by H. M. Clarke
Tayme then spat in his palm and held it out to Kalena. “Your enemies are my enemies.”
Kalena spat on her own palm and smiled at Tayme as she clasped her hand to his. She should have known that he would support her. Just as she knew that the rest of her Wing would as well. The feelings that Garrick inspired in the Flights Kalar was a hope for a free future and that would be a hard thing to lose if Garrick did not become Emperor. It was a feeling that she now realized all the Flights would fight to keep. Maybe even the High Guard, the Emperors personal Flight bodyguard would join them.
“Thank you Tayme.”
‘And thank you Trar.’
Tayme smiled and nodded. He then got up without saying a word and quickly left the tent, with Kalena staring incredulously after him.
Chapter Eleven
Justicar Tsarland
KALENA PULLED TIGHT the final buckle.
‘All right Adhamh, you can breathe in now.’
She stepped back as the Hatar stood up on all fours and shook himself out.
“Be careful of the saddle blanket Adhamh,” Kalena shouted up at him through cupped hands.
Adhamh swung his head around to look at his partner but suddenly focused on something behind Kalena.
‘We have company.’
Kalena slowly turned to look behind her and saw Justicar Videan Tsarland standing several paces away from her. Standing beyond the standard hearing distance from Videan was his two bodyguards. She automatically dropped into a half bow.
“Humility becomes you, Kalena Kalar,” Videan said as he moved a few steps towards her.
Kalena did not say a word. To talk to a Justicar without permission could mean her death. She stood frozen in her half bow, her eyes fixed firmly on the red dust and wind bleached stones before her feet. Kalena could feel his presence without needing to see him. It made the roots of her hair tingle.
Then the toes of his black leather boots moved into her sight, disturbing the red dust and stones. Kalena stiffened and suddenly could feel sweat trickle through her hair and down her neck. What if he knew about her oath? She could feel his gaze drilling through the back of her head.
‘Don’t do anything stupid Kalena,’ Adhamh warned from his own lowered stance.
‘I still have Provost Marshal Brock’s warning in my mind.’
“I did not realize that you were a member of a wing based at Darkon.”
Kalena marveled at how deep Videan’s voice had become. She would never have recognized it if she had heard him without seeing him first.
“You gave me quite a shock seeing you standing in Provost Marshal Brock’s office,” he continued. “Provost–Prince- Garrick Thurad had told the family that you had become a Flyer five years earlier than expected.”
His voice was well modulated and clear and it had lost most of the strong northern accent that Kalena remembered. Her own accent was still noticeable but had mellowed over the years.
Kalena watched as a drop of sweat trickled down her nose and fall to splatter in the dust. She felt her stomach churning into a nervous ball. The brother that she had not seen in years, the brother that she had so loved and respected as a little girl was now standing right before her. Kalena could recognize the boy she once knew in his features but the rest of the man before her stood a stranger.
Kalena felt the strain of the half bow in her lower back but she continued to keep her bow respectful.
“Kalena, please stand up. It is so irritating speaking to your ponytail.”
Videan’s kind invitation sounded a little forced to Kalena’s ears but after a moment of indecision Kalena slowly stood upright, running her eyes slowly over the tall form of her brother before focusing on his face.
Even in this heat, Videan wore the black wool cassock of the Justicar, the gold thread of the Book of Truth glinting in the morning light. His black boots were coated in red dust and his hands were covered in supple black leather.
His face tried to belay the austere look of the body. His mouth quirked in a small smile and crow’s feet tried to add that smile to his eyes. But to Kalena, it was Videan’s eyes that worried her. They did not reflect the smile of his mouth. They were lifeless; as if whatever soul had once lived there had shriveled and died.
The tingling she felt earlier suddenly grew worse. She felt as if the danger was just around the bend. And then she felt another shift in her mind, sending a chill of fear through her body. Please don’t let me have visions in front of my brother, she prayed to herself.
