The Hunter's Gambit

by Nicholas McIntire

  Aleksei smiled, “Good. Why don’t you go down to the barracks and let the corporal assign you your rooms. The healers gave me a sleeping draught, so I’m afraid I won’t be very good company in a few moments.”

  Ilyana chuckled, “Alright, you get some sleep. We’ll see you in the morning.”

  She turned to go and Marrik stepped forward, giving Aleksei a squeeze on the shoulder and a nod.

  Aleksei smiled at his friend, “Get some rest, Marrik.”

  When they had gone, Aleksei rested his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath, and when he opened them he found the early light of dawn filtering through his window.

  His headache had abated a bit, though the sleeping potion left him feeling disoriented. Aleksei wondered if the potion had kept Jonas from contacting him through his dreams. It seemed odd to him that he wouldn’t have heard from his Magus in the two days since their communication had been interrupted.

  The doors of his chamber opened and Ilyana looked in tentatively. “You’re awake.” she said, sounding somewhat surprised.

  Aleksei nodded, leaning forward and pulling the sheet away. His left leg was splinted and bound. He pulled himself to the edge of the bed and reached for his shirt on the bedpost.

  Ilyana collected his few personal possessions and pushed them into his canvas pack, hoisting it onto her shoulder before handing him the wooden crutch the healers insisted he use.

  “Is there anything you need to do before we leave? Anyone you need to see?” Ilyana asked, helping him to his feet.

  Aleksei shook his head, “I’ve prepared a letter for Major Rysun, along with instructions for the running of the garrison. Things should be alright here, at least for a while.”

  With Ilyana’s help he made his way out into the hall and down into the stable yard. Marrik had to bodily lift him onto Dash’s back, but once he was up he had no trouble keeping his balance or controlling the horse.

  Once again, he thanked the gods he was riding Dash and not Agriphon. The warhorse was impressive, but young and impulsive. It would have required his full range of mobility to ride the stallion, whereas Dash was more than used to his handling.

  They were headed out of the stable yard when the doors burst open and Rysun hurried out into the morning light.

  “Lord Captain Drago!” he called. “Lord Captain, where are you going?”

  Aleksei pulled Dash to a halt and turned to address the Major, “I need to return to Kalinor, Major. There are some…issues there that require my immediate attention. I’m leaving you in command.”

  Rysun looked confused, “Lord Captain?”

  Aleksei smiled at the man’s bewilderment, “I can’t be here to watch over things all the time, Major.” He leaned forward and grasped the man’s arm, “You’re a good man, Fredrick. Do as you’ve been trained, and you’ll have few troubles. You saved my life, and for that alone you have earned not only my confidence, but my thanks.”

  Rysun seemed surprised, but he nodded.

  Aleksei straightened in his saddle, “Take care, Colonel Rysun.”

  Rysun tried to hide his glee under a smart salute. Aleksei returned the gesture, then turned Dash and rode out of the yard.

  Upon reaching the street, Aleksei realized that Marrik had arranged for an escort to take them to the edge of town so he wouldn’t be too jostled trying to maneuver around carts and other riders. While he hated feeling helpless, Aleksei was thankful that their trip to the city walls was smooth and uneventful.

  The day wearied on, the sky growing dark with clouds only five leagues after leaving Mornj. They had gone but a few leagues more before the rain returned.

  Ilyana rode up next to him, her face etched with concern, “Should we pull to the roadside till the rain clears?”

  “Where were you planning to take shelter?” He swept his arm to indicate the land around them, “We’re in the Southern Plain now. There will be some live oak, perhaps, but nothing that you Northerners would call a proper ‘tree’. In any event, we don’t have time to stop. It might rain for one hour, or five. I have no interest in giving up so much distance on the basis of an inconvenience.”

  Ilyana’s face darkened, “I am concerned for your health, Aleksei. It isn’t good for someone in your condition to be exposed like this.”

