by Dark, Raven
Mother. She was safe and happy, her thoughts filled with images of me, and of Mayhem. I grinned, wishing I could put my arms around her, let her know I was there.
Keep focused, Setora. Who else is there?
Over the next several minutes, I found four more familiar minds. Gita and Tari’san, Adeline and Yaela. Finding them came easily. Ali’san was right—each one was as distinct as a snowflake, no two alike. I was beginning to get a feel for how to sense who each person was, recognizing the unique vibrations each one gave off.
Which meant…
Good. Now it is time to do what we came here to do.
Find, Julian. I pushed out a mental calming breath.
Instinctively, I reached out for the strongest mind in the Hive. There was nothing at first, nothing but the jumble of minds inside my own.
Then something flashed in the corner of my mind, at the edge of the room I imagined there. It cut across my thoughts, sharp as a blade, hot as the sun, yet somehow as cold as...
As cold as stone.
Julian.
My heart hammered, and I instinctively tried to draw back, to shake myself out of the meditative state, out of the Don Shi and back into the real world.
Don’t be afraid, Setora, Ali’san crooned. I’m right here.
I sank back into the Hive.
In the middle of thousands of boxes, a huge glowing light flickered. Strands snaked out from all directions, linking that one powerful knot of thoughts to dozens of others. Perhaps I was just projecting, but I imagined the glow as an evil light, foreboding and ominous.
In my mind’s eye, I reached out with my thoughts and walked toward that light. I imagined walking right through that the light and then inside.
A towering house of ice with its mountainous walls surrounded me, cavernous. I shivered, feeling as if I’d stepped into the middle of an ice storm.
I swallowed. I was in Julian’s head again.
Barely had I adjusted to this notion when a horrible buzzing filled my head. The presence of his mind seemed to press at the sides of my head, searing my thoughts like fire.
Instantly, his face was in mine, looming. “Come to me, Cama Di.” His hand seized my wrist. The sense of being caged, of being trapped seized me, and I jolted. He had me now, as easily as a rabbit in a snare.
“I have your mind. Now your body will not be able to help but follow.”
As if out of instinct, I imagined his mind as a thread linking mine to his, imagined myself snapping that thread.
The sensation of being flung backward, into my own body, jolted me. My eyes flew open. He was gone, but I swore I could feel him there, inside my mind, lurking. A predator waiting to ensnare me.
“Ali’san…”
She was at my side, holding me against her. “Shh. It’s all right. You’re here with me.”
“He had me, though,” I whispered, clutching at her arms. I felt like such a coward, trembling with fear in front of this fearless woman warrior. “He said he has my mind, that I couldn’t leave, that my body wouldn’t be able to help but follow. I don’t know how I got away.”
“He’s gone now.” She took my arms gently. “You got into his head, and you got out, Setora. You did it. It’s the first step. Now we just need to find out where he is.”
Trembling, I nodded. “Okay. I’m okay. Let’s try again.”
She shook her head. “No. You need to rest. Recharge before we try anything like that again or you’ll be too weak to control the situation and he’ll trap you.”
I let out a shaky, relived breath. The last thing I wanted to do was go anywhere near his mind again. He’d almost trapped my mind. Except I had no choice. I had to try again. Julian had to be found and ended.
Over the next few weeks, we kept trying, but the minute I entered his thoughts, he pushed me out before I could get a chance to see more than his castle or him. For all I knew, his castle could have been metaphorical.
All we needed was a hint of where he was. A landmark, something he said or did, a landscape that told us what part of the world he was in. Anything would have helped.
Several times, he tried to take me over while I was in his head. I felt his mind overpowering mine, trying to shut me down, but Ali’san yanked me out before he could get a good hold. I wasn’t even sure how she did it. I’d feel her touching my temples, hear her saying something that sounded like gibberish, and then he’d vanish.
I was beginning to see exactly how dangerous all this was.
When I told the guys what had been happening, they didn’t like it. They’d tried to stop it, until I reminded them about that dead scene I’d seen in my mind, until I told them it would still happen if we didn’t find him.