“That was the last time we saw Provost Thurad. But after his visit, we seemed not to lack for anything. We had money to improve the house and the farm and to send me to study and become what I am today.”
Videan’s soulless eyes bored into her own and Kalena felt the urge to run, but with a strong force of will stopped herself. It was then that she felt an odd sensation at the back of her head as if there was something there that was gathering heat around it. Oddly, it made her feel stronger and more in control of herself and she suddenly knew that the shift had caused it.
“Why tell me this?” Kalena quickly tightened her lips. She had not meant to speak aloud. She waited silently for the punishment that should come. Videan’s stance did not change.
“I would like to know why a Prince would suddenly support our family after giving up a Kalar. Our parents would not tell me and at the time I really did not care why. But now?”
Kalena looked away from her brother’s face, not wanting to look at the smiling facade that Videan presented. Her thoughts started to whirl and then she remembered the cryptic comment that Captain Vosloo made to her yesterday. ‘You were gone before it happened...’. Perhaps this was what he referred to.
“I know nothing about that Justicar,” Kalena carefully replied. She did not want to suffer a Justicar’s wrath, being her brother it would be worse. But at least Videan had unwittingly told her the news that she craved - that their parents were doing well.
“As Kalarthri, I am not privileged to know the reasoning of my masters.” Kalena bent again into a bow and gritted her teeth as she waited for Videan’s outburst.
But the outburst never came.
Her brother’s feet turned and stepped out of her sight, leaving only his footprints in her field of vision. Kalena heard him crunch his way back to the waiting bodyguards. She slightly raised her head to see Videan and his men walking briskly back to the main camp. As Kalena watched Videan’s retreating back, the sensation in the back of her head quickly vanished with a loud click.
‘What was that about?’ Adhamh sat back on his haunches and stretched his neck in a fluff of feathers.
‘I don’t know, but it was something he wanted me to know.’
Chapter Tweleve
Captain Fraser Vosloo
KALENA FINISHED SECURING the last of her equipment to her saddle packs before climbing into the front saddle and looked quickly about her. The rest of her wing was just finishing off their own preparations for the day in the air, Harada’s Wing had already left to scout out the western plains and the foothills. Today Kalena’s Wing is to go East.
The Wing was running late. It was over an hour past dawn and Captain Vosloo still had not arrived. They were waiting for him.
‘Kalena, here he comes. He’s being tailed by two of his junior officers.’ Adhamh crooked his head to get a better view over the milling bodies of the Wing.
‘Looks like he’s been stirred up about something. He’s just finished giving orders and the officers have been sent running in different directions.’
‘About time he got here,’ was all Kalena thought, but she threw a worried glance in the direction of the camp. Kalena’s seat on Adhamh’s back made it easy for her to spot the Captain’s lazy walk as he came across the open ground towards the waiting Hatar and Riders. As he drew closer, Kalena could immediately tell he was furious.
“Good Morning Captain.” Kalena reached down to give Captain Vosloo a helping hand getting into the back sadd
le. He gave an angry grunt in response as he settled and strapped himself in.
‘Seems he’s not having a good morning,’ Kalena said to Adhamh as she buckled her own straps.
‘We had better get going Kalena.’
‘Pass the order to the Wing to ready themselves Adhamh.’
Once in the air, Kalena lost her worry over Videan’s visit. She was sure he knew nothing of what was discussed the night before. Kalena relaxed and began to focus on the patrol. She began to direct members of the Wing into double patrols that fanned out over the North Eastern plains and into the foothills of the Bhaliger Mountains. Since there are thirty-three members in a Wing, Kalena and Adhamh were left to patrol their route without a Kalarthri partner. But her independent human eyes sat behind her still fuming away.
Kalena had always been sensitive to people’s emotions and Vosloo’s fury felt as if it was literally banging its presence into her skull. Kalena could not ignore it any longer as it was starting to give her a headache.
“Captain-” Kalena started to say as she turned back in the saddle but Vosloo cut her off.
“Don’t ask me Wing Commander.”
Kalena shut her mouth and turned forward. It seems that today is going to be a quiet one.
Adhamh glided slowly through the air, his head moving back and forth as he scanned the countryside below.
‘See anything?’ Kalena asked Adhamh as it became clear that she would get no conversation from their passenger.
‘There was a succulent looking bull a few leagues back and a few sheep.’
‘Cattle and sheep? The Crofters do not seem to be worried about the threat of invasion.’
Kalena leaned forward in the saddle to see the ground below with her own eyes. She saw the ground moving slowly beneath them. It was no longer the red dust of the plains but the thick grass of the lowlands and not far ahead of them loomed the foothills of the Bhaglier Ranges. Towering high above these was the lone peak of Daegarouf.
It was the only tall peak on this side of the ranges and Kalena noticed that Adhamh’s nose headed directly for it.
‘Adhamh, I don’t think it wise that we try our luck with the Pydarki today. Vosloo is with us and he might not appreciate us taking liberties with his time.’
The fury sitting coiled within the Captain might not welcome what he would certainly see as a pleasure jaunt.
‘This might be the only time we will be able to go to Daegarouf until we reach Foxtern. At least now we could fly around and find the entrance to the Pydarki City. I have heard that they have hollowed out part of the mountain that makes the place nearly impossible to find. This is why we should look.’
‘All right. We will patrol around the mountain and see if we can spot this entrance–or even if we can spot a Pydarki on the wooded slopes. At least that would be good practice for spotting Icetigers.’
Kalena settled back in her saddle and sighed. She turned her head to speak to the Captain.
“We are going to do our sweep around Daegarouf Captain.”
Captain Vosloo nodded in reply but said nothing.
The journey into the ranges was a quiet one. Kalena had Adhamh soar up as high as was safe to ensure that no one could spot them from the ground. Sharp Hatar eyes could still see the cattle and sheep as clearly as before and Adhamh provided Kalena with regular reports of what people sightings he could see.
The ground below them slowly changed from the grasslands to the steadily increasing heights of the ranges. The clouds quickly became too thick beneath them for even a Hatar to see through and so Adhamh descended from his high flying as they flew closer to Daegarouf and glided just above the thick green trees that lined the hills.
Kalena felt a tap at her shoulder. She leaned back to hear what Vosloo had to say.
“The mountains around Foxtern are covered this thickly with trees.” Vosloo raised his voice to be heard against the wind. “What does Adhamh think of sighting anything useful through the canopy?”
‘Well Adhamh, you heard him.’
The Hatar ruffled his neck feathers in irritation. ‘I heard him. The Captain really knows nothing about my race.’ Adhamh grumbled.
Kalena tried to hide her smile even though with her back to him, the Captain could not see it. She had lived so long with the knowledge of the superiority of Hatar sight that Kalena forgot the ignorance of others. Hatar have the uncanny ability to see things from immense distances like a bird of prey. But they also could see things through a special ability that Kalena still cannot fully understand. Hatars could choose to change their vision to see living things that were hidden away.
‘So the forest cannot stop you from seeing the living beings swarming in the valleys and on the hill sides?’ Kalena asked knowing that she would get an annoyed snap from Adhamh.
‘You have to ask?’ he said, ruffling his feathers again. ‘I’ll show you.’
Kalena stilled. One thing that was possible over their crystal link was to share images from one mind to another. It was a useful skill but Kalena hated it. When Adhamh sent her an image, it would force out other activities from her mind. It made Kalena feel as if a stranger had entered her room and then spitefully rearranged her things so she could not find anything.
Then Adhamh’s changed sight was in her head pushing out all other thoughts. The view was of different shades of green, red, yellow and blue. Nothing looked normal, but Kalena knew how to read the image. Red and yellow objects indicated birds, animals, and humans. The green and blues depicted trees, plants, and rivers.
