elyse, he fit the bill.

Deep blue eyes, fair skin, square jaw. He’s definitely got a look I could see the women swooning over.

“Who in the name of the One Above do you think you are, handling me like that, you ape?” asked Bronn.

Krytien could also see what had turned Elyse off about him.

“Sorry, Commander,” said General Grayer, coming in behind the giant. “I told him that Bronn should be treated with respect.”

“I did,” said Crusher. “Where I’m from, we would have already killed him.”

Bronn paled slightly before composing himself. He dusted off his clothes as he stood and finally acknowledged Kaz. “So, you’re the foreigner then?”

Kaz took a step forward and Bronn shuffled backward. Krytien laughed.

“Your general managed to escape. I want to know the makeup of your remaining forces. I’ll need you to draft a letter to him which we’ll deliver under a banner of peace. In it, you will acknowledge Elyse as your rightful queen and hand over command of your remaining army to me. They will receive further instructions after presenting themselves to me unarmed,” said Kaz.

Bronn tilted his head to the side with a curious look. He exploded into laughter. “One Above, you’re an arrogant one, aren’t you? I freely admit that I have my own tendencies for such behavior, but at least I have the looks. But you,” said Bronn, flicking his hand out, “you’re just some black-skinned freak that fell into a position of power after Jonrell got himself killed by a child.”

Krytien saw Kaz tense at the mention of Jonrell’s name. Bronn must have seen it as well for he stopped then smiled. “Look, why don’t you get one of your men to write up a letter to send Conroy. I’m sure he’ll be able to work something out in regards to my release.”

“You really think Conroy would pay a ransom for your release?”

“Of course. He needs me.”

“I doubt it,” said Kaz. “There will be no letter except the one that declares your loyalty to the crown.”

“Foreigner, I won’t do either without speaking to Elyse first.” Bronn stared at Kaz as he tried to puff himself up.

“In the field, I speak on her behalf.”

Bronn looked Kaz over and snorted. “I see. So now I know why Elyse turned me down. She decided it’d be better to sleep with some black devil—”

Bronn sailed backward into the tent wall, then crashed into the dirt. Krytien leaned over and eyed the duke with raised eyebrows. He lay motionless with a broken jaw and a nose pouring blood.

Crusher let out a roaring laugh and looked at Grayer. “Did you see that?” He slapped the General on the back. “Trust me when I say it’s far more fun to be a spectator of one of those punches than to be the one receiving it.” He shook his head. “My jaw hurts just thinking about when you did that to me,” he finished, looking at Kaz.

“Commander, I know he is the enemy but he is also a prisoner and until Elyse decides his fate, the rightful heir of Asatrya,” said Grayer, worried by the scene.

“And he is also a citizen of Cadonia,” Kaz replied. “And therefore, will talk about his ruler with the respect she deserves. Crusher, get him back to the prison tent.”

The Ghal nodded. “You want me to get Wiqua to look at him first?”

“No,” said Kaz. “We’re not wasting any sorcery on him.”

“But Commander, his jaw may not heal right. It’s pretty crooked,” said Grayer, making a face as he stared at Bronn.

“Good. Let his face more closely reflect his personality. Everyone is dismissed.”

* * *

After looking in on the other mages, Krytien headed toward his tent. The brats he picked up months back on Estul Island had come a long way, especially when working as a group.

All except Lufflin. I hate to just give up on him, but it may be time to cut our losses.

Lufflin still had an influence over Nora and he tended to spend a great deal of time with her. To a lesser degree many of the younger, yellow-robed mages who hadn’t yet opened their eyes to Lufflin’s bluster also looked up to him.

That’s the downside of cutting Lufflin now. Nora is beginning to finally trust me, but the ties aren’t strong enough yet. If I get rid of Lufflin, chances are I lose her and perhaps one or two of the yellows as well. We can’t afford that.

He would hold off longer and hope that Kaz could convince Bronn to hand over his army and maybe gain a few replacement mages in the process.

Although after tonight, that may take longer than Kaz had hoped.

Krytien pushed aside the flap to his tent and lit a small lamp. A stack of books sat on the table. He sighed and read the names of each one.

Who am I to read something by a High Mage when I’ve had no formal training?

He pulled from under his robes an apple he had snatched from the supplies and crunched into it while staring at the book on top. He finished the apple, threw the core in a corner, and plopped in his chair. He took a deep breath, flipped open the cover, and began reading.

“Before learning how to draw out more of the infinite amounts of power a mage has access to, one must learn to better control that which he already knows. This means that one must use the power he has in ways he is unaccustomed to. Only by practicing that which is known can one become more familiar with that which is unknown. For instance . .
.”

* * *

“So, are you gonna say something and contribute to this conversation or what?” asked Hag before she went into a short coughing fit.

Kaz blinked and looked at the old woman. “What are we talking about?”

“We ain’t talking about nothing. That’s my point. You sat on that log twenty minutes ago and haven’t said a word since. Heck, you haven’t even touched your food yet.”

Kaz looked at the cold food in his hand. “Has it really been twenty minutes?”

“Close enough. I would have said something sooner, but Wiqua told me to give you time to process things and you’d start talking when you were ready.” Hag jabbed Wiqua with her elbow. “If I’d listened to you, we’d still be waiting til the rooster crows.”

Wiqua shrugged. “I’ve never been one to pry.”

“At least not in front of others,” said Hag with a wicked grin. She started coughing again.

Kaz shook his head. “Are you all right?”

Hag waved a hand. “I’m fine. I’m just old. Now, tell me what’s on your mind. I’m assuming it has to do with you ruining that duke’s face.”

“Something like that.” He finally took a bite

“I hear he insulted your woman and you lost it on him.”

