Fear gripped Teorn.
“Is it Terosh?” A hundred terrifying thoughts crowded his head. Mavis had resources that kept her very well informed. It wasn’t impossible to imagine her hearing a report of something befalling his younger son before his own men could share the news.
Surprise flitted across her face.
“He is fine. Last I heard, Terosh and the Ranger had reached Resh.” She brushed at an invisible imperfection in her silk dress. The deep red fabric wrapped closely around her. Precious gia gems winked at him from her fingers, wrists, ears, and neck.
Teorn nodded, relieved to have the confirmation. That had been the last report given to him as well. He shook his head at the thought of Terosh traveling alone with a Ranger—and a young female at that—but everything had gone well so far. By all reports, the boy was doing fine without the Royal Guards. Teorn forced himself to relax.
“I apologize for unnerving you.” Mavis’s voice, though penitent, still held a mocking note. “I actually came about your elder son. Some time ago you asked me to seek suitable matches for Taytron. I believe I have found one.”
Chapter 22:
Shadow of Mount Palean
ZERI (JUNE) 2, 1538
Ninety-one days into Prince Terosh’s Kireshana journey
Campsite near Mount Palean, Morden Lowlands
The days passed, and the lessons continued until Lady Akia Zelene set off for Ritand with twenty-three relief workers and four hovs filled with supplies. Prince Terosh and Reia Antellio shared the midday meal with a lonely Governor Darmon Zelene then took a hov to Fort Riden to pick up supplies. During the ride, Terosh kept stealing glances at Reia, enjoying seeing her smile as the wind blew in their faces. He insisted they update their weapons for the journey’s second half since Fort Riden was the last major military outpost along the Kireshana path. If they needed supplies after that, they would have to travel down to Ritten, Meritab, or Meritel. The stop took less than an hour.
By late afternoon, they were through most of the Morden Lowlands and entering Mount Palean’s shadow. Thanking the hov driver, they disembarked.
“We should stop near here. It’s at least a kilometer from the foot of the mountains,” said Reia.
“Why does the distance from the mountains matter?” Terosh asked.
“If we get too close we risk something sneaking up on us.”
I suppose it’s about time for something to go wrong. We’ve had plenty of rest the last few days.
They hiked a little longer, hoping to find a stream. After a short, fruitless search, they tossed their burdens under a collection of fossa trees.
Terosh stretched and yawned.
“You’re tired?” asked Reia incredulously. “We’ve done nothing but sit in a hov all day.”
“I was thinking about taking a nap.” Terosh shook out his bedroll and flopped down onto it. Folding his hands behind his head, he pretended to sleep. “What would you suggest?” He opened one eye to look at Reia.
“There’s still an hour of daylight. How about a duel?” Reia rested a hand on her banistick then drew the weapon and idly flipped it a few times.
Terosh groaned.
“All you Rangers ever do is train. Don’t you know how to have fun?” Despite his complaints, he smiled, hauled himself upright, and drew his kerlinblade. Bowing deeply, he waved toward the empty fields to his right. “Shall we?”
Reia removed the clasp holding her travel cloak together and tucked it into a small pouch at her waist. The travel cloak fluttered to the ground behind her. Terosh removed his cloak as well and tossed both it and the ornate clasp onto his bedroll before following Reia into the middle of some graveground.
“Try not to twist an ankle,” Reia cautioned.
A quick salute later, the fight began. The duel started slowly with each combatant initiating attacks. Terosh stayed conscious of where he placed his feet. Reia floated over the weak spots like they weren’t even there. Several minutes later, they intensified the battle, striking, dodging, kicking, flipping, and rolling until their clothes looked shabby. Sometime later they switched weapons and continued the battle. Round after round passed until both fighters were drenched in sweat. By mutual agreement, the duel finally ended in a draw.
Reia gathered brush and lit it with anotechs while Terosh searched for water.
“We’ll have to ask the Mount Palean Guide for water,” Terosh said, once he found what the trees were using as a water source. “That stream’s more mud than water.”
Reia didn’t respond immediately. She crouched by the fire and tossed in a few more twigs, looking pensive.
“I wonder if the anotechs could get water.”
Terosh mulled the possibility over.
Can you get water here?
We can.
“Yes,” Reia and Terosh confirmed simultaneously.
“From the air or ground?” Reia wondered.
Terosh repeated the question silently.
Both, but from the ground is easier.
Reia knelt, held her hands a few centimeters above the ground, and said, “Ricridofirm.”
Terosh watched as a pool of water a handspan across formed. He scooped up a handful of the water, but before he could bring it to his mouth, Reia caught his arm, spilling the water.
“It’s poisoned,” she explained, “or at least not very clean.” She released his arm.
“Ah. Right. Have to be specific with them.” Terosh searched for the proper terminology. He could have tried the common tongue, but he needed the Kalastan practice. “Ricrinadofirm,” he said, holding a hand near the ground about a meter or so away from the other pool. He had the briefest sensation of something leaving through his outstretched hand. Seconds later, he had the opposite sensation.
They watched silently as a pool of water formed. Terosh admitted that the new one looked much cleaner than the first.
“Destroy the other one so we don’t get confused.”
Terosh was taken aback by Reia’s tone.
“Not you. The anotechs,” Reia clarified.
Grinning sheepishly, Terosh rummaged for food.
When their bedrolls were laid out, Terosh sat down and breathed deeply of the sweet fresh air. For the first night in over a week, they would sleep beneath the stars. Thinking of the stars made him look up.
“What a sight!” he whispered.
ON THE FIRE’S OTHER side, Reia sat on her bedroll and fiddled with the new banistick shock nullifiers. She studied the effect with an eye for aesthetics as well as function. The lightweight metal fixtures looked unnatural, but they would make the wooden weapon impervious to most energy weapons, including kerlinblades.
At least they’ll free up some anotechs.
Terosh’s awed exclamation brought Reia’s head up. She looked at his face, followed his gaze up to the stars, and agreed. Wordlessly, she told the anotechs to dim the fire.
Clouds covered Reshner’s three moons so that they didn’t interfere with the starry host. Billions of tiny dots, insignificant on their own yet breathtaking together, winked like shiners.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Terosh murmured, as if speaking loudly would drive off the sight.
“I’ve only seen a few nights like this,” Reia said. “Usually, I’m up in the mountains where the moons can find me anywhere.”
“Do you know any constellations?” Terosh asked.
“A few,” Reia said.
“Will you show me?” Terosh inquired.
“Of course,” Reia answered. Ignoring her sore muscles, she rose, crossed over to the prince, and sat down next to him. She looked up and studied the stars, remembering the night Master Niklos first took them stargazing. She spotted Cascius’s Cloak first. “See those four stars there, the ones in a perfect line?” she asked, pointing in the appropriate direction.
Terosh craned his neck for a long moment but finally admitted defeat.
“No.” Disappointment made the word heavy.
Reia hesitated. There were two ways she could show him, and both were fairly intimate. She scanned for an easier one and located Obrius’s Mace next. “Okay, see that cluster of slightly brighter stars over there?” she asked, pointing in a new direction.
Terosh looked for a minute before shaking his head. His neck cracked several times.
“Ow,” he said, rubbing the spot. “Guess I’m not cut out to be a stargazer.”
Again, the disappointment touched her.
“Shall I help you?”
“Please.”
Reia forced herself to her feet again.
“Then, stand up.”
TEROSH FOLLOWED THE instruction, hearing the slight tremor in Reia’s voice.
What’s she nervous about?
Then, I took her into my arms and the stars were ours, the anotechs intoned.
Oh.
Feeling Reia tug at his arm, he stiffened.
“Stop that. Hold your arm out straight and let me direct it,” said Reia.
That was easier said than done. Terosh’s arm balked at being directed. As Reia tugged, his arm jerked away. He let her wrestle his right arm until one hand brushed the underside. Then, he laughed and jumped backward. When he glanced up, he saw Reia’s stunned expression.
Her lips twitched as she struggled to hold in laughter. She lost.
“I guess you’re ticklish,” she said, when she finally stopped laughing. Her head turned skyward again.
“Will you still help me find the constellations?” Terosh asked, wishing he didn’t sound like a needy child.
“Fine, I’ll point, and you can stand behind me and follow my arm. I’m not touching your arm again. Nearly lost my nose last time.” Reia turned her back on him.
Suddenly, the hesitation that had gripped her seized him. His heart pounded like it wanted out.
“There’s Cascius’s Cloak. The four stars in a diagonal line at a thirty-degree angle.” Reia’s right arm stretched out, and her hand turned to mimic the angle of the four stars.
Terosh crept up behind her and leaned so that his eyes could follow her arm.
“I see it!”
“Good. That marks Cascius’s forearm. Imagine someone holding a cloak across their face with their right arm. If you trace up slightly to the left until you see the next few stars, you’ll trace the path of his left arm to his ice dagger.”
“Cascius. Cascius. Why does that name sound familiar?”
“Count Cascius Drooin,” Reia supplied.
Cadrish’s emotional rendition of the Legend of Count Drooin of Doxiti V came back to Terosh. The story featured a fictional count whose wife was murdered by his brother. Driven by grief, Cascius donned a cursed cloaked that would make him immortal and plagued his brother’s family for five generations.
“I remember,” Terosh said. “Sad story.”
Reia lowered her arm and looked for another constellation. The hours slipped by as she showed Terosh dozens of constellations. Obrius’s Mace, Irmen’s Shield, Kala’s Heart, Riden’s Justice, Rammon’s Scepter, and many more came to life before his eyes. He remembered most of the stories but happily listened to her tell them again. As a storyteller, Reia had old man Cadrish cleanly beat.
LUCAS TELON OBSERVED the constellation lessons dispassionately. Murderous thoughts toward the prince had ceased days ago, but he still hated to see Reia with him. They tried to pretend there was nothing between them, but she looked at the prince in a way she had never looked at Lucas. His TT-189 chimed, announcing an encrypted call, so he flicked it on and found Lord Kezem on the screen.
“Yes, my Lord?” Lucas kept his voice cautious.
“I hope my mother is paying you well, Ranger.” Lord Kezem’s greeting was terse.
“Well enough, sir, what can I do for you?”
“If she hasn’t forbidden you from accepting my orders, I have a job for you.”
“Speak, my Lord.”
Kezem spoke casually, as if ordering him to fetch water.
“I want you to track down the other Maledek. The one calling himself ‘Dalonos.’ I have need of him and he failed to answer my summons. I prefer him alive, but if you can’t manage that, kill him and bring me the body. He shouldn’t be hard to track.”
“What of my current mission?”
“Ask my mother for her leave if you must,” Kezem grumbled. “Just get it done. I don’t have time to contract another Ranger.”
Another?
Lucas couldn’t imagine any other Rangers wanting his job. A few had the right skills, but they lacked the proper temperament. The link broke before he could reply. Lucas flicked the controls so he could spy on Reia and the prince again, but disgust soon overwhelmed him. Lucas had taught Reia some of those constellation legends long ago. Having her share the stories with the prince felt like a violation of something sacred.
To distract himself, he called the Lady. She picked up and listened as he explained Lord Kezem’s request.
Lucas got the distinct impression she knew why he was calling before he said one word.
“May I pursue this new mission, my Lady?” he asked.
“How are you?” she asked, instead of answering his question.
“My Lady?”
“It is a simple question, Lucas. Given your past with the subject, I am curious.”
“I can do my job.”
“Good. My son’s request seems strange, but I’m inclined to trust his instincts for now. If he’s lost faith in this scientist turned Maledek, it would be wise to control the being.”
She cut the connection without so much as a fare-thee-well, leaving Lucas to wonder where this new mission would take him.
Chapter 23:
Cries for Help
ZERI (JUNE) 6, 1538
Ninety-five days into Prince Terosh’s Kireshana journey
Throne Room, Royal Palace, City of Rammon
“It is as much a cry for help as purple fire, and you will answer it,” declared King Teorn Minstel.
Prince Taytron stiffened. He hated debating his father, and it seemed like every conversation turned into a confrontation these days.
“Will you order it, sire?”
I can’t remarry, Father. Not yet and maybe not ever.
The king held his hands out in a placating gesture.
“I know you had your heart set on that young scientist. I’m not blind, Taytron, but she’s beyond your help. Princess Alikai is not beyond our help. She must marry before the first of Pirua (September) or the Blood Harvest will claim her entire family. This is the only way to stop it.”
Mention of Deanna hit Tate like ice water. He had tried a dozen arguments to no avail. Still stinging from thoughts of Deanna, he tried again.
“Do you think it wise to unite Reshner with a people whose practices include the Blood Harvest?”
Their gazes locked. The question hung between them.
“I had the analysts assess the risks and put it before the Interplanetary Politics Committee. There were doubts, but most agree with my decision.” The king stared into nothing for a moment. “The Mitra are a strong people. We need strong allies.”
Realization slammed into Tate.
“You’re going to defy GAPP.”
His father nodded gravely.
The news thrilled yet sobered Tate. Responsibility landed on him like a falling zalok. The idea of replacing Deanna sickened him, but if it would save Reshner from GAPP, he had to consider it.
“Where did you hear of this possible alliance?”
“Your Aunt Mavis.” His father’s expression said he didn’t want to argue about it right now.
The answer surprised Tate, though he knew it shouldn’t. His father had always looked up to his older sister. Tate thought her too shrewd to be trusted, but he wasn’t ready to open old points of contention just yet.
Perhaps Captain Kelter will help me investigate this alliance.
“I will think on it, Father,” Tate promised.
Thoughts chased
each other around in his head as he left the throne room. He would need to have his people check into the potential alliance, but his father wouldn’t have brought it up if it wasn’t a sure thing.
ZERI (JUNE) 6, 1538
Same Day
Kireshana Path, Kesler Plains
On Zeri 3, 1538, Reia and Prince Terosh conquered Mount Palean with ease, checked in with the Guide on the other side, and continued the Kireshana.
A few days into their trek over the Kesler Plains, they spotted a fire atop a gradually sloping rise in the land. The purple flames swayed, sometimes flaring, sometimes shrinking to almost nothing. It was hard to tell how far away the fire burned. The flatness of the plains meant little, for old patches of graveground—collapsed or not—could hide anywhere. The distance could be five or twenty-five kilometers.
The sun had just disappeared over the Riden Mountains at their backs and brilliant streams of purple and orange still protested the end of day. They exchanged glances, each expecting the flames to be a figment of their imagination.
Purple, green, or even blue fire could be a cry for help. Most of the farms were so spread out that help could be days away. The occasional emergency station could be found, but they were unreliable at best. If the windstorms and acid rains didn’t destroy them, cawallas would break in and eat anything they could fit in their mouths.
The best hope for those working the lonely land lay in traveling Rangers. Those assigned to each city had the duty to check surrounding areas for colored fires.
“Is that flame purple or am I going crazy?” Terosh wondered.
“Perhaps both theories hold truth,” Reia responded evenly.
The prince stared at her then took off to find the fire.
“Wait!” Reia called, tightening the strap of her caydronan sack. Suddenly grateful to have left the korver sacks with Lady Zelene, Reia ran after Prince Terosh. “We don’t know whose fire that is!”
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