by TJ Reynolds
Twisting her feet and pushing forward, Rhona threw a slow-motion punch. “This is the boxer’s style the thick-skulled soldiers prefer. It is easy to learn, and if you get caught by it, you’ll have your teeth knocked out in a blink. But it’s slow and easy to counter.”
Tela’s eyes studied Rhona’s stance as she shifted. “When I fight like a bloody tiger, I keep my paws before me. If someone attacks my face, I lash out, sink my claws into them, and control their arm,” Rhona said, demonstrating how she could ensnare a clumsy punch. “Then, when I find an opening, I keep my torso open and facing theirs. The strikes are powered by the full body, but see? No twisting, no lunging, no getting off balance. The result is fast and efficient.”
“And lacking power,” Tela added.
“Perhaps. But know this. If you can strike your enemy once, you can do so again. Only a fool tries to knock out a sturdy opponent in a single blow. Just hit where it hurts, and your fists will do the rest.”
Tela considered the sage advice. Finally, she shrugged. “I don’t know, Rhona. I’m still not sure one of those attacks could be very effective unless you augment the attack with ether.”
“You can think what you want. I’ve defeated opponents twice my size without relying on my skills. Just trust me.”
The afternoon soon faded, and the two women, now much more in each other’s affections, returned to the cave. The wide expanse of the cavern seemed cramped when they entered. Something had happened, and everyone was trying to get a little closer to Royar.
For his sake, the ranger looked weary and a little confused. Tela stepped in and gave a sharp whistle. “Quiet!” Turning to Royar, she asked, “What’s happened? Is there news?”
Rhona found a place to stand between two men as tall as pine trees. One of them nearly elbowed her in the mouth as he gestured to his friend. He moved over and gave her more room after she cursed the day he was born.
Royar’s expression was hard to read. Fatigue twisted his normally handsome features, and something else as well. Oh, damn it all, Rhona thought. The man is afraid.
The ranger cleared his throat. “We’ve heard a few rumors in the forest. One of our scouts did not return. That alone lets me know that our quarry is close by. The birds are restless, and the trees won’t say a thing. I can’t be certain precisely where, but the enemy’s camp is within ten miles of our position.”
“Where though?” someone asked from the back of the crowd.
“Not far beyond the border. My guess is that this man Hastings knows more about the lands on our borders than we first expected. The missing scout was headed from Yarma’s Fork. Two small creeks converge, making the foliage so dense no horse could cut through it.” Royar rubbed the back of his head. “I hope I’m wrong, but I think the Brintoshi have taken root in those woods. They’ll be hard as splinters to remove, and we will be in grave danger should we venture in to find them.”
A few murmurs passed through the ranks of rebels.
Tela’s face grew angry, but she held her tongue.
Don’t worry, girl. I’ve got your back, Rhona thought.
She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, “When do we go?”
The Hintari laughed, and a few cheered. Royar’s expression lightened a little, but Rhona could tell the man wasn’t excited to see his countrymen die.
A few plans were made. The rebels would send out two groups the following morning with the sole purpose of locating the Brintoshi encampment. Rhona would be with one of them.
That night, Rhona finally slept.
Kai didn’t make an eerie call on her, and though she kept expecting him to pop up, he never did.
She fell asleep and dreamt of nothing at all.
A young man woke her a few hours before sun up. She pulled her boots on and walked outside to take her turn at guard duty.
As the cold morning wind blew, Rhona hugged her shoulders. She peered out across this foreign land. Hintar, she mused. It isn’t so different at all. And if anything is different, it’s that this country is more beautiful than my own.
Oddly, the thought warmed her.
These were savages she was working with. They were men and women as savagely dedicated to the lives of their fellows as she was.
The remaining questions that plagued her weren’t going anywhere any time soon. She still wondered what people would call her once they found out. How many songs would be made about the Hintari Harlot? Would her father learn she’d become a shivving turn cloak?
Knowing she fought beside the handful of warriors brave and foolish enough to make a stand against Hastings was enough though.
She could live with it if she had to.
So, the red-haired girl combed out her hair and braided it anew. This world could think what it wanted of her. She was the one she had to live with.
The sun rose over Eastern Hintar, filling Rhona’s heart with more hope than she’d felt in years.
She only hoped the feeling would last throughout the day to come.
22
Stronger than Crystal
Rhona
The rebels took their breakfast on horseback again. Cold biscuits and a wedge of ancient cheese was all Rhona had been given. She took the food thankfully, knowing that despite the supplies given to them they would most likely need to be strict on rations.
Nobody knew how long this would take or if there would be an end at all.
Three groups had been formed, each with six fighters apiece. A few had argued that Rhona wasn’t experienced enough to do the scouting. Rhona agreed, but did find herself wanting to go on the mission. Tela intervened, noting that none save her could best Rhona in a scrap.
Promising to make sure Rhona didn’t blow their cover, Tela took the monk into her group.
Royar had shown them a well-worn map. The markings were all made in Hintari, but Rhona could recognize the landscape around them easily enough. A few nearby hills and the unique path of a stream clued her in on their location.
They weren’t going very far at all.
In fact, most of the day’s ride was a precaution.
Nothing would be more disastrous than if the Brintoshi followed them back to the cave, so their route was circuitous to say the least.
They trotted silently down old trails, carving an indirect path towards their goal. At the halfway point, the first two groups split off, heading in opposite directions. It was Royar’s hope that at least one of the groups would find their quarry.
Rhona kept her eyes sharp and ears open. None could be certain where their enemies hid, and she was determined to be prepared should something go south.
Tela trotted up beside her, taking advantage of the trail widening for a stretch. “You nervous?”
“Of course,” Rhona shot back. “Any fool who isn’t afraid of dying isn’t a worthy ally.”
“True enough. Still, if you aren’t sure you can do this, you can always ride back.”
Tela’s offer felt like an insult, but Rhona took it well. Rhona was an ex-cavalry soldier and a monk. Her skills were varied, and she’d done plenty of forest recons.
But she wasn’t a ranger.
Despite her reservations, Rhona knew she could keep up with the group and not give them away. Her small frame and awareness of her surroundings had always lent her an additional degree of stealth. “I’m okay. Promise. What are we, two miles away?”
Tela nodded. “Yes, or near about. When we dismount, stick to me. Normally, we spread out at least fifty feet between each ranger. Not you though. Even if you’re quiet as a mouse, it won’t do anyone any good if you get lost.”
Rhona didn’t argue.
She winked at her new friend.
As Tela fell behind her again, Rhona scratched Honor’s side. Tela wasn’t the only one Rhona wanted to impress. “How are you, boy? I feel like we haven’t had a good conversation in weeks.”
The horse nickered softly.
She moved to another spot, finding a patch of skin tha
t always chafed against one of his reins. His muscular back twitched as she scratched him. “I just wish we could speak directly. What I wouldn’t give to be able to talk to you mind to mind like Ban does. Then again,” she added, “I might be disappointed by what goes on in there.”
Honor turned his head at an odd angle and glared at her.
If they hadn’t been trudging along on a top-secret mission, Rhona would have burst out laughing.
As it was, she stifled her amusement in her hands, then apologized to the horse by spending several more minutes scratching the opposite side.
The ranger leading the column reined in and dismounted ahead. Slowly, the rest of the line caught up and did the same. Rhona tied off Honor’s reins, leaving him grazing along a line of short bushes.
Royar had chosen to stay behind, giving out leadership roles to younger but promising rangers. Even Tela didn’t mind, preferring to keep Rhona at her side in case things went sideways. The young man in charge of Rhona’s squad was called Copper. The man’s almost-metallic hair stood out amongst his countrymen and gave the nickname some credibility.
