The Tomni'Tai Scroll (Book 1) (24 page)

Talon swung low, then jerked the wooden plank upward to slam into the elf’s hand. Her fingers released her scimitar, but not before the blade sliced shallowly through Talon’s right shoulder. The elf lifted her left palm, but Talon dropped to his back as a column of fire leapt out from her hand to where he had been standing a fraction of a second before. Talon then spun and kicked the handle of his dagger. The elf recoiled and cried out in agony as the dagger tore out from her leg. Blood coursed down her fair, golden skin and she stumbled backward, falling on her rump. Talon rolled close, flipped up to his feet and ended the fight with a quick, decisive blow to the elf’s temple.

Talon bent down and placed two fingers on the elf’s neck. Her pulse was still strong. He quickly moved to open the elf’s eyelid. The eye did not react or move. She was out cold.

Talon whispered a curse and looked around for something to tie her with. The fire was spreading to nearby piles of paper and wood, but it wasn’t an overwhelming fire. The fuel was spread thin enough that none of the hotspots were much more than a small campfire. Seeing nothing in the firelight, Talon decided to carry her upstairs. He slumped her body across his shoulders and stood up.

She was not very heavy, probably only a little more than a hundred pounds, but it was still a bit of a challenge to position her evenly across his shoulders. Her silk gown slid up a bit, revealing the side of her upper thigh as Talon pushed her body to one side for better balance before ascending the stairs. When he reached the third floor again he walked through the doorway and laid her on the floor. He glanced around quickly. He saw two beds, one was empty, but made up; the other was empty and was obviously where the elf had come from before meeting Talon. He went over to the bed and started ripping the sheet into long strips. When he had enough, he walked back and tied the elf’s wrists together behind her back. Then he tied her ankles together. He then turned her onto her side and brought the ankles up to meet the wrists. He tied the two bands together and then rolled her to her other side so he could dress the wound in her leg.

He didn’t have his field kit with him, he realized. He had left it at the brook. He scanned the room for anything that would help. He spotted a green jacket slung over a chair near the far wall in front of a desk. On the jacket was a small brooch. He went to it and broke it apart, taking the needle-like pin from it. He rolled it between his fingers, realizing it was too large in diameter to be of any real use. Besides, he had nothing to use for sutures, not even any regular thread. He abandoned the idea and went back to the elf. He packed a wad of the strips from the sheet and pressed them tightly against the wound. Then he took two more strips and tied them tight, but not so constrictive as to make a tourniquet. He was unable to give her the proper medical attention she required, but at least he had not broken his rule. He had not killed her. He had to hope that the famous elf constitution would help her fight off any infection and allow the wound to heal.

A part of him questioned why he was bothering to waste so much time on an elf. She had tried to kill him, after all. For a moment he questioned whether his rule should have any room for flexibility in such circumstances. He looked down at her face. Her mouth opened and she groaned. Immediately Talon was taken back to a similar scene.

He remembered his mother, lying on the ground mumbling incoherently. Her hair was matted to her face with blood. Smoke hung low in the air, carrying with it the stench of death and blood. People screamed in the distance. Then, his mother turned to lock eyes with him. She groaned with her last breath and then her eyes went dull.

Talon shook his head and forced the memory out of his mind. His heart thumped so strongly in his chest it almost made it hard for him to swallow. He looked back to the elf woman. A tear slid down his cheek, but he did not linger. He pushed up to his feet and went to work rummaging through the room. It was obvious that Jahre was not here. This was the last chamber in the tower, and the hatch leading to the roof was sealed from the inside with iron plates riveted through the ceiling.

Talon went back to the desk and looked through the drawer one more time before slamming it back into place. Just then, a paper flitted out from under the drawer and floated back and forth until it came to rest on the floor. He bent down to pick it up and saw that it was a letter. However, it was written in Taish runes, so he couldn’t read it.

Talon sighed and slumped into the chair and stuck his feet up on the desk. He let his arms droop beside him as he contemplated his next move. It was possible that Jahre had gone back to Bluewater for the festival, but Talon dismissed that idea. Surely if the sage was going to attend the festival the old elf lady in Bluewater would have known that and mentioned it. There had to be something else.

Talon put the letter in front of his face touching one edge lightly to his forehead as if he would somehow magically understand the runes written thereon. He pulled it back and scanned through the markings, and was about to lose interest when he saw one character that did, in fact, seem familiar. The runes in one of the words matched one of the signs he had seen on the road.

“Medlas,” Talon whispered as he recalled the old elf lady with the cat. “Take the road to Medlas,” he repeated. A grin stretched his lips. He looked at the word once more. He was certain the runes matched the sign on the road, and since the road led to Medlas, he deduced that the word was Medlas. It wasn’t much to go on, but it was something. Talon folded the letter and exited the room.

“You had better not be aiming to put that into your pocket,” Kelden said sternly as he caught one of the Zinferth sailors holding some gold coins from the Isabell.

The sailor stuttered and shifted in his boots for a moment before shaking his head vigorously and placing the coins back in the chest. “I just wanted to hold them for a bit, sir. That’s more than I make in a whole year.”

Kelden nodded and motioned for the sailor to leave. The sailor nodded and climbed up the stairs to the top deck, leaving the door open. Kelden then walked over and closed the top of the chest. He glanced around and then pulled the shiny, silvery black cube out of his pocket. It was cool to the touch, but he could not see a use for it. He turned it over a few times in his hand, marveling at the fact that the cube remained unsmudged by his fingerprints. He even breathed on it, but the cube remained pristine.

“It is marvelous, isn’t it?” a familiar voice called from above.

Kelden looked up and saw the bottom of Queen Dalynn’s robes before dropping to a knee. “My queen,” Kelden said respectfully as he bowed his head.

“Rise, Kelden,” Queen Dalynn commanded. “You have done well.”

“I trust this is the item you sought?” Kelden asked.

Queen Dalynn nodded with a smile and she descended the last stair and approached with her hands outstretched. Kelden noticed Karmt close the door and shuffle down the steps after her. Queen Dalynn turned and showed it to Karmt. “He found it,” she said.

Karmt smiled wide, stretching his thin cheeks to the point that Kelden wondered if his skin would tear. “Praise the Gods,” Karmt said. Then he turned to Kelden. “Do you know what this is?” Karmt asked.

Kelden shook his head. “No,” he said.

“This box holds the way to peace for our kingdom,” Queen Dalynn said.

Kelden narrowed his eyes skeptically. “I don’t follow,” he said.

“When King Dailex fell in battle, he was in the Elven Isles,” Karmt began. “The elves encapsulated his pendant in a magical box.” Karmt pointed to the cube and smiled. “This is that box.”

“Why would they do that?” Kelden asked.

“Because the elves knew that our nobles were squabbling over the throne,” Queen Dalynn said. “King Dailex’s son was not yet old enough to rule, so the nobles competed for the right to control the empire.”

Karmt cut in excitedly. “This led to the Mage War,” Karmt said.

Kelden nodded. “The nobles waged war against all magic users in the empire, blaming them for King Dailex’s death and then they set against each other and fractured the empire, but I still don’t see what this box will do to create peace today.”

Queen Dalynn stepped forward. “This box contains King Dailex’s pendant, the symbol of his right to rule. It will open for the rightful heir to the throne.”

“And the bearer of the pendant will have the right to unite our empire once more.” Karmt beamed like a small child who had just been given a life’s supply of sweet rolls.

Kelden shook his head. “But King Dailex’s family was murdered by a rogue mage during the Mage War. There is no heir.”

“That is where you are wrong, Kelden,” Queen Dalynn said. She smiled and held the cube up in her hands. “King Dailex actually had twins, one son and one daughter. While King Dailex’s son was killed, his daughter had been secreted away at birth to avoid squabbles over the throne between the twins. I am her descendant and rightful heir to the throne.”

Kelden held his breath for a moment, looking from Karmt to Queen Dalynn and back to Karmt.

Karmt nodded. “It’s true. I researched the lines myself. She is the rightful Queen to the entire empire.”

“Even if the box opens, why would that create peace?” Kelden asked pointedly. “The empire no longer exists, and hasn’t for five hundred years.”

Queen Dalynn held up her hand and Kelden immediately closed his mouth. “Because the people are tired of fighting. I’m not saying it will be easy, or even an immediate remedy. I am saying that I believe the people will rally under King Dailex’s symbol once more in the hope of creating something better than what they have now. A united empire would take away the nobles’ power to cause mischief, and it would remove King Sarito from power without the need for total war.”

Kelden shook his head, unconvinced. “With respect, I don’t think King Sarito will voluntarily relinquish his throne and kingdom.”

Queen Dalynn turned cold. “King Sarito has murdered my cousin, and shed my peoples’ blood along the borders in the south. Whether he gives his throne or not is irrelevant. I will give him one chance to surrender to me, the rightful heir and ruler. If he agrees, then I will allow him to retain his title and land as a governor. If he refuses, then I will wage complete and total war against him.” She took in a deep breath and then stepped forward. “There are many groups of people within Shausmat who would rally to King Dailex’s banner, if a true heir were revealed. This will weaken King Sarito’s army and populace by attrition, making the war nearly impossible for him to win.”

“Refusing King Dailex’s symbol would be a death sentence for King Sarito, and anyone else stubborn enough not to take the chance for peace,” Karmt said.

Kelden nodded slowly. He didn’t like the idea, but he wanted the conversation to be over, so he kept his thoughts to himself.

“We have the cube, but we still have many things to prepare in order to open it,” Queen Dalynn said. “In a ten-day, I will hold the ceremony. I will open the box in front of all of my advisors, so that all may see. Karmt has assembled the necessary genealogical records that prove my lineage, and he will finish the rest of the preparations.”

Karmt nodded enthusiastically. “I am almost ready now,” he said. “However, we have to wait for the moon to be full. Its light is required to release the first magical lock on the cube. Only then can we proceed with the rest of the ceremony.”

Kelden nodded his understanding. “What would you have me do now?”

Queen Dalynn smiled again, albeit faintly. “I would have you go back to your previous assignment. Just because I have the pendant does not mean that others won’t plan to take power for themselves. Return to your unit, they have much to discuss with you. I expect to see you in ten days.”

Kelden bowed his head. “As you wish.”

Karmt’s excitement vanished from his face and he pulled Kelden aside. “A lot has happened in your absence,” he said grimly. “Yeoj sent us a message that you should meet them in the Alchemical shop as soon as you returned.”

“Is everyone alright?” Kelden asked.

“More or less,” Karmt replied with a frown. “Go.”

*****

Hinges squeaked in protest as Kelden pushed the door open. Inside the shop he saw an elderly lady behind the counter, mixing liquids into a glass bottle. Another woman was on her knees on the floor vainly scrubbing bloodstains in the wooden planks.

“I am Kelden,” he announced to the old lady. She nodded her head.

“I am Agnes, but you already know that I presume,” she replied. Agnes turned her attention back to a blue bottle as she delicately tipped it, allowing its contents to flow into the other bottle on the counter. A faint tendril of smoke rose from the bottle, dissipating as Agnes exhaled. “Your friends are upstairs,” she said as she set the blue bottle back on the counter. “Be a dear and take this bottle to Sebina.”

Kelden closed the door and walked to the counter. He took the bottle in hand and held it up to the light. “What is it?” he asked.

“Ointment for burns,” Agnes replied. She turned abruptly and set the blue bottle back on a low shelf. “Go on up, the bottle isn’t going to walk itself up the stairs.”

The woman on the floor chuckled a bit, but tucked her lower lip to hide her grin when Kelden shot her a sidelong glance.

Kelden nodded and made for the stairs. When he reached the top he was greeted by an empty hallway with only a couple of doors on either side.

“Second door on the left,” Agnes called out from below.

Kelden arched a brow and glanced back down the stairs, but he said nothing. He shrugged and moved on. He opened the door as instructed and stepped inside. He saw Sebina first. Her long, black hair hung in loose waves down to the middle of her back as she sat on the edge of the bed with her left shoulder against the wall and her head slightly forward. Her right hand rested on Yeoj’s arm just below his elbow on one of the few areas not covered with bandages.

Sebina slowly opened her eyes and straightened up when Kelden knocked on the doorway. Kelden raised the bottle in front of him and she motioned for him to bring it to her.

“How is he?” Kelden asked.

“He has burns across his back, hands, and legs, but he will make it. Just needs some rest,” Sebina said. She took the bottle and set it on the bedside table in front of her. “I will need to get more bandages. I’ll be back in a moment.”

Kelden watched her rise from the bed and walk past him. He continued to look out the doorway after she had already departed. Something inside him yearned to go with her.

“I told you to introduce yourself,” Yeoj whispered hoarsely.

Kelden turned around. “I suppose you have made good use of the time I have been away,” he said.

Yeoj grinned that half-sly grin of his and grimaced when he tried to shrug. “She’s a beautiful woman, and someone had to keep her company and comfort her.”

Kelden stepped forward and folded his arms across his chest as he surveyed the extensive bandages. “It looks like you are the one in need of comfort.”

“Bah, I’ve been through worse than this,” Yeoj retorted.

“Really?” Kelden asked skeptically. “When was that?”

Yeoj sat silently for a moment. “Well, at least I have beautiful women to keep me company.”

Kelden gave up with a sigh. “Yeah, I suppose that accounts for something. Where is Pendonov?” Kelden asked, changing the subject.

“He left about an hour ago. He took a sword to the arm, so he isn’t very useful at the moment, but he is ambulatory, so he has been coming and going fairly regularly.”

“Any idea where he went?”

“Not really,” Yeoj said. “But, I am sure he will be back by lunch time.”

“Why is that?” Kelden asked.

Yeoj grinned again. “He and the redhead are sort of hitting it off.”

“I see,” Kelden said with a slight frown.

“Don’t worry,” Yeoj said with a wink. “We didn’t forget about you, Agnes is single.” Kelden opened his mouth to say something just as Sebina walked in from behind.

“Good, you’re awake,” she said to Yeoj. “I need to change your bandages.”

Yeoj looked up and gave Kelden another wink. Kelden shook his head and stepped aside to allow Sebina enough room to work. Yeoj’s grin faded instantly as she started pulling the bandage on his arm. Bits of skin and hair clung to the gauze, but Yeoj said nothing. His body tensed and stiffened. He sucked in his breaths and his eyes focused on a distant point no one else could see.

Under the bandages were patches of pink, black, and white skin. Blisters filled with clear fluid added to the rigid texture. Kelden closed his eyes and silently mouthed a prayer to the Old Gods on Yeoj’s behalf.

“You should have been there with him,” Sebina said.

Kelden ceased his prayer and regarded her curiously. “I was called away on business,” he replied evenly. “But, yes, I should have been there with him.”

Yeoj made no attempt to enter the conversation. He continued to focus on that distant point with his eyes while he drew in large, loud breaths. A tear slid down from his left eye as Sebina applied a measure of the ointment to his arm and began wrapping it with new bandages.

“I suppose I should thank you too,” Sebina said after a few moments. “The three of you saved us.” She paused and looked up to Kelden with her dark, brown eyes. “I am just happy it is over.”

Kelden stood silently for a moment. He looked back to Yeoj. She began unwrapping his shoulder and chest. Yeoj couldn’t help but allow a few grunts and whimpers to escape as she rolled him to his side so she could access the back of his shoulder. Kelden gasped when she uncovered several sizeable holes over his shoulder blade.

“He needs a physician,” Kelden growled. “Why haven’t you sent for someone?”

Sebina shook her head, “We tried, but…”

“No!” Yeoj hissed. “No one can know.” He forced himself to sit up and look at Kelden. “If I am discovered, then our secret will be uncovered. No one can know. Pendonov’s report was clear that the battle here was a simple burglary gone wrong. We also falsified a report to claim that Baldur’s Arms was burned to the ground by arms dealers.”

“If it is over, and the traffickers are all dead, then why the need for pretext?” Kelden asked.

Yeoj sighed, grunting heavily against the agony of sitting upright. “It isn’t over.”

Sebina shot up straight, backpedaling with her mouth agape. “You said no one survived.”

Yeoj nodded. “No one here survived,” he explained. “But, they were going to send you both to Blundfish.”

“So, there are others there,” Kelden understood. “Do we have their names?”