Tears of War

by A. D. Trosper

  On his other side, Belan nodded. “See what I mean. Something is up and it likely isn’t good.”

  Kellinar looked at Anevay. “Do you think we made a mistake by instigating this?”

  Her eyes softened and a gentle smile touched her lips. “No, my love. I don’t think we did.” She paused and looked around at the cramped buildings and people clad in the cheapest material they could find. “These people deserve better than this. If they are willing to fight for something better, then we should help them.” She turned back to him. “If they hadn’t been willing to fight for freedom, then no amount of instigation would have started all of this.”

  He gave her a squeeze. “Whatever is coming, it’s coming soon. Don’t you need to return to Galdrilene and work on that weave of yours?”

  Anevay laughed, the sound like music to him. “There is plenty of time to work on it. I’m pretty sure I know how to finish it. After all of this is settled here in Trilene, I will return and work on it for a while.”

  Kellinar sighed. Of course he couldn’t convince her to leave Trilene any more than he could convince Taela. At least Anevay didn’t threaten him with knives. A rush of warm love flowed through him when he remembered the way Taela had lost her temper with him a few days before. Her fiery temper was a good match to his. Anevay with her sweet, gentle personality had been quick to douse the flames of temper between them but it hadn’t stopped him from spending some time in bed with Taela, making up with her.

  They stopped not far from the Mallay city gate. Kellinar watched the groups of city guards and soldiers guarding the gate. Conspicuously absent were the Keepers, although it was said they now watched for magic users to turn over to the Shadow Riders to deal with.

  “How many of them do we have on our side?” Kellinar asked Belan.

  Belan blew out a breath while he looked at the sky as if it held the answer. “About half. Many of the common soldiers came from the Mallay you know. Becoming frontline fodder is one of the few ways out of the Mallay.” He brought his eyes back down. “Not as many higher ranking soldiers, which is to be expected. Of course, all of them who are loyal to Lord Vesnar and Lord Telain are with us. There might be one or two of the lower ranking that will side with us. All in all, we might end up with a handful of houses from the Trilene. That leaves the eight high-ranking houses and at least fifteen of the lower ranking Trilene houses against us.”

  Kellinar nodded. They had more on their side than he’d thought they would. He glanced up at the walls of the two higher districts. “How many in the Dellar?”

  “A little less than half.” Belan said. “I’ve been in battles like this before. To be honest, our odds aren’t good. Only you Dragon Riders give us the advantage.”

  Kellinar shook his head. “It won’t be much of an advantage. Shadow Riders are guaranteed to be present. We will end up busy with them and may not be much help. Keep up the weapons training you’re doing in the canyon. The trained soldiers will help, but those just learning may still find themselves cut down in short order.”

  Belan nodded and rubbed his hands together. “Sadly, you are most likely right.”

  Kellinar stared at the buildings rising up tall around him. Something about the scene felt foreboding and the itch between his shoulder blades grew stronger. His stomach twisted. It was going to happen soon. Thankfully, Mckale and Maleena were recovered and ready to come to their aid, though Maleena had promised to stay out of the actual battle. Kirynn had informed him she wouldn’t miss it for anything. Vaddoc too would come. Not that he had doubted any of them. When he’d visited Calladar to see Mckale and Maleena, and explained the situation, Maleena had gone all mysterious and left after agreeing to stay out of the actual fighting. What did she have up her sleeve?

  A flood of anxiety flowed through the bond from Taela. Kellinar met Anevay’s eyes, knowing she had felt it too. In moments, Paki streaked overhead toward the only place she had room to land, in front of the Thieves’ Caves.

  Kellinar took off running with Anevay at his side and Belan on their heels. He thanked the dragon bond for the increased stamina of a rider as he ran flat out across the Mallay. Anevay stayed right with him, but they soon left Belan behind.

  As they rounded the last twist in the street, Paki was taking off and Taela stood at the bottom of the steps to the terrace. Kellinar slowed as he neared, his eyes sweeping her for any injury. She didn’t speak, only reached out and grabbed his arm and hauled him up the stairs to a more private corner of the terrace.