Copper raised his hand, gesturing to the group at large.
He didn’t make some solemn speech, but glanced to each set of eyes under his leadership. In that glance, Rhona knew the man was checking to see if they were all okay, if anything was out of order before they left.
Satisfied, he nodded and gave a hand signal for the next in line to follow.
Rhona took one last, easy breath as she watched the others dive into the foliage ahead of her.
Tela and one other moved behind her. Rhona had thought being in the rear might alleviate her inexperience in such a foray.
Tela disagreed.
She’d insisted that Rhona would be close to the middle.
They moved through the undergrowth like panthers.
Each step was intentional and made with great care. When Rhona felt a twig snap beneath her boot, she froze, waiting a few moments before lifting the foot again and finding somewhere less conspicuous to place it.
Tela’s presence helped in many ways.
The woman stayed within a few feet of Rhona, always lurking three or four paces behind. Once, she helped free Rhona’s collar from a branch, removing it without making a sound.
Another time, when Rhona had to cross a small clearing covered in dry leaves, Tela showed Rhona how to move across the patch of ground by crawling on her finger tips and toes. Rather than tread atop the crumbling leaves, she used Tela’s technique to stick to the tiny gaps between them.
It was a strenuous trick but one Rhona picked up quickly.
After a time, the sound of a creek came into earshot. The rushing water soon grew louder, and Rhona relaxed somewhat, knowing her movements would be obscured by the continuous sound. They’d traveled another two or so miles when the man in front of Rhona turned around and gave the hand signal to halt.
This part Rhona understood. All of them froze, squatting and kneeling in the undergrowth. The only thing to do was listen. Rhona scanned the woods around her, seeing nothing but a few birds. But after a time, she did hear something. It was muffled and far away, but it sounded very much like a voice.
They must only be a few hundred feet away, Rhona mused. Now, do we risk getting closer and being discovered?
She received her answer soon enough when the ranger before her signaled for movement.
Twice more, the column advanced.
As Rhona ducked under a low-hanging branch, careful to avoid her cloak getting caught, she froze in place as an undeniable sensation took over her body, head to toes.
She felt him.
Only the faintest sensation grazed her mind at first. Then it grew stronger, and though she couldn’t hear or see him anywhere, she felt as if he were searching for her somehow, seeking her with his mind.
Rhona ignored the feeling. Surely, it had to be paranoia. How could Hastings be searching for me with his mind? Focus, Rhona. Yes, he’s terrifying. No, you won’t have to fight him this day if you keep your wits about you!
Pushing the sensation aside, Rhona crawled through a tunnel formed by the underbrush. She moved as slowly as she could, aware of the faint whisper her clothes made against the cloying branches.
On the other side, she came to a small opening. Sun lit the center of the clearing, so Rhona ducked around the edge, keeping to the shadows.
Ahead of her, she spotted another hand signal calling for a halt.
She rested her back against a stump and breathed.
Tela stooped a dozen feet behind Rhona, the woman’s eyes wide and observant.
The creek babbled some fifty feet away now, louder than before, and a few sparks of sunlight shone off of the moving water.
Then she saw it, movement through the branches beside her. Two, no, three soldiers were walking slowly. A flash of a crimson cloak made their subjects easy to identify. In fact, it was odd that Hastings hadn’t already ordered his men to replace their cloaks with something less flashy.
Pride did that sort of thing to a commander though.
Rhona held her breath, listening as the soldiers spoke. Their words were muffled by the creek though, so she couldn’t make anything out.
Then the three split up. One pointed his arm toward something in the distance. The other two men strode in that direction with spears in their hands.
The remaining soldier faced the forest where Rhona hid. All she could see was a bright-red cloak and the subtle shine of plated greaves. Again, some presence pushed against her mind. She thought of Hastings and wondered where the man was. Surely, the soldier before her would be someone else, some other officer of the Vermillion Guard.
But when the man turned again, she caught the briefest glimpse of a gauntleted hand, lines of blue ether running up the palm into the bracer attached to it.
Shivving bad luck! Rhona inwardly cursed. We do a single recon patrol and I end up a stone’s throw away from the one man who can end me with little more than a thought! How is that fair? Rhona wondered, focusing on controlling her breathing and remaining still.
She spotted Tela again. The ranger hadn’t seen Hastings yet, so the next time their gazes met, Rhona flashed her eyebrows. Then she directed her eyes toward their enemy. Tela followed her gaze and spotted the man as well.
This was just a recon.
They hadn’t come to fight this man.
Yet Rhona was still tempted. What if Rhona and Tela fought him together?
No, it’ll still be too big a risk.
Before Rhona could consider further, the presence in her mind grew stronger. Suddenly, she knew it was him, could feel the texture of his mind pressing into hers. The terrifying moment that Hastings had reached into her memories and plucked them free, one at a time, came back to her in a rush.
Panic rose up in her belly, threatening to crush her resolve.
Rhona wanted to lie down in the undergrowth, go limp and call out. He is doing that. He’s trying to force you to give yourself up, Rhona. You must fight it.
But how?
As the man’s undeniable will asserted itself, Rhona shook with the effort it took to fight him off. It felt as if he were pushing her over the edge of a cliff, and she was struggling to keep her footing.
She couldn’t last forever, though. Already, her strength was flagging.
Then she recalled the mental disciplines of her chosen path. Long ago, Palben had discussed the three techniques. The first, Crystal Mind, she’d learned from him. The other two were gained from Imogen’s skill book.
Iron Mind remained more of a challenge for her, but she had practiced it enough to feel she could perform it when needed.
Gold, however, was another matter.
Knowing Gold Mind was beyond her, and needing defense above understanding, Rhona fell back on the only skill that might save her.
Rhona closed her eyes and envisioned two sides of a sphere. They floated before her, black and cold and impenetrable. She imagined
their weight, the density of pure iron, even going so far as to recall the taste of iron itself.
Hastings pressed harder than ever, and Rhona nearly gasped from the effort to fight back.
Thrusting herself ever deeper in the meditation, Rhona inhabited the Iron Mind.
The only thing that existed was the sphere divided.
She saw the grain in the iron, dew gathered on its rough surface. Rhona pulled the sphere toward her, felt it encompass her skull, and then she closed the two halves of the sphere together.
Imagining the sphere in place around her mind, Rhona gritted her teeth and forced the shield into place.
It snapped shut, and relief flooded Rhona’s limbs. She could breathe easier again, and she opened her eyes. Hastings was still there, but he was facing another direction. His head moved slowly from side to side.
But he couldn’t spot any of them.
With her mind guarded, Rhona relaxed somewhat. Still, she worried what they might do. Surely, their recon group couldn’t hunker here all day. And retreating now didn’t seem a likely option.
Then a horn broke the silence. It rose from the forest perhaps a mile away.
A few distant cries followed.
Hastings spun away from Rhona and jogged out of her view. She could hear his voice issuing orders, and soldiers hustled to respond.
Then Tela hissed, urging Rhona to follow.
Using the ruckus of the Brintoshi soldiers’ reactions, Rhona followed her fellows as they pulled away from the hidden camp. Rhona’s thighs burned from half sprinting in a crouch, but they emerged from the thicket in short order.
Horse hooves pounded the earth a half-mile away. The Brintoshi were riding out to answer the battle call.
Copper called them all close. “We head back a bit further, find our horses, then we head straight back.”
“And abandon the poor fools who alerted the Brintoshi?” Tela asked. “I say we ride round to where the second group went. They were headed for that oak grove a mile north of here.”
Copper shook his head. “If we do, then what? Ride in and die at their side? We found their main camp. Which means whoever blew that horn was either a scouting party or else a separate camp. We might be able to finish the scouts, but we won’t make it in time.”