“Because I can’t understand her reasoning? Because none of this makes sense?”
“Because you’re just going to be hurt. She isn’t going back on her promise – not to Earon and most especially not to Tarnow. When she had nothing else to give, she had her word. It’s the most important thing to her now, and she isn’t going to let you come between her and her lord.”
“Do you want Earon to continue with us?”
“It isn’t my decision, Jarrett. I do what I’m commanded. You might do well to remember that.”
Jarrett looked away, his hands clenching into fists. “Do you think she should marry Kendrick? Do you know what a Nazarien marriage is like?”
Muzik moved to the paddock fence. “I think the same thing about this topic as well. It isn’t my decision. I’m not going to meddle in the lives of my betters.”
Jarrett looked up at him. “Betters? That’s crap, Muzik. You have an opinion, same as me. You just don’t want to voice it.”
“And what good would that do? Get me all riled up like you? That doesn’t do her any good. My opinion is this – she made a promise to Tarnow and nothing on this planet is going to change that, especially not you, Jarrett. You can rail against it all you want, but it is what it is.”
“That’s also crap.”
“I take my duty seriously. I was commissioned to protect her, not meddle in her life. If I remember correctly, you were commissioned to do the same – by her uncles? I thought you had more regard for them than you’re showing.”
Jarrett’s eyes narrowed. “That’s low, Captain. You know what I feel for her. I haven’t hidden it from anyone.”
Muzik clamped a hand on his shoulder. “I know, which is why you’re not dead.” He gave a chuckle. “Let it go, Jarrett. I like you and I’d hate to see you hurt. Besides, if you keep this up, eventually I will have to kill you and that will just about damn near ruin my day.”
Jarrett couldn’t help but smile, but inside he felt like he was going to be sick.
* * *
They left a few hours later, after saying goodbye to Parish and making arrangements to repay the Lawries for the supplies and mules. Parish didn’t want to be repaid, but Tyla wouldn’t agree to leave until he wrote up a bill for her.
Tyla wished she’d had more time with Parish. As she packed the last of the supplies, Parish had plied her with more stories about her father. She was delighted to learn he’d had such a mischievous side to him. Most of the stories she’d heard before had been about his power or his failings, very little about the man he was. Parish had started to fill in that gaping hole she had in her knowledge of him.
It made her long for more.
The hike above the outpost was worse than the day before. The trail was little more than a deer track, cut out of the rocks and brambles that choked the mountain side. It twisted and wound around, climbing steeply toward the summit in the distance. The snow immediately grew thicker and they had to stop and strap the snowshoes to their feet. Tyla wasn’t used to walking in the unwieldy things, but she was lighter than the men and didn’t begin to sink as deeply as they did, but still, she found herself quickly winded and positioned herself next to one of the mules so she could lean against it during the steepest parts of the climb.
The mule didn’t mind, as long as Kian stayed as far away as he could. Kian was fine with that arrangement, choosing to root through the vegetation or bound through the snow drifts with wild abandon. It wasn’t long before he flushed out a rabbit and brought it down in the trail right in front of the mules. They both brayed in terror and tried to bolt. Only Earon kept them from breaking free. Tyla had to admit that he understood how to handle equine. She gave Jarrett a glare when he turned and watched the Lawry runner calm the animals. Obviously, Earon wasn’t as useless as Jarrett thought.
He met her look, then frowned and turned back to the trail. Tyla immediately felt sorry for the harsh words that had passed between them that morning, but he just didn’t understand. He didn’t know the burden she carried, the dread with which she thought of her impending marriage. She felt her own reluctance growing with each mile from Adishian, but she knew she couldn’t break her promise to Tarnow. Her confusing feelings for the Terrian only made it that much worse. When he’d talked about leaving Earon behind, she had to admit the thought intruded that leaving Jarrett behind would be so much easier.
Cramming those thoughts deep inside, she concentrated on the trail. The amount of snow was worrying. How deep would it get the higher in elevation they climbed? Her sedentary life at the castle hadn’t prepared her for hiking over mountains and certainly not for wearing snow shoes.
The hours slipped away and she lost herself in the rhythmic motion of travel. They stopped at midday and ate a cold lunch, huddled in the cover of the boulders. Clouds rolled in overhead and sat at the summit with a dark, menacing presence that made a chill race up Tyla’s spine. The mules were restless, requiring Earon to settle them again. Tyla wondered if the animals sensed something their two-legged counterparts didn’t and that maybe they should seek shelter, but she was afraid to voice it to the others. Out of all of them, she had the least experience with wilderness.
They set out again. No conversation passed between them, none of the banter that they’d exchanged during their ride into Kazden. Even though they’d been afraid of pursuit then, the physical challenge of that journey paled in comparison to this one.
Then too, the trail was so narrow, they were forced to go single file and this prevented anything but the most rudimentary conversation. Jarrett led the group and called out instructions, but beyond that, he pushed them hard and left them with little choice but to stumble along in his wake.
At a sharp bend in the trail, the lead mule balked and refused to take another step. Tyla had fallen back behind Kendrick, Kian at her side. She placed her hand on his head to keep him beside her and squinted around the Nazarien to where Earon was climbing around the trail to take the mule’s lead from Jarrett.
The Terrian willingly handed it over, visibly annoyed by the animal’s behavior. The mule tossed its head, snapping the reins and braying. Earon had a hand in the halter and was speaking to it, stroking its wide forehead with his other hand.
Tyla made a motion to stay Kian and tried to cross around Kendrick on the trail. Something didn’t feel right, hadn’t felt right since they broke for lunch. She let her power slip out and canvas the area.
Her eyes widened with shock and she shoved the Nazarien in the back, tripping him. He toppled over into the trail.
“Jarrett…” she shouted, trying to climb over Kendrick, but a strange whump came from below them.
Something slammed into Earon, throwing him across the trail where he collided with the embankment on the opposite side.
“Down!” shouted Jarrett, throwing himself behind an outcropping of boulders. He’d already whipped the bow off his shoulder and had an arrow fitted into the line. Tyla scrambled over Kendrick and crawled to where Earon lay. The mule had bolted down the trail and disappeared from sight.
Earon’s face was pale and his eyes were ringed with white. Tyla saw a black arrow protruding from his shoulder. Another whump sounded and Tyla threw herself over Earon’s body, but the arrow embedded in the bank next to her, followed by an unnatural scream. She glanced over her shoulder and her eyes widened as an Orahim rolled down the hill below them until its body was stopped by the trunk of a pine. Jarrett’s arrow protruded from the creature’s throat.
Tyla leaned back and curled her hands in Earon’s parka, surprised he wasn’t complaining more vocally. Tugging him, she slid him into the trail and tried to drag him back toward the outcropping. Suddenly Muzik was beside her and grabbed her arm, shoving her toward cover. She scrambled to Kendrick’s side as Jarrett sighted along the bow again. Muzik hauled Earon’s body and shoved him up against the rock, then reached for the quiver of arrows and dumped them on the ground at their feet. He picked one up, prepared to offer it to Jarrett when he fired next.
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Tyla turned her attention to Earon. The arrow had caught him in the meat of his shoulder muscle. It was small, black, with black fletching on the end. It shouldn’t be too difficult to remove, but something held her hand. Earon was staring at her, his eyes round, his breathing rapid and shallow.
She focused on his expression. “Earon, talk to me.”
“I can’t feel my body,” he whispered.
She searched the ground, then found the pack Kendrick had been carrying. He’d cast it aside when they took cover. Tearing it open, she grabbed a shirt and covered her hand with it. Then she took hold of the arrow.
“Brace yourself,” she warned, shooting a glance up at Jarrett. The bow was taut in his hands, his eyes squinted as he sighted among the trees for any sign of movement.
She yanked the arrow free. Earon screamed and blood flowed, crimson and hot down the sleeve of his parka. At the same time, more black arrows flew up at them and clattered harmlessly against the rocks. Jarrett released another arrow and Tyla heard a strange choking cough rise from the trees, then silence once again. Muzik grabbed the next arrow and handed it to him.
Tyla returned to her care of Earon, grabbing another shirt from the pack and pressing it to the wound.
“What’s on those arrows?” asked Kendrick beside her. She glanced at him and noticed he had one hand curled tight in Kian’s ruff, holding the dog next to him. Looking down the trail, she saw the other mule had stayed and was nosing among the weeds, oblivious to the battle just above it.
“I can’t feel anything,” said Earon.
Tyla looked back at him. She didn’t know how to respond. Until they were some place safe, there was little she could do about his paralysis. She just prayed it didn’t spread beyond his limbs to his breathing as well.
Jarrett released another arrow. Despite herself, she chanced a glance over the rocks and saw the outline of a body slump to the ground. Strange guttural cries rose out of the trees in obvious alarm. Jarrett shot again. Another Orahim went rolling down the hill, crashing through the brambles and weeds, disappearing into the deeper underbrush. A new volley of black arrows answered Jarrett’s and they ducked behind the rocks.
Jarrett’s eyes met Tyla’s and she felt his apology whisper through her mind.
Before she could respond, a voice shouted up at them, farther down the mountainside and echoing off the rocks around them.
“Do you think you can pick us off one by one, Terrian?” called Lex Prestar.
Tyla closed her eyes. He was never going to give up.
“I’m willing to try,” Jarrett shouted back.
“I have more than a hundred men with me. Really, I care very little how many lizards you shoot. Shoot the whole bunch of them. The outcome’s the same. Eventually, you’ll run out of arrows.”
“But I’ll be sure to save one for you, Lex.”
Silence met Jarrett’s challenge. They huddled behind the rocks, the tension palpable. Finally, the echo of Prestar’s voice reached them. “It doesn’t have to be like this, you know? We just want the Queen. She won’t be harmed. The rest of you can walk away, go home. But if you keep this up, someone’s gonna die, and I don’t mean lizards. She might be the one, Terrian. We might accidentally kill her. Is that what you want?”
Jarrett rolled over and lifted the bow, sighting along the top of the boulder. Tyla watched him, wondering how he could see anything in the heavy underbrush and snow beneath the trees. A moment later he released the shot, which was echoed by a scream and frantic thrashing, then silence. He had another arrow loaded before Tyla realized she hadn’t seen him move. She’d never seen anyone move that fast before.
“I have another plan,” Jarrett called down the mountain. “Why don’t you come up and we’ll talk about it?”
“I respect you, Terrian. I really do. You’ve shown me you’re a formidable opponent, so I know you know the situation. We’ve run you to ground. There’s no way out of this. All I have to do is call a charge, you die, and we have the Queen. Maybe the Queen dies. Who knows? My men are cold and tired and getting spooked out here in these mountains. They might make a mistake. Let’s be honest. We both know there’s no way for you to win this one. There’s no way out!”
Jarrett lowered the bow. His eyes rapidly passed over all of them. They stared at him in return, waiting for him to say something. Tyla swallowed against the lump forming in her throat. She had an idea of what he was thinking.
“Cut the head off the snake,” he muttered finally.
Tyla frowned at him, but his gaze came to rest on her, narrowing to slits of blue. “Cut the head off the snake,” he said louder.
Tyla felt a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach.
“What?” said Muzik, but Jarrett ignored him.
“Tyla.” He grabbed her arm and gave her a hard look. “You’ve got to find him. You’ve got to kill him. If we cut off the head, the rest of the snake might die.”
Kendrick made a choked sound. “Jarrett…”
Jarrett’s look never wavered. “There’s no other way. I wouldn’t ask you to do something like this if I thought we could win. We can’t. He’s right. He’s only got to call a charge. I can kill a few of them, we can get more with our swords, but eventually their numbers will overpower us. However, if their commander is dead, they might just give up.”
Tyla broke his stare. Did he know what he was asking her? Her gaze came to rest on Earon’s frightened face. She’d brought them all here, she’d caused this. They were in danger because of her. Earon was hurt because of her…and she had the power to stop it. She had the power to end this right now.
“What are you asking?” cried Kendrick, the revulsion in his voice obvious.
Jarrett’s gaze never left her face. “There’s no other way.”
Tyla closed her eyes and pulled her panicked thoughts around her. Drawing a deep breath, she gave him a nod.
“Tyla, no!” said Kendrick, grabbing her shoulder.
“He’s right,” she answered, surprised by how calm she was. “Get him to talk again, Jarrett. I’ve got to locate him. His voice is bouncing off the rocks around here and I’m not sure where to find him.”
Jarrett gave a curt nod, then he turned away from her. “Lex, you still there?”
“I’m here,” came the reply.
Jarrett hesitated, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes, but she was already tuning him out, trying to prepare herself for what she must do next.
“If I take your deal, what are the terms?”
Tyla waited until the commander started outlining the terms of their surrender before she dropped her barricades. The immediate inundation of thoughts hammered into her mind, staggering her. She felt her body slide forward toward Earon, but Muzik’s strong hands curled around her shoulders and drew her back, supporting her.
Not since she’d been a young child had so many conflicting images and feelings assailed her. She moaned and curled in on herself, vaguely aware her hand had fallen from Earon’s shoulder.
So many thoughts, so much fear, so many panicked emotions flooded into her mind. She tried to sort them, grapple with them, force the most alien of them away from her, and she realized she was picking up even the Orahim’s oddly foreign feelings.
She was aware of Kendrick crouching beside her, shouting at Jarrett even as Jarrett coaxed Lex into responding, but thoughts of her companions had no place in this cacophony that filled her head. Then just when she knew she couldn’t stand it a moment longer, she found him.
She zeroed in on that one man and forced the rest behind the barrier again. She didn’t have time to wonder at the morality of what she was about to do, she simply probed his mind and then took control, shutting down the flow of blood to his heart.
Lex Prestar was stronger than she thought, however, and he instantly recognized what was happening to him. The lightning whip of his thoughts startled her and then broke her concentration when he shouted one word – “Charge!” – even as she se
nt him into a convulsion. Before she could finish him, she was wrenched back to their predicament as waves of bodies surged from the trees and raced for the rocks.
The twang of Jarrett’s arrow echoed back over the valley and Tyla shifted her attack to those that were fastest, blasting them with a kinetic force that threw them backwards and careening into those climbing behind them.
On they came, though, stepping over the bodies of their fallen comrades.
With a roar, Muzik whipped his sword from its sheath and leapt to his feet, brandishing it over his head. Oddly enough, the surge stumbled to a halt at the sight of the giant and stared up at him with wide eyes and mouths agape. The next moment they broke rank and scrambled back down the mountain, slipping and sliding over debris and comrades as they sought cover.
Suddenly Tyla felt the whistle of arrows streak over her head and she ducked.
The arrows slammed into the fleeing soldiers and they fell, shot through the back, the knee, the back of their throats. Their screams of terror echoed over the mountains, their blood soaking the snow, turning it crimson.
Tyla and her companions stared in stunned silence as the Front Guard ranks broke and fled, trailing wounded in their wake. Then she turned and came face to face with a very handsome man with bronze skin, blonde hair, and brilliant blue eyes. He was dressed in forest green and an ornately carved bow dangled from his hand.
Tyla couldn’t corral her muscles into standing, so she sat by Earon, staring up at their visitor as others materialized from the mountainside and moved to stand on the trail all around them. The blond one pressed his hand to his heart and bowed, then he said something in a strange, lyrical language Tyla didn’t begin to understand.
Jarrett rose from his crouch and executed a similar greeting. After the two men shook hands, the Terrian turned to his companions and a smile burst across his face. “This is Allistar, Field Commander of the Grozik-based band of the Temerian Guard.”
His eyes lowered to Tyla. “Your Highness, may I present you to your kinsmen?” he said, holding out his hand.
The World of Samar Box Set 3 Page 32