  “There’s an army.” Her voice shook slightly.

  “An army?” Kellinar took her hand. “Taela, calm down. What army?”

  She took a deep, steadying breath. “To the southwest, coming up from Turindar. A big one. This is what the Trilene has been waiting for. We won’t be fighting just the Trilene and Dellar; we will be taking on the bulk of the Turindari army.”

  Kellinar slowly sat in one of the chairs to wait for Belan. “Did they see you?”

  Taela flopped next to him and snorted. “Of course not. I may be rattled but I’m not stupid.”

  He wrapped an arm around her. “I know you’re not.

  Anevay sat quietly on his other side, her hand rubbing up and down his arm. There was nothing to do but wait for Belan and hope he could think of a good course of action. Trying to back down the rebellion, subtle though it had been so far, would be pointless. If the Trilene were calling in favors from Turindar, they meant to wipe out the Mallay regardless of what happened now.

  Belan finally came jogging up the stairs, out of breath. “What’s going on?”

  Kellinar looked up at him. “Turindar’s army is marching this way. This is going to go bad.”

  Belan sank into a chair. “This changes things.” He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees and rested his forehead on the heels of his hands.

  Silence stretched out. Finally, Belan raised his head and looked at them. “We have to get everyone out of the Mallay.”

  Images of what the Mallay would be like with the combination of the Turindar army, those against them in the city, and whatever the Shadow Riders threw out at them ran through his mind. “This has become a giant trap; everyone will be slaughtered in the streets.”

  Miya carefully lowered herself to the open space at the bottom of the steps. Serena removed her safety straps and jumped down. She paused to unbuckle the catcher strap and toss it over the saddle. As Miya lifted off, Serena ran up the steps. “There is an army headed this way.”

  Taela nodded. “From Turindar, I know. I saw it.”

  Serena shook her head. “No, I was farther north. The one I saw is coming from Hanover. I know they caved to the Shadow Riders. I can only assume Hanover sent it to help the Trilene.”

  Belan laughed, the sound bitter. “This just gets better and better. Turindar and Haraban both on their way to help annihilate us.”

  “Kellinar, I must fly for a while. It will be a little bit before I get back,” Shryden sent.

  Startled by the sudden message, he reached out to the dragon, “Why, where are you going?”

  “I will be back soon.”

  Kellinar tried twice more to question the dragon but received no reply. He frowned and looked at Taela and Anevay. “Do either of your dragons know why Shryden suddenly took off?”

  Taela shook her head, the confusion on her face mirrored by what he felt through the bond. “No, but Paki has just done the same to me.”

  “Latia is still here, but she refuses to answer where the other two went.” Anevay looked shocked. Kellinar was surprised, Latia rarely gave her rider any grief. Unlike some dragons he could think of. He made sure those thoughts broadcasted clearly through his dragon bond with Shryden. Only a sense of amusement came back. The blue was doing a darn good job of hiding his thoughts.

  He returned his attention to Belan. “When do we begin getting people out of the city and how do you want to do it?”

  “It will have to be under the cover of darkness and before ei
ther of those armies get here.” He looked first at Serena, then Taela. “Any estimates on when they will arrive?”

  “Not long,” Taela answered. “They are marching a good pace. Some of the supply wagons are lagging a bit but I imagine they will catch up by the time the army stops each night. A week, maybe less.”

  Serena nodded. “Miya and Paki compared what they saw. Miya believes the Hanoverian army will arrive the same time as the Turindari.”

  “We will spread word of the need to leave this evening after the men come back from the vineyards and docks.” Belan paused and stared into space for a minute before refocusing on them. “It will take several days to get this many people ready to move, especially with women and children. Still though, that should give us enough time.”

  Serena frowned. “What about the people in the villages outside the wall?”

  “We will send word, but it will be up to them what they do. Outside the walls, they have more freedom to run. Hopefully they choose wisely,” Belan said.

  Kalila stood on the ramparts with Sehlas and Lalani, her Defenders arranged around them, watching Merru glide across the sky. Every now and then she needed a chance to relax and not think of everything that went with ruling a nation. Loki and the gold hadn’t patrolled beyond sight of the city in the month since they nearly lost each other. She supposed she couldn’t blame them; it had been a close call.

  Jocelynn and Varnen patrolled farther out. Kalila smiled to herself. She really liked those two. Efficient and dedicated to their duties, they were also friendly. Watching them together also warmed the heart.

  Merru bugled what she’d come to recognize as a welcome call. Above her the swirling heat wave look of a Slide opened and a silver dragon came through. Odd, there was no rider. What was Paki doing here without Taela? A lump of worry built in her gut. Surely nothing bad had happened to Kellinar’s bondmate.

  As Paki landed in the inner courtyard, Kalila ran down the stairs from the wall walk to meet her. “Paki, what’s wrong?” she asked as she drew close, with the others right behind her.

  “Your help is needed.”

  The words thundered into her mind. Kalila grabbed her head as her knees buckled under the weight of the dragon’s thoughts. Sehlas’ strong arms kept her from hitting the stones. She looked up at the dragon through hazy eyes. “What help?”

  “War visits Trilene as Kellinar tries to free the people of the Mallay from the Shadow Dragons. Hanover and Turindar have sent their armies to help the Trilene. All in the Mallay will be killed without outside help.”

  Kalila nearly passed out from the strength of the thoughts filling her mind. She managed to nod. “Help will come.”

  Paki bobbed her head in acknowledgement. “I will return. Wait for me and be ready. There isn’t much time.” She lifted off. Kalila took a shuddering breath as the wind from the dragon’s wings whipped around her. Within moments, the silver opened another Slide and disappeared.

  Merru and Loki landed in her place. Loki jumped down from the gold and knelt in front of her, the catcher strap still on his ankle. “What happened? Why was Paki here without Taela?”

  Kalila climbed to her feet with the help of Sehlas. “Trilene is about to come apart at the seams and the Trilene are doing their best to take out the Mallay.” She took a deep breath and rubbed her temples in an attempt to relieve the lingering ache and pressure from the communication with Paki. “Turindar and Hanover have sent their armies in support of the Trilene.”

  “They’ll be crushed.” Worry filled Loki’s eyes.

  “Not without a fight they won’t.” Kalila turned to Sehlas and Lalani. “Gather the Houses. Markene will march to the aid of the Mallay.”

  Lalani shook her head. “Your people will follow you at this point, but the loss of life will be heavy. You may lose their faith and in the process your throne over this.”

  Sehlas glared at the Spirit mage. “There are some things that are worth more than a throne. This is one of them.”

  Kalila stepped back from Sehlas. “He is right. I am willing to put my throne on the line. I will not sit here and allow them to be slaughtered.”

  “It is your choice.” Lalani inclined her head.

  “Gather the Houses,” Kalila said and strode toward the keep.

  Emallya hurried onto the outer terrace in surprise as Paki landed in the caldera minus her rider. Bardeck ran from the equipment cave. “Paki, what happened?”

  Mernoth approached, his eyes on the silver. Paki swung her head toward him. Within moments, Mernoth played the events of the day in Emallya’s mind. She looked at her bondmate. He nodded and she turned back to Paki. “Galdrilene stands with them. Mernoth will bring us.”

  Paki huffed a warm breath at each of them then launched into the sky.

  Shryden covered the distance to Las Fane in less than two days. Since he’d never seen it, nor had the other dragons, he wasn’t able to Slide there. The white walls and blue-tiled roofs stood bright against the trees that surrounded it, and the dark blue waters of the bay where the Blood River let out into the Saragon Sea.

  People screamed and ran as he landed on the wall surrounding the castle keep. He didn’t know where to find her. He knew only that she was a member of a high-ranking family. Not even Kellinar’s memory held the information. She had never told him which family.

