Preludes to War (Eve of Redemption Book 6)

by Joe Jackson

  “Not that I am aware of. The syrinthians here hold no loyalty to King Sekassus; they have always lived here, and are loyal to King Emanitar.”

  That eased Kari’s nerves a bit. She may have become friends with Liria and Se’sasha, but the syrinthians as a whole remained a mystery to her. She still had to look at them primarily as enemies and servants of Sekassus, even here in Emanitar’s realm. She couldn’t afford to take them at face value when she didn’t have the luxury of being on her own world. “What’s your name? I’m sorry I didn’t ask.”

  “Todaas,” he answered with a bow of his head. “You need not tell me your name unless you wish it.”

  “Karian Vanador,” she returned with a similar bow of the head. “I’m just going to take my meal, have a bath, and turn in for the night. If I need anything else, I’ll let you know.”

  “Then a pleasant evening to you, lady,” Todaas said, and he left and shut the door firmly behind him.

  Kari enjoyed her dinner, a venison stew or something like it. The tea was herbal and sweetened with honey. Kari smirked and wondered whether they had lemons on Mehr’Durillia, or where they might grow. Most of what she’d seen of the world was land-locked, and Kari considered there might be tropical beaches and even islands somewhere out there. From the layout of the realms according to the atlases, it would be some journey to reach the outer edges of the continent from here.

  Relaxed and with a full belly, Kari went to the bath chamber and undressed. She filled the tub with steamy water but set her swords beside it just in case. Once she climbed in, her body began to completely relax, and she let out a purr. All the tension drained from her in moments. Soon, her fingers and toes began to feel fuzzy, and her eyes snapped open. She hadn’t drunk anything alcoholic, but her nerves were reacting as though she had.

  Damnit, she screamed in her mind, and she tried to haul herself out of the tub. She felt as though she suddenly weighed about five times what she usually did, and her muscles refused to do as she asked. She fell back to her rump in the tub, trying to keep her eyes open as she lost all feeling in her arms and legs. Her heart was beating wildly, and her head started to become too heavy to keep upright. As her eyelids threatened to shut out her sight altogether, she saw the silhouettes of the innkeeper and a syrinthian in the doorway, and then she had to hold her breath as she sank under the water and lost consciousness.

  *****

  Kari awoke in darkness. It took a minute for the grogginess to dissipate completely. It was quiet but for the rolling thunder of hooves and cart wheels, and she recognized she was in the back of a covered wagon. Surrounded by crates and barrels on all sides and covered with a blanket, she was well-concealed from any casual viewer, inside or out. Voices spoke in whispers behind her, and Kari craned her neck to try to see out the front of the wagon bed from between the barrels. She could just make out the silhouette of a syrinthian woman, but not whoever she was speaking with.

  Kari didn’t have her weapons with her, but she had been wrapped in a heavy robe to ward off any chill, even in the normally warm realm of Tess’Vorg. At least, she hoped she was still in Tess’Vorg. She’d been close enough to the border of Sorelizar that it was entirely possible she’d been abducted and was on her way to Sekassus. She glanced around for her armor or swords, but saw no sign of them. That left her only the option of knocking her two – or possibly more – kidnappers from the cart and then making her getaway.

  She tried to take stock of her person without moving too much. She wasn’t injured so far as she could tell, and whatever they’d poisoned her with had worn off completely. Her hands and feet weren’t bound, and Kari wondered if the poison had worn off well before they expected. She noticed a trend toward healing and even recovering from inebriation much faster than usual in the last couple of years, and suspected her captors wouldn’t know that.

  Kari settled on a tentative plan of action: move enough to make a bit of noise but pretend to still be unconscious. If it drew one of her captors close enough, she’d try to subdue them using the martial arts techniques she learned from Aeligos. From there, she could try to arm herself and kill her other abductor, or else try to subdue him in similar fashion or force him from the side of the cart. She closed her eyes and relaxed, trying to calm her heartbeat and look as naturally unconscious as possible.

  She let forth a short grunt as though in her sleep. It seemed to work: though her captors spoke in beshathan, she caught the word waking.

  Kari kept her breathing steady as one of the drivers got up and climbed into the back with her. By the light steps and more muted scent, she guessed it was the syrinthian. They turned and crouched beside Kari, but just as Kari was about to spring her trap, the woman began to chant something in a low voice. Kari opened her eyes and reached for her captor, but was blinded by a sudden burst of arcane light. When her eyes adjusted, she turned back, ready to fight.

  “Seanada!” Kari barked as recognition hit her. The half-syrinthian smiled, and Kari sat up so the two could share an embrace. “Gods, you scared the hell out of me! What’s going on?”

  “Shhhh, keep your voice down,” the assassin whispered. “Your presence in Kaatherai drew more attention than even the king expected. You had suspected agents of King Sekassus watching you from the minute you entered the city. It became necessary to smuggle you out, but worry not: a decoy has been sent south toward Ewuaswi to draw their eyes off of you.”

  “Where are we going, then? And who else is with you?”

  A mallasti head poked through the opening and smiled briefly. Seanada gestured toward the driver and said, “This is my brother, Aedrien. He is smuggling us across the border and into southern Sorelizar. We will take you to where my family lives, and update you on things there.”

  “Won’t they suspect I crossed the border once they realize they followed a decoy?”

  “Suspect, yes, but they will not be able to confirm it without provoking the people further – which, you may understand, is what we are hoping for.”

  “Sit down and tell me everything. Starting with where my armor and weapons are.”