Kaz started choking. “What? Who told you that? Elyse isn’t my woman. She’s the queen and should be treated as such.”

“Crusher said you punched Bronn after he insulted Elyse. That’s all I need to hear to know the truth. I know about these things.”

Kaz took a sarcastic tone. “I’m not surprised since you seem to be an expert on everything else.”

Hag gave Kaz a look and elbowed Wiqua. “Since he’s going to be so thick, you tell him then. He listens to you more anyway.”

Kaz rolled his eyes.

“She’s right,” said Wiqua. “Hag and I have talked in private about the bond you and the queen share.” He paused and tilted his head, looking Kaz in the eye. “You really have no clue, do you?”

“What kind of question is that? Of course he doesn’t,” said Hag. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t have to tell him.”

“Tell me what?” asked Kaz.

“That the queen shares the same feelings about you as you do for her.”

“That’s ridiculous,” said Kaz, putting his food down. “I’m nothing like the people here. Outside this army, people are frightened by me and think I’m some demon conjured by their crazy religion. Why would she be interested in me?”

Wiqua shrugged. “Hag and I come from different backgrounds.”

Hag winked. “If anything, that helps spice a relationship up.”

Kaz eyed the woman. “That argument doesn’t work. You aren’t the queen of Cadonia and you,” he said, turning to Wiqua, “remember your past. The few things I do recall I wouldn’t want to share with anyone here, let alone Elyse.”

“We all make mistakes,” said Wiqua. “Relationships work because one person sees who the other really is, despite their shortcomings. Elyse sees who you really are.”

An image flashed before his mind. A senseless slaughter in a desert village. He shook his head.

“If she knows who I really am, then I’m positive she doesn’t care for me as you say she does.”

Chapter 25

After weeks of travel, Nareash had the captain drop anchor at the mouth of a small inlet. Longboats lowered. Despite the bright sun overhead, a breeze over the bay gave Nareash a chill as it whipped through his robes.

They reached land quickly.

Guwan stared over the rocky shore and into the woods. “We should cover a lot of ground today.”

“We’ll go no further than the shore today. And we need to set up my tent as soon as possible,” said Nareash.

Guwan turned. He wore a knowing look of dread. “It hasn’t been a month.”

Nareash lowered his voice. “Close enough.” He switched to the common tongue of Thurum to hide their conversation from the others in the longboat. “I’d rather not perform a teleportation spell once we reach the main army. And you have a strong enough grasp of the language now to move to the next phase. You remember all the details we’ve discussed?”

Guwan nodded and spoke in Thurum’s language with a thick accent. “Yes. But what’s to stop Hezen from killing me once you’re away.”

“Colan will be staying with you. He’s done well learning the art and is more than capable to watch your back.”

Guwan glared at Colan. “He better be.”

* * *

The world came into focus and Nareash immediately dropped to the floor of his tent. He had teleported too soon after the previous time and nausea seized him. He crawled over to a skin of water. Leaning on a stool, he took a small sip and swished the water in his mouth before swallowing. After a few deep breaths, the sweating stopped and the inside of the tent ceased its spinning. He finally acknowledged the three shamans warily standing over him. He struggled to his feet.

I have to be me more careful. I can’t show myself to be so vulnerable again.

“Nachun, are you alright?” asked one of the shamans in a whisper.

“Yes.”

“Where’s Guwan and Colan?”

“They stayed behind.”

“How does that affect us?” asked another.

“You mean will you still die if something happens to them?”

The shaman nodded.

“Of course.”

“But, we can’t control what happens . . . .”

Nareash shrugged. “Then you should continue to hope for their success. Now leave me.”

The shamans shuffled out of the tent, each wearing a look of their displeasure with the High Mage.

Nareash grinned. No amount of sorcery could tie one person’s life to another so the shamans had nothing to fear. Yet, they respected his power too much to disbelieve him. He chuckled and plopped onto his bedroll. He needed to rest desperately.

“Nachun?”

“I said . . .” He stopped short when Walor entered his tent. A guard followed and started to apologize. Nareash stood and waved a hand. “Go.”

Walor cracked his neck and watched the guard leave. They eyed each other. Nareash held out the skin of water. Walor refused.

“How did you find us?”

“I had some scouts ranging farther than usual. They reported seeing a small party dressed in our colors. Then one mentioned you.”

“Tobin knows?”

“Not yet. I wanted to talk to you alone.”

Nareash raised an eyebrow. “About my trip?” He knew Walor had not agreed with his decision to leave Juanoq.

Walor shrugged. “Later perhaps. I’m more interested in discussing how your trip has affected Tobin.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s changed. Charu’s been difficult to deal with.”

“I read the reports in Juanoq. I hurried here to ensure he wouldn’t make any other poor decisions.”

“His plans were sound and inventive. They should have worked. Something else is going on.”

“Sabotage?”

“I think it’s Soyjid. Tobin made him leader of the Gray Marsh Clan and the boy is having more success than he should be able to accomplish.”

Nareash grunted. “Before I left Juanoq, Lucia told me she thought Odala was the greater threat.”

“I wouldn’t doubt that she’s had a hand in it. I never trusted either of them.”

“Have you talked to Tobin about Soyjid?”

“Tobin’s not himself. He won’t listen to me. He just slaughtered an entire village in cold blood. He left only the children alive to carry the message back to Charu. That’s something Kaz would have done. Not Tobin.”

“And you think he’ll listen to me?”

“Yes.”

* * *

Nareash slept hard and woke late the next morning. After a big meal, the party began their trek through the path Walor showed them the day before. Birds chirped in their nests while squirrels and other small critters scampered among the canopy’s limbs or across the dirt path. Other than a few difficult climbs through particularly rocky patches, Nareash found the walk peaceful, even relaxing.