  Aleksei raised the hood of his travel cloak, “If we stop now, here, by the end of this shower, the roads will be all but impassible. We’d have to cut cross-country. I know this land better than either of you, so I would be the one scouting the land to find a route for us. I hardly see how that’s better than riding a few leagues in the rain.”

  The Magus tried to keep her sigh to herself. Surely, she thought, it wasn’t surprising that Aleksei was just as stubborn as Jonas. The two men were as close as any Knight and Magus, and part of it must be that they shared certain similarities of character.

  The small party rode on for several hours in silence. The rain lifted around mid-afternoon, but it remained overcast until the sky darkened into evening.

  They made camp under a strand of live oak, finding the earth to be firmer there than in the surrounding countryside.

  Ilyana used brushes of flame to dry and warm the earth, and they spread their bedrolls atop as many dry oak leaves as they could find. It was far from comfortable.

  “I’ll take first watch.” Aleksei said after dinner was done with.

  Marrik shared a dark look with his Magus, “Aleksei, you need your rest.”

  Aleksei returned the Knight’s stern glare, “Which is exactly why I’ll be taking first watch, so that I am neither woken too early, nor is my sleep interrupted.”

  The other two shared an unhappy look. It was not a tone of voice Aleksei often used, certainly not with his friends, but they recognized it for what it was. This was not their friend speaking, but their Lord Captain.

  Aleksei watched them ready for bed, then waited patiently until they were asleep before he climbed out of his bedroll. Using his crutch to gain his footing, he spared one glance towards his companions. When he was satisfied that they were sleeping soundly, he limped out of the camp.

  He wasn’t quite sure how far he’d have to go; that much wasn’t clear to him yet. As he limped he fought the urge to scratch at the Mantle. It was all he could do not to stop completely and indulge himself.

  Aleksei had traveled perhaps a hundred paces when he heard a low, guttural growl.

  He stopped and turned to face the cougar sitting behind him.

  The itching flared until it was practically unbearable. Aleksei gritted his teeth as the cougar rose and walked gracefully towards him.

  The Knight dropped to his good knee and reached out his hand, feeling the Mantle swell with fire and anticipation.

  The cat was but a pace from him when there was an explosion of flame between them. The cougar snarled and darted away into the darkness. Aleksei coughed with surprise as the burning itch of the Mantle flared to a brilliant crescendo before settling back into inky oblivion.Ilyana was at his side a minute later, “Aleksei! Are you alright? I woke and you were gone, but Marrik’s the one who heard the cat. Did it attack you? Show me where you’re hurt.”

  Aleksei came to his feet crossly, leaning heavily upon his crutch, “I’m fine, Ilyana. It didn’t attack me. It was….” He stopped himself, taking a deep breath. How did he explain that the cat had been trying to help him?

  He shook his head and started hobbling back towards the camp, where Marrik was waiting with his bow drawn. “It didn’t attack me.” he muttered.

  Ilyana stared after the Hunter, utterly at a loss.

  CHAPTER 31

  Restorations

  BY THE TIME Kalinor came into view several weeks later, Aleksei felt as though the skin across his back was on fire. It had supplanted even his grinding headache and the throb in his knee as the primary source of pain in his life, yet there was nothing he could do but grit his teeth and bear it, ju
st like everything else.

  The fire in his knee hardly seemed more than a tickle in comparison, and while he had not broached the matter with Ilyana, he doubted there was much she could have done for him in any event. The Mantle seemed to be little connected with the Archanium, if at all.

  But stranger still were the thoughts that had plagued his dreams the last several nights. While he still waited for any communication from Jonas, other, darker thoughts pervaded his sleep. Images of blood-red eyes. The sound of a man’s scream.

  They seemed at once wholly incomprehensible and perfectly lucid. He hoped that Jonas would know what to make of it all.

  They rode under Kalinor’s great white walls and Aleksei felt himself relax. He’d come to find something deeply comforting about being enclosed within those walls, a feeling of security he’d only known before in the upper branches of the Seil Wood.