  There was the trace of a smile, something so often lacking on the half-syrinthian. “Right here beside you in this crate. We had to slip you out of the city quietly. Fortunately, Todaas, the mallasti innkeeper, was very easy to convince,” she said, and Kari’s eyes instinctually went to the hilts of the woman’s swords. “No, not coerced. The signet ring King Emanitar gave you means a lot more to some than others. He put you to sleep, stashed you in a crate, and placed you out on the street where we could exchange you for a routine delivery. We have not been followed, so I suspect our ruse worked.”

  “Damn kings have too many spies in each other’s realms,” Kari muttered, lifting the lid of the indicated crate and pulling forth her clothes and armor.

  “That is an unfortunate but pervasive truth,” Seanada agreed, getting seated once Kari was no longer taking up all the available space. “The fortunate truth is that King Sekassus is unable to infiltrate his mallasti villages or coerce their people to help. He has slain another vulkinastra, as you know, and is attempting to abduct or purchase yet another from Tess’Vorg. My people have, as you should well understand, had enough of his murderous ways.”

  “What are they planning?”

  “Planning might be the wrong word. There are no true plans, Lady Vanador, other than a general disruption of things in Sorelizar. King Sekassus is extremely organized and does not appreciate chaos of any kind in his realm. As my people grow agitated in the south, it disrupts the flow of goods to other parts, which in turn interrupts production, trade, and thereby, the king’s economic strength. However, a unique opportunity may soon present itself.”

  “Amnastru is coming to take charge of things,” Kari offered to save the woman the time explaining things.

  “Indeed. The Wraith has deemed this may be the time to strike, depending on how well-protected the prince is, and what we can muster for a strike. Certainly, your pr
esence is going to be of great interest to him, particularly if you join us. Your fighting prowess may tip the balance in our favor, even with Amnastru’s considerable power. I am curious exactly why you are here, though; clearly your having met with King Emanitar points to some collusion.”

  Kari considered the words only briefly. “Can I speak freely in front of Aedrien?”

  “Of course.”

  “I’m here to settle a debt with King Morduri. He suspected Amnastru would be sent to put an end to any uprising, and he asked me to kill the prince if I could. He also expected the Ashen Fangs might get involved. But I talked him into something else: trying to get Amnastru to cross the border into Tess’Vorg, where he and King Emanitar would be free to kill the prince.”

  “Hmmm, an amusing scenario, but Amnastru would never cross the border without just cause, not even to capture or kill you,” the woman said with a hand to her chin. “He is far too canny for that. His father is likely expecting the Ashen Fangs to make some move against his son, and now, if they are aware of your presence, they may be expecting something bigger. We will have a great many things to take into consideration when we meet with the Wraith.”

  Kari stopped donning her things. “The Wraith is seeing to this personally?”

  “This undertaking will require all of our best resources to achieve. The Wraith may not intercede personally, but if that is what is required, he likely will. Prince Amnastru is not to be underestimated or trifled with: he is several thousand years old, old enough to be a king himself if he stopped disappointing the Overking. He is not as strong as a king of his age would be, but he will be a force to be reckoned with for certain.”

  Kari got back to work and finished putting on her armor. “Are your people ready to die for this cause?”

  Seanada frowned momentarily. “Sentiment points to the hope that King Emanitar will invade Sorelizar if King Sekassus and his crown prince are caught completely unawares. This does not seem likely to me, but the people are grasping at hope. There is also the possibility that King Emanitar simply annexes the lands of the Te’Montasi clan, and King Sekassus deems it not worth the effort to recapture. This, too, seems unlikely, but far more likely than the other hope.”

  “Seanada, is your family all right?”

  The half-syrinthian’s golden eyes reflected the arcane light in beautiful metallic sparkles, and she met Kari’s gaze evenly. “They are fine, thank you for asking. I was considering coming back to your service once I was assured of their safety, but the Wraith had other plans. I owe my loyalty to him first and foremost, you understand.”

  “I do,” Kari agreed. “I just hope your family stays safe. I know what it’s like to have to fight for a cause and not be able to defend your loved ones at the same time.”

  “Fighting will not be the primary focus of this uprising,” Seanada said with a gesture. “We aim to misdirect and run Amnastru ragged, with uprisings quickly sputtering out when he is present, only to resurge in other places, forcing him to constantly move from city to city. If he has a retinue with him, he will grow frustrated by their weight, as they will doubtless slow him down. The worst consideration is that he may bring a number of sylinths with him – some of them possibly princes themselves – and the mental domination of the sylinths could cause all manner of problems.”

  “Well, if the Wraith truly is an elestram, I’m sure he’ll have calculated the odds of each and every possibility,” Kari mused, and Seanada chuckled. “Hmm, if we’re crossing the border, should I put away King Emanitar’s signet ring?”

  “That would be the wisest choice. My people will not take offense to it, but it will not hold the same weight with them that it would in Ewuaswi. They will extend their hospitality and trust to you by your association with me, and with the Wraith.” Kari nodded. Seanada cocked her head to the side. “How are you, Kari? It cannot be easy to be away from your children in the wake of your husband’s passing.”

  Kari sighed. “No, it’s not. I’m holding up as best I can. That man you met just before I released you from service to come home…I may end up courting him. I’m just not sure how the rest of the family may feel about it.”

  “Whatever helps your healing process,” the half-syrinthian said, laying a hand on Kari’s shoulder. “As close as you are, your family cannot understand your emotions the way you do. They will understand in time, if they do not initially.”

  Kari thought of Erik and the way he’d initially reacted to her relationship with Grakin. It was partially because he didn’t believe she really was resurrected – and looking back, Kari had to admit it was hard to blame him completely. Over time, when he realized she really was who she claimed to be, he softened up a bit, but the majority of his changed attitude was because he could see their love was true. If the entire family reacted poorly to Kari courