by T B Phillips
The men speaking with Valencia were not Braen Braston. They were hideous barbarians with unwashed bodies and matted manes of hair. Their beards were soaked and stained by their last meal, undoubtedly raw by the bloody tint. They resembled animals more than they did men. Charro seemed not to notice their appearance or, more simply, did not care. He ignored one as it drew out an axe, gnawing on the handle like a dog would a bone.
“You get the other chest after the deed is done,” the lord promised. He gestured around the clearing. “My men will leave it in this very spot.”
“Just make sure that you do,” one of the beasts replied, “or your palace won’t be safe.” As quickly as they had arrived, they had gone, disappearing into the woods while laughing at their private joke.
Alexa closed her eyes, wishing that she had paid heed to her mother. Why couldn’t you have stayed close to the manor, she thought. They could’ve killed you! Once she was certain that Lord Valencia had left as well, she rolled over and opened her eyes. A man far viler than the berserkers loomed over her body with an evil grin, licking its lips and salivating as he tasted her fear. The man’s animal skin hood made it appear as if he were the manifestation of a jungle cat.
“Lord Valencia!” The nearly naked figure called out and the lord of the manor returned. “It seems that you were not careful and have been overheard.”
Charro shot Alexa a look of pity, no doubt the last she would receive in this world. To the beastlike man he said, “She’s only a girl.”
“Nevertheless she must be dealt with.” The creature leaned in so close that Alexa could smell the oil on his skin.
“She is nothing I cannot handle. I assure you.”
“If we are to continue with our arrangement, then you will leave her for me to deal with.” The hideous man reached down and stroked her skin with a mud caked finger, causing her to flinch. She whimpered as he caressed her lightly, humming softly.
“Our agreement will not change. The attack will thin out any resistance and solidify my rule over the entire continent. That is what your handlers demanded, is it not?”
“Yes…” The specter mused, humming louder as he continued to stroke Alexa’s face. He reached down with both hands and firmly clamped her cheeks.
“No,” she pleaded, “please don’t.” The girl tried to pull away, but his grip was strong and his music enchanting. Soon she could hear his voice echo in her mind.
Don’t resist, child. I will not harm you. Give in to me and you will soon forget everything you have seen and heard.
When she finally stopped her struggle, she knew his words were truth.
Mattie watched as Alexa casually strolled through the kitchen door. The girl had been loafing somewhere, gone a full hour. “Well,” she said with a hint of sarcasm, “look who finally decided to join us.”
“I’m sorry, Mother. I dropped off the meat and came straight back.”
“We’ll talk about this later. Right now there’s too much to prepare. Go wash up and dress in your serving attire. Then you can join your sister in the banquet hall.”
“What about the stuffed eggs? Surely they’re not ready?” The girl turned to the table where her sister had been working. When she had departed for her errand, the table was empty. Now several hundred eggs sat beautifully on their serving plates, garnished and ready to serve. “Oh,” she remarked, “Liza did that faster than I could have.”
Mattie harrumphed then chased her daughter from the kitchen. “Go get ready!”
Chapter Forty-Five
A solitary ship traveled northward toward Estowen’s Landing. Samani stood on the lee deck, keeping dry as he watched ocean spray wash over the topsiders. A boy of about ten summers kept wind in the sails, oblivious to the foam and mist. He looked silly in his rain slicker, hands in the air like he was conducting an orchestra of air. Kernigan barely knew the young emotant.
Braen had called him Jasper and promised that he could take Samani and his cargo safely north without incident. He was one of the younger children, so far kept out of the fighting and more dangerous missions. At first, the crew had seemed concerned, leery of trusting such a small child with their lives, but they quickly warmed up to the hard worker who seemed to love his job.
A woman’s voice broke the silence. “Would you’ve ever believed that we’d be walking openly among so many emotants?”
Kernigan turned and greeted Delilah as she slid in beside him. “Honestly, no.” He gestured toward the child, “But isn’t this what we’d hoped for when Pearl brought us across the ocean?”
“It is. But imagine what it will be like when they can walk among the entire world.” The two watched as Gretchen brought a small bundle to Jasper. The boy ripped it open and quickly consumed the meal within. “She’s got your stubbornness, Sam.”
“I noticed that. Does she share my gift with the bead?”
The two watched as the girl walked slowly across the deck toward a hatch that led below. “She does, but unfortunately, we’ve nearly exhausted our supply. What we brought across the water lasted longer than expected, but thirty years is a long time and we’ll run out soon.”
“Don’t worry, we gathered plenty during the raid on Diaph and I can restock your supply.” He gestured toward the child channeling the wind. “Hopefully we won’t need the beads much longer.” They stood silently for a moment before he asked, “Did it work? Has Gretchen produced any other Ka’ash’mael visions?”
“Only the one regarding the brother.” Delilah looked expectantly at her former lover “Are you sure that we have the right Braston, Sam?”
“I’m positive. Besides, Braen has Eusari and the others. There are plenty of factors that will contribute to the process.”
“Pearl will tan our hides when she realizes what we’ve done.”
He shook his head. “We haven’t done anything. And, despite what she may claim, we certainly haven’t influenced the prophecies, Delilah. All we’ve done is identify key players and point them toward their destinies.”
“I don’t think she’ll see it like that.”
“She’s eighty years old, what’s she going to do? As long as Braen and Eusari are together at the right time, it’ll go as prophesied. He’s running to her as we speak, and the three will be together when it happens.” He paused for a moment then added, “Then Pearl will have to step back while we coax the second phase.” Samani turned, suddenly feeling chilled by the ocean spray. “Speaking of the second phase, let’s go below decks and speak with what’s left of my sister.”
Pearl paced the kitchen waiting for Madelyn and the children to return. She had tried to prevent them from leaving with Shon Wembley, but they had insisted. His scouts had reported a column of soldiers marching toward Estowen’s Landing and he quickly set up an ambush along the road. Despite her protests, the young Kali argued that she and Johan had a duty. “The soldiers followed us from Eston, so we have to help,” she had insisted. Pearl finally relented and sent Madelyn along to keep the children safe.
A voice interrupted her thoughts, “Why did you take my brother, Perlana?”
The old woman looked up with tired eyes, exhaustion hanging beneath them. “I didn’t take him, Fatwana. He begged me to bring him across the sea.”
“I’m sure that’s how you remember it, but I see it differently. You played upon his passion for knowledge and promised him answers.”
Pearl nodded at the truth in the lead sister’s version of events. “That doesn’t mean that he wasn’t persistent.”
The younger woman handed the elder a mug of cider then relaxed in a chair beside her. The two women sat like that, sipping the hot liquid and staring at the door expectantly. It was Fatwana who finally broke the silence. “The prophecies are dangerous, Perlana.”
“It’s Pearl now, Dear. I haven’t gone by my given name in thirty years.”
“I don’t
care what you call yourself, don’t evade the subject. You’re playing with fire.”
The old woman took a long sip from the mug, then held it in her lap with crooked fingers, the warmth feeling good against her frail legs. “We came here to observe, but your brother may have meddled too much in Andalonian affairs.”
“Even a little is too much.” The lead sister took another sip then asked, “How bad is it?”
“I won’t know until I get my arthritic fingers around his throat.” Fatwana raised an eyebrow and Pearl continued, “His assignment was to watch The Cove.”“The Cove? What Cove?”
“Pirate’s Cove. The locals call it simply, ‘The Cove.’ He somehow rose in the ranks to serve in the Inner Sanctum of the Pirate King. At first, I was supportive because he was in a position to expand our network. He had spies in every portside city on the continent. If it touched water Samani knew its gossip and news.”
“He always was industrious.”
“Industrious? Your brother is a damnable genius. His network grew so strong that he cut me out of his chain of command. After only a few years I even worked for him as part of his network.”
“Perlana… Pearl, we had a Ka’ash’mael prophecy that revealed a powerful winter emotant.”
“I know. I believe that it read, ‘All forces of nature have awakened, chaos sown without distinction. No longer controlled by boundaries, siblings consume each other.’ Don’t look so shocked. We have agents in both the council as well as every oracle. Not a prophecy is recorded that we don’t see.”
“I didn’t realize…”
“That the Society has such a far reach?”
“Exactly.” The old woman placed her gnarled fingers on the slender hand of Fatwana. “My Dear, you must accept that the Chancellor and the Council are corrupt. They exploit these people and hide it from the Astians.”
“The beads.”
Pearl raised an eyebrow. “You know their origin?”
The lead sister nodded, tears welling in her eyes. “Samani found a way to contact me through a Ka’ash’mael. I don’t know how he did it, but one of the brothers in my oracle saw the inside of a Rookery through his eyes.” She buried her face in her hands. “It’s awful! We are consuming their essence!”
“That’s true, Dear, and that’s the true mission of The Society. We must free these people without letting The Destroyer wreck our culture.”
“That isn’t what The Dragon would lead you to believe.”
“The who?”
“The Dragon. The leader of The Society?” Pearl stared back dumfounded so Fatwana described him. “Red hair, alluring smile, completely beautiful and ageless. He was a little smug and overconfident for my taste, but he was a very convincing man.”
“Fatwana, The Dragon isn’t our leader!”
“Well you could have fooled me! He described a plan to topple Chancellor Jakata and the entire Council.”
“Topple? Jakata? My Dear…”
Horns in the distance alerted the women, and Fatwana rushed outside without waiting for Pearl to finish. The old woman, also distracted, shuffled outside to witness the commotion. Cheers in the distance suggested a victory, but her worry would continue until she confirmed that all three of her wards lived. She wrung her hands until the ache in her joints grew unbearable, then she paced. She wished that her eyesight were as strong as in her youth.
The shouts of triumph grew closer and she finally spotted the children. Soldiers had hoisted them on their shoulders and paraded toward the outlaw town with rifles pointed toward the sky. Kali and Johan were forefront ahead of the others. A smiling Shon Wembley led the procession. Madelyn followed closely behind wearing a grin of her own. Pearl finally let out a long-held breath and sat down to await the news.