A full month after I’d started entering Julian’s mind, I was starting to think we would never find him at all. I was exhausted. My head hurt so badly I thought I’d die. I didn’t tell my men how much, or they would have put a stop to it then and there.
Not for the first time, I flopped back on the mat again, puffing. My head was throbbing.
Ali’san kept at my side and pulled me up into a sitting position. “All right, we’d better stop for today.”
Reluctantly, I nodded. “I’m exhausted.”
“It’s almost seven.” She nodded to the window where darkness was starting to fall over the village. “We’ll start again tomorrow after you’ve had a meal and a good night’s sleep.”
“I’m sorry.” I rubbed my temples. “I couldn’t even touch his mind at all today.”
“Don’t apologize, Setora. You’ve done extremely well, I’ve known women with your kind of power that had years of training doing some of the things you and I have done, and you’ve learned them in only months. You have no idea how advanced you—”
The deep, hollow sound of distant drumming cut her off. They sounded a lot like the drums we’d heard when we’d first arrived at the temple, the ones we’d heard during Tae’s presentation. Only this time, they were louder and deeper.
“What in Maker’s name…”
A loud horn blared, not unlike the one Damien’s men had used at Lord Falnar’s, but this one was coming from the temple, long, deep, hollow blows.
“What is going on, Ali’san?”
Swiftly, she unsheathed her sword. “That’s the invasion horn.”
“Invasion?” My face paled. “The temple is being invaded? As in, an army?”
The only army I knew of who’d come here was…
“Maker… Tahmi.” I hurried for the door, meaning to find my men and get us as far away from here as possible. They’d come for us. For me.
From outside, I could hear villagers spilling out of their huts, frightened worried voices filling the streets. Steel’s and Hawk’s voices carried over them.
I grabbed for the door, but Ali’san stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. “Setora, no. Stay here.” She pushed be back.
That familiar pulling sensation I’d felt on the way to the temple filled my mind, a buzzing almost as powerful as what I’d felt from Ali’san filling my head, making me wince in pain.
“It’s not an invasion.” I pushed past her and opened the door. “I have to go to them. Now.”
“Setora!” Ali’san tried to grab me, but I was faster.
The streets were filled with panicked villagers and guests. Hawk was headed toward me but shouting for Steel who came running out of his hut.
“There is a doorway in the village tavern that leads down to a shelter under the village. Steel, you and Pretty Boy start getting the villagers down there, now. If that’s Tahmi, he won’t hesitate to take them all out just to get to Setora.”
With a nod, Steel ran off.
Hawk ran over to me and Ali’san. “Kitten, we need to get you out of here. Come with me.”
“No.” I put up my hand. “Hawk, it’s not Tahmi, and it’s not an invasion. It’s…” I shook my head foggily, that sensation making my head swim. “I have to go…”
“Dammit, Kitten,
you’re not going anywhere except with—” He cut himself off with a growl because I’d already turned and started heading down the path toward the temple.
I wasn’t even sure where I was going or why, but something called me toward those drums, still beating hard and drawing closer. The sound seemed to reverberate off the walls of the world itself.
“Tai Dan Hawk, I will take care of her.” Ali’san said, following beside me.”
“Ali’san, what the hell is going on?” he demanded. “If that isn’t Tahmi, who is it?”
“I don’t know, but she’s right. I can feel it. She’s supposed to go to them.”
Doc must have come from somewhere, because I heard him right behind me along with Hawk. “Hawk, I’m beginning to think it was a bad idea to come here unarmed.”
“I’m beginning to agree with you,” Hawk muttered.
I sped up, heading toward the gates of the temple. Dozens of Yantu had spilled out into the courtyard, all of them masked and armed with swords.
“I thought this place was supposed to be safe!” Doc cursed. “Hawk. Look at that.”
A hundred feet from the gate, thirty or so men on horses and on foot, marched toward the temple in a long line. The procession wound along the path that led out of the village, some of the men with swords, others with long poles, three of which were topped with banners.
I trudged on toward that approaching procession, Hawk and Doc behind me, Ali’san at my side.
“Who the hell are they? And what the hell are they carrying?” Doc demanded.
“I have no idea,” Hawk said.
The party had reached the bottom of the path and started across the grounds toward the temple gates. A gust of wind brushed the banners, drawing the huge flags out so that I saw what was emblazoned on all three of them. Each had the same insignia, a large stylized eye in a deep violet.
This close, I could see the men clearly through the coming twilight, as they closed in on us less than thirty feet away. None wore the scaled armor Julian’s soldiers had worn at Damien’s compound. One and all, they were adorned with fur vests. They’re mounts were massive, as big as the huge, muscled men astride them.
My heart gave a giant bound.
The man at the front of the procession wore a strange mask, what looked like the top half of an animal’s skull, covering his face from his forehead to his top lip. But it was the way his thick, long black braids gathered at his nape that made him unmistakable. Even with his face covered, I knew him.
I heard Hawk’s sharp breath. “Ivek…”
Chapter 26
The Order of the Altara
“What?” Doc asked as soon as Hawk said Ivek’s name. “The man who helped that barbarian kidnap Setora?”
“Well, actually—” Hawk had probably been about to explain that Ivek was the one who set me free, but he stopped when I started forward again, just a few paces to close the distance between Ivek’s troops and me.
Ivek’s lips pulled into a satisfied smile, as if something he’d been hoping would happen when he arrived had transpired exactly the way he’d expected. He held up one large hand, and his men halted. The drums stopped with a final three, loud thumps.
Ivek swung off his horse. Hawk and Doc started forward, but I put my hand out, stopping them. They both stepped back.
Stalking toward me, Ivek drew a huge blade from a scabbard on his back.
“Halt.” Ali’san moved in front of me in one pace.
Ivek halted for less than half a second, and I saw surprise register in those eyes inside his skull mask, saw his smirk before he started for me again, ignoring her.
Ali’san drew her blade and stalked toward him, blocking his path.
Oh no. I rolled my eyes, watching my protector for the first time adopting her role… but at the wrong time. “Ali’san, stop—”
Too late. I hastily stepped back as the two of warriors swung at each other. Metal clanged, and Ali’san and Ivek each shoved the other back.
“No one comes near the Liberator armed for battle,” Ali’san commanded.
Several of Ivek’s men started to dismount, until Ivek flung a hand back at them. They stayed where they were, though all of them looked like they’d rather have run Ali’san through.
“It seems the Liberator is not the only one for whom the laws do not apply.” Ivek blocked another blow from her. “I am her Protector, not her enemy.”
“That job has already been taken, Barbarian. Put the weapon away.”
“Ali’san, he’s not—” I started.
“Oh, fuck,” Doc said.
“This isn’t going well,” Hawk added.
“I don’t know who you think you are, woman, but she only needs one man’s sword, and it’s mine.” Ivek’s tone was deadly
“There is one Protector, and I am she.”
Oh, Maker…
“Han Ranu would not choose a woman to defend her,” Ivek countered.
I winced. That was probably not the best thing for him to say to her.
Ali’san spat an angry noise at him. She knocked his sword out of his hand. He fell backward with a grunt, and she put her blade under his chin. He stilled, but instead of looking afraid, he looked thrilled. His eyes sparkled with amusement.
“I don’t know who this Han Ranu is,” she said, “but I assure you, I—”
“Sian Ali’san. Stop.”
Master Leif’s voice rang out. I glanced behind us. No less than twenty Yantu had gathered behind us. Master Leif stood in front of his Yantu warriors, his face a cool mask.
Ali’san flung a look back at him. Her expression turned mutinous, and I thought she was going to argue with him. Instead, her face took on a look as stoic as his, though it looked like it took a lot of effort. She dropped her head and sheathed her sword.
“Yes, Tai Dan.” She shot Ivek a nasty glare, marching away with her back stiffer than I’d ever seen it, and took her place beside me.