As Adhamh swept his head around, Kalena could see the red-orange shapes of birds in trees, foxes loping along forest paths and deer grazing. Then the image vanished. Kalena breathed a sigh of relief.
‘As you can tell, I can see perfectly well.’ Adhamh sounded smug.
‘I may have deserved that but there was no need to force it on me. You know how much I hate this.’
Adhamh did not reply. Instead, he slowly banked to his right to place their route more in line with Daegarouf.
Kalena grunted in exasperation at the Hatar but swung back in the saddle to speak with Captain Vosloo.
“Adhamh can see perfectly well through these trees. He allowed me to share what he could see. All there is below us under the trees are birds and animals.”
A smile suddenly broke over Vosloo’s face and Kalena jerked backward in surprise at the quick transformation.
“That confirms a rumor I’ve heard,” he said by way of explanation. “We Freemen spread so many rumors regarding the Hatar that it is hard to tell nowadays what is truth and what is fiction.”
Kalena frowned. “Surely Provost Marshal Brock would have told you all you needed to know about the Hatar?”
“Yes he did,” the Captain replied. “But it is always better to see things with your own eyes than to be told. It makes the impossible more tangible.”
“What do the rumors say about the Hatar?” Kalena asked. She was suddenly burning with curiosity to know what the Freemen thought of the Hatar Kalar. It might explain why they were shunned so much in camp, even by those who know that Hatar and their riders cannot read anyone’s mind willy-nilly. Well... she could, but chose not to.
“Most of them are complete nonsense Kalena.” The Captain held up his hand and began to count off each of his rebukes to the rumors. “The Hatar and yourself cannot read the minds of others.” He pushed a finger down. “The Hatar cannot breathe fire,” another finger was pushed down. “The Hatar cannot make people spontaneously combust.” Kalena tried to stifle a laugh at that one and Adhamh rumbled deep in his belly.
A startled look came over Vosloo’s face at Adhamh’s rumble. “It’s not true is it?” he looked at Kalena uncertainly.
Kalena shook her head. “That’s definitely not true. Adhamh just found it amusing is all.”
“Well, there are many more tales about Hatars that run along the same line, each more preposterous than the last.” Vosloo settled back into his saddle but Kalen
a saw his hands slip to his riding straps to make sure they were still secure. At least now the Captain had put a lid on his fury.
“If the Hatar could do all those things, then there would be no need to send anyone into battle,” Kalena said, not quite believing that people could think such tosh. “The Hatar would be able to read the battle plans from the enemy general’s mind and then incinerate their army with only a single thought. What a horrible way to die.”
Kalena quickly snapped her mouth shut in shock as a realization suddenly hit her. “Is that what people think us capable of?”
Vosloo slowly nodded. “Not all people do, just most of the rank and file and those who have strong secrets to keep,” Vosloo said softly. “The Hatar Kalar are given high rank by the Emperor because of what he knows they-you can do. The reason that the Hatar Kalar are generally held in scorn is because of the tales that have spread about the Hatar.”
“That might explain the hate I saw in Videan’s eyes this morning,” Kalena said as she remembered her brother’s odd expression as he spoke to her.
“Justicar Tsarland saw you this morning?” The sharpness in Vosloo’s voice caught Kalena’s attention.
“Yes, he did.”
“What did he want?” It was more of a command than a question.
Kalena saw that Captain Vosloo’s short-lived good humor was now gone. His face had hardened and Kalena could feel the fury seeping into him again. So, the Justicars had upset Vosloo this morning.
“Justicar Videan talked to me about our parents. How well they were doing once I had left them.” Kalena paused to see if her last statement caused any emotional reaction in the Captain. Her own mental senses were heightened, as Captain Vosloo’s abrupt mood changes were beginning to frighten her. Strangely, Kalena felt the Captain’s fury dim as his fear started to circle around it.
“In fact, Justicar Videan told me something that was quite strange as he thought I had known of it.”
“What did he tell you?” Captain Vosloo repeated, his voice sounded harsh on the wind.