  The Palace Lawn was bustling with activity from the city. Aleksei rode with his friends only as a far as the Voralla before setting off towards the Palace stables. He had many things to take care of, and he didn’t want to waste any more time with pleasantries than he had to.

  Master Collins seemed pleased to see Aleksei return. “Lord Captain, I’m so relieved to see you back home.” the man said, bowing deeply. “Your disappearance caused quite a stir around here, I must say.”

  Aleksei smiled warmly at the older man, ignoring the other’s surprise as he gingerly dismounted onto his good leg and withdrew his crutch from behind his saddle. “I hope no one was too put out by my departure, Master Collins.”

  The man shook his head, “Not in the least, Lord Captain. We only hoped everything was well.”

  “Thank you for your concern, Master Collins. I hope to make it all the better momentarily.”

  He began to move towards the Palace, leaving the groom to scratch his head at the oddity of his reply.

  As much as Aleksei had been able to put his anger out of his mind during his stay in Mornj and the subsequent journey north, seeing the Palace itself revitalized his ire with a vengeance.

  He worked his way through the brightly lit corridors with a slow, methodical pace, keeping his objective at the forefront of his mind as he moved.

  Servants passed him, regarding him quizzically as he hobbled by. A few offered aid, but he refused them. Some of the Guardsmen also offered their assistance, and Aleksei could see in their eyes that they were pained to see him like this. While he appreciated their sympathy, he had no need of their pity.

  When he reached the door he sought, Aleksei was pleased to see light coming from under the door. Hugo Malak was home. Aleksei would have been greatly angered to find Lord Malak at his country estate after he’d come all this way north for the express purpose of dealing with the man.

  Aleksei considered knocking, but decided against it. He did, however, pull his knife and cut away the splint from his leg. After a moment of consideration, he decided that this was as good as it was going to get.

  And while he doubted it would be as impressive an entrance as it might have been were he in full command of his legs, Aleksei was quite sure that a lord of such importance and wealth as Hugo Malak would be most surprised to find anyone, even the Lord Captain, come into his rooms unannounced.

  The door swung open and Aleksei limped inside.

  Malak sat at his desk, an unread document held in his hand as he stared at Aleksei’s advancing figure. He was within five paces when Malak finally found his voice.

  “Lord Captain Drago, what is the meaning of this?”

  Aleksei reached the edge of the desk and used it to support himself, dropping the crutch off to the side.

  “I’ve been hearing some very unpleasant things about you, Your Grace.”

  Malak was unimpressed, “I haven’t any idea what you’re talking about, Lord Captain.” His lip curled in a sneer, “Perhaps you hit your head when you injured your leg.”

  Aleksei bit back his own mounting rage, “You’ve committed high treason, Malak. I have a confession from your underling, delivered to me directly. I have seen the results of your treachery with my own eyes.

  “You are answerable to our Queen, to the people of the realm for your actions.”

  Malak stood, “I will not allow for such wanton slander, Captain. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have matters which require my attention.” He stepped around his desk and walked swiftly towards the door. Aleksei turned and grasped the man’s shoulder as he passed.

  Malak froze.

  Aleksei breathed deeply, golden eyes glittering. “You are answerable to me.”

  It happened too quickly for Aleksei to register.

  The Mantle surged to life across his back and coursed down his arm, lightening as it extended until it pulsed a brilliant scarlet. The beseeching claws reached Aleksei’s wrists and lifted away from his arms in thin, needle-like talons.

  Malak opened his mouth to scream as the talons sank into his shoulder, filling the room with the odor of burning flesh. Malak gasped for breath, but each choking sob was weaker than the last. The tendrils pulsed and thickened as the moment dragged.

  Aleksei felt life flow into him as the burning across his shoulders subsided and his headache vanished. He glared at Malak. The Lord stared back in horror.

  And then it was over.

  Malak collapsed to the floor, lifeless.

  Drained.

  Aleksei stood above him, breathing deeply, feeling wholly restored.

  It took him a moment to realize that his leg had mended. He glanced down at his hands, noting with some surprise that a scar he’d received as a boy was also gone.

  He dropped into a crouch and touched his fingers to Malak’s neck. The man was dead. Beyond dead, he was already cold.

  A scream rent the air and Aleksei regained his senses. He looked up just in time to catch sight of a fleeing servant girl. He ran his hands through his hair as reality washed across him.

  He had just murdered one of the most important members of Parliament. A traitorous one, but one that had never been brought before any court. Worse yet, the kill had been witnessed.

  “I’ve got to get out of here.” he muttered, standing and glancing towards the door.

  If he tried to leave that way his own men would catch him. Or at least they would try to. In either event, Aleksei didn’t want to force them to take any sort of decisive action. He certainly didn’t want to hurt them.

  Instead he ran to the window, preparing to pull it open. He wasn’t yet so high that he couldn’t either drop to the ground or perhaps find a way onto the roof. But as his hand found the latch, he caught sight of himself in the glass.

  His heart staggered. The same vision from his dream, the same intense blood-red eyes, stared back at him.

  Aleksei threw the window open and stepped out onto the ledge, trying to drive the image from his mind. Was he becoming a monster?

  On some level he knew he should feel remorse, or pity, something for Malak. He’d never meant to kill the man, certainly. But instead he found only a cool sense that justice had been served.

  His foot slipped on the ledge and Aleksei focused upon the task at hand. There would be plenty of time for him to think about it once he got out of Kalinor. And for all that he’d wanted to reach the Palace from the moment he’d left Drava, he now found it to be the last place he wished to be.

  Aleksei reached a drainage gutter and grasped it with his hands, lowering himself over the edge of the ledge and dangling several paces off the ground.

  He took a deep breath and let go, falling out of time. He twisted as he fell, watching the hard ground rise swiftly to meet him. A pace above the ground his boots contacted the wall and he thrust outward, propelling himself into a dive roll.

  The impact still knocked the wind from him, but Aleksei knew it wasn’t half as bad as it could have been. He rolled to his feet and brushed the grass from his shirt.After a cursory inspection of the West Lawn, Aleksei drop
ped into a lope towards the stables. If he was fast enough, the groom wouldn’t have had a chance to send his things to his room.

  He found the stable quiet, with only Master Collins and a few stable-boys brushing down the horses for the night. Master Collins gaped when he saw Aleksei running towards him, and the Knight reflected that it must be a disconcerting sight to see the same man hobble away on a crutch not half an hour ago and return running easily.

  “Master Collins, saddle Agriphon would you?”

  The groom stared for a moment, then nodded, “As you command, Lord Captain. I’ve already had your things sent off. Would you like one of the boys to fetch them.”

  Aleksei nodded, digging in his pocket and flipping the boy a silver mark, “Another one for you if you’re back in five minutes.”

  The boy took off at a full sprint and Aleksei followed Master Collins into the stable. “I have to leave again, this time for what might be quite a while.” Aleksei confined his voice to a whisper as he spoke, “If anyone comes here and questions you, tell them the truth. I demanded my horse be saddled and said no more. I don’t want any trouble for you.”

  Collins smiled kindly, “Thank you for your concern, Lord Captain, but my boys and I can take care of ourselves. Are there any messages you need delivered while you’re absent?”

  Aleksei considered, then nodded, “If the Queen comes by, tell her that I’m sorry. I would never do anything to put her in a difficult situation, but some things can’t be helped. For anything more she’ll have to speak with the Prince.”

  Master Collins nodded, “As you say, Lord Captain. Ah, here is Geoff with your things.”

  Aleksei turned and took the saddlebags and bedroll from the boy, handing him a second silver in return. He turned and transferred the contents to the bags of Agriphon’s handsome black saddle. A moment later he swung onto the stallion’s back and reached down, shaking Master Collins' hand firmly.

  “Your loyalty is appreciated more than I can say.”