  There was only one way to go about finding her. “Ariana,” he broadcasted it across the whole city. Everywhere people dropped to their knees, their hands flying to their heads. He snorted, as if hands could keep his voice out. He wished he had more information to go on. One thing he knew for sure, they weren’t sympathetic to the Shadow Riders.

  Arrows pinged off his scales. He ignored them. “Ariana, please. I don’t know how else to find you and Kellinar needs your help.”

  After several minutes a young woman stumbled from the keep with an older man and regiment of soldiers gathered around them. None of them looked steady on their feet.

  “I’m here,” she called up to him.

  “What do you want with my daughter?” the older man yelled, his face clouded with anger and fear.

  Shryden focused his thoughts on Ariana and her father. “The Trilene have fallen to the Shadow Riders. Kellinar is trying to save the people of the Mallay, along with Lord Vesnar of the High Houses.”

  Ariana clung to a soldier’s arm though she still stood. Her adopted father was already on his knees. This girl had strength. She gazed up at him. “My father? What needs to be done?”

  “Turindar and Hanover have sent their armies in support of the Trilene. The Shadow Riders will also throw their support behind the Trilene. Without help, everyone in the Mallay and anyone who supports them will be slaughtered.”

  She looked at him, confusion written on her face. “How does Kellinar figure into this? Who are you and how are you connected to him?”

  “I am Shryden. Kellinar is my rider and a Guardian of Galdrilene. We oppose everything the Shadow Riders stand for.”

  Arianna struggled to remain standing. “We? There are more like you?”

  “Yes. Will you help us? Your letter said Las Fane was against the Shadow Riders. Will you allow them to kill those in the Mallay?”

  She looked at her adopted father then back to him. “We must discuss it. How long do we have? Can you give us a day? My father is king and can send the Las Fane army anywhere he wishes, but still, it would be best if we had the support of the other nobles.”

  “I can give you a day. I will wait. I don’t know this place well enough to feel comfortable Sliding back.”

  Shryden could see he had confused her with that last remark. She nodded anyway and together with her adopted father, she made her way back inside the keep.

  Kellinar paced back and forth across the terrace. It had been three full days since Shryden left and though the dragon assured him he was alright, he let nothing else leak through. The Mallay was quieter than usual. Most of the men had left for the docks or vineyards that morn
ing, but the market square was empty. Only a few men were missing from the district. Three or four of the herders had kept a portion of the livestock out of the city overnight, herding the animals well away. It was a small pooling of the individual herds, not enough to be noticed by anyone, but enough though to hopefully give the people a start somewhere else.

  On the wall of the Trilene District high above, flashes of color could be seen as soldiers looked down at them. Not that there was much to see, most people were keeping to their houses as they frantically packed what they could carry.

  The remaining goats bleated in protest at not being taken to pasture that day. Children were silent though as if picking up on the tension of their elders. Inside the Thieves’ Caves, packing was under way as well. By the next morning, the Mallay would be empty.

  He turned as Belan walked out onto the terrace. “Vesnar will have his soldiers at the gate by morning; we should be able to get the men out.”

  If he could truly be trusted to be there when it was time. “What about the women, children, and elderly?” Kellinar asked, suddenly worried. If the Shadow Riders arrived to head them off it would leave them trapped between the Mallay wall and likely Kojen. Pile of rotting Shadow carcasses, why hadn’t he thought of that?

  “Kellinar, relax. That thought occurred to me in the middle of the night. Several of the thieves are going to take them out through the Thieves’ Exit tonight and hide them in the canyon. By this time the messengers will have informed every family in the Mallay.” Belan rubbed the back of his neck. “I hope there is someone left to lead them out of the canyon and to where ever we decide to go from here.”

  Kellinar nodded, silently acknowledging the fact there might not be much left besides the women and children, and not even that if the Shadow Riders found them. Where in the name of the Fates was Shryden?

  Serena and Anevay had flown reconnaissance that morning and came back with news that the two approaching armies were now accompanied by Shadow Dragons. The gut feelings that had always kept him one step ahead of trouble screamed at him to get out. Restlessness filled him and he resumed pacing. “How soon until we leave?”