Madelyn wasted no time in giving her report. She collapsed into the chair next to her mentor and gave an in-depth account of the battle. She began with the positioning of snipers in the forest and wrapped up with the final retreat of the survivors. Usually one abhorrent to violence, the old woman felt herself intrigued by the details.
Even Fatwana listened intently. “He used ravens to blind The Falconers?” That part had surprised her.
“He did. He said that they’d used the tactic before, but it was much more effective with the help of The Dreamers.”
“So, the Falconers were useless in the fight?”
“They were. They picked them off easily, and then Kali opened a crack to swallow the few who survived the initial attack. Johan rerouted a creek and flooded the crevice to drown them.”
Pearl felt her heart sink at the thought. “They’re too young and innocent for such exposure to killing.” Madelyn nodded that she agreed, a sudden sadness on her face as well. “How many soldiers were there?”
“Shon said that there were at least ten thousand, but Marque estimated twice that number.” Her eyes took on a sparkle at the thought of the forester as she talked. “It was difficult to tell on such a narrow road.”
Pearl calculated. “That’s a quarter of the Northern Army.”
“That’s what Marque said.” She blushed a little when she mentioned him again. “Shon wants to press westward and attack Eston. With their ships grounded and many of their Falconers gone, he thinks the war will be over within a month.”
Despite the good news, something about the details worried the old woman deeply. “Where are the bodies of the Falconers now?”
“We left them in the hole.” Shock and panic consumed Pearl and she tried to stand but then slipped back into the chair. Madelyn jumped to her feet to assist. “What is it?”
“He has to go back! You can’t leave behind the body of a Falconer or they find a way to come back!”
Madelyn sprinted off to find Marque and gather a squad of scouts. Then they raced away to burn the bodies. When they returned a few hours later, Pearl learned that her worries were justified. The bodies of the Falconers were gone and so was the multitude of soldiers. They didn’t have to wait long to learn where they had gone. The attack came with nightfall and disrupted their celebrations.
Chapter Forty-Six
The entire voyage from The Cove to Eskera was filled with strategy and planning. Maximus Reeves wanted to establish a perimeter around the harbor, weakening the city defenses over time with steady bombardment. The superior firepower of the pirate vessels was impressive, and he was eager to make use of it while minimizing the losses of Robert’s limited ground troops. The only drawback to such strategy was the potential for heavy civilian casualties.
King Esterling had suggested adding a frontal assault, ferrying his army and cadre of emotants to a safer section of beach further east. After a short march they could easily take advantage of the missing section of wall where the northern gate had formerly stood. He felt that their new weapons would easily cover an attack as they sent in squads. The only lingering concern was over how many Falconers and Jaguars remained to assist the occupying force. Without spies inside the city the invading army was blind.
Eskera looked exactly the way they’d left it, except for the lack of smoke and flame. Robert marveled at the sight, realizing why sailors were addicted to their trade despite the hardship of living on the sea.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Sarai’s question caused him to turn.
“It truly is,” he responded.
“I worry about the people of the city and fear for their treatment.”
“Hopefully we can retake it soon, without punishing them further.” Robert turned his attention back to the expansive harbor, noting that the absence of ships cast an eerie warning. “I wonder how many troops are within.”
“Look there!” She pointed toward a small boat rowing toward the fleet. The tiny craft had pushed away from the pier and flew a flag of parlay from a makeshift mast.
“Maximus!”
“Yes, My Liege?�
� The general hurried over to the rail where Robert and Sarai watched the vessel.
“Someone wants to talk. Why would they parlay after driving us from the city?”
“It could be a trap. Maybe they have Falconers aboard?”
Movement atop the city walls caught the trio’s attention. A large banner unfurled from a prominent section of wall, clearly displaying the Esterling sigil. Robert smiled when he saw the eagle gripping a red rose, a detail disturbingly absent from the new standard flown by his brother.
General Reeves shared the same thought as Robert. “I’ll row out to meet with them.”
Titus hated the sea. Truth be told, he commissioned in the army to avoid working for his father, a wealthy importer from Middleton. Had he remained, his father would have forced him to captain a vessel that did little more than ferry sugar and tobacco from the southern continent. He had refused and the tossing of the rowboat confirmed that his choice had been wise. With the enlisted men watching closely, he held down his breakfast, but not without great effort. Sarge gave him a knowing wink, but did a good job of focusing the others on the oars.
He ran a flag of truce up the makeshift mast as they approached the larger ships. The looming hulls were markedly different than he had ever seen. These were a hybrid resembling both Fjorik longboats and the heavier beasts assembled in Middleton drydocks. Braen Braston has changed this world, he thought. Not long after Robert’s sigil unfurled atop the walls, Titus spotted sailors lowering a gig over the side of the lead frigate. A few minutes later, he was tied alongside and sitting face to face with Maximus Reeves.