Ivek sprang smoothly to his feet, took up his blade, and strode over to me. He slipped the mask off his face, and then, with his blade laying across his palms as Ali’san had done when we’d first come here, he dropped to one knee.
Hawk muttered a curse, and so did Doc.
“The sword of Han Ranu is yours, Liberator. I am your weapon to wield.” Ivek’s head bowed.
My jaw fell open as a memory tickled at the back of my brain. If I remembered the few stories I’d read about the Critian people, Han Ranu was the Critian god.
It was strange enough to have a man kneel to a woman, especially a barbarian from a land far harder on women than our part of the world, but the banner, the men, the army behind him… They were supposed to be here for me? True, Ivek had once said I was special and he hadn’t treated me the way his men usually treated females, but this?
As it had with Ali’san, my hand moved of its own accord, my fingers briefly resting on Ivek’s blade. I stared at it, then at him, stunned.
Ivek stood and sheathed his weapon. “It is good to see you again, Setora.” His eyes shone with respect. He nodded to Hawk and thrust out his hand to him. “Captain Hawk, if my memory serves me well?”
Hawk nodded and shook Ivek’s hand slowly, looking as if confusion and surprise slowed his brain until his movements became sluggish. I could see him trying to work out what was going on here. So was I.
“Vol Ivek,” I said breathlessly. “I’m glad to see you as well, but I don’t understand.” I gestured to the banners, the men, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. “What is all this?”
That strong tether, the compulsion to present myself to these Critians, had released me, taking the pain and buzzing away. But there was a soft buzzing still remaining. There was a Violet in his party somewhere, one whose presence must have previously been muted by the pulling.
“Forgive me, Setora, I would have sent word ahead first, but it couldn’t be helped. Captain Hawk, where is your…the leader of your men? I should have words with him as well.”
“You m
ean the General.” Hawk’s eyes filled with regret. “For the moment, I am the General of the Dark Legion.”
Ivek nodded and looked at me. “If there is a place we may speak, it seems we have a lot to discuss.
At a loss for how to handle this very strange situation, I looked up at Hawk.
Hawk nodded. “We are staying in the village of Ran Tama. “Follow us, and we can talk there.”
Ivek gave a nod and turned to his men. “Men, return to camp for now. I’ll meet you there in a few hours.”
One of the men on horseback pressed his hand to his heart in what must have been a salute. The men turned their horses around and headed back the way they’d come.
A few minutes later, Hawk was leading Ivek back through the village toward his hut, talking up front with him and Doc, while I’d fallen back to the rear with Ali’san. Ivek led his huge black Borsk mare at his side. Every villager we passed stared at the barbarian, looking as scared of the horse as its barbarian rider.
“…traveled far and fast,” Ivek was saying. He looked back at me, and I thought I saw loneliness there before his eyes fell on Ali’san with a look of confusion and intrigue before he went on. “As to why I’m here, that’s much more complicated. I will try to explain when we can speak in private…”
“Ali’san,” I whispered, leaning toward her. “Why in Maker’s name did you attack him? I mean, he’s the one you were talking about, right? ‘The One Who Carries the Banner?”
“He is.” Her voice was tight, her gaze burning Ivek’s back.
“Well, so, you know he was coming. You knew he wasn’t an enemy. I don’t understand...”
Confusion flickered across her face. “None of this is turning out the way it unfolded in my visions, Liberator. I know he’s supposed to be here. I feel it in my blood, but…” She shook her head. “It just doesn’t make sense.”
Ivek clearly unsettled her, enough to rattle her when she’d seen him, but why? Yes, the men of Crite were known to be ruthless barbarians who killed anyone that opposed them. Some thought they were cannibals, and they were renowned for their brutality toward women. But Ivek and his men were nothing like the stories. It was Vol Talek, the man I was to be sold to at Damien’s auction, that was the living nightmare of those stories. Well, living no longer. Ivek had been the one to kill his leader, making Ivek the new Vol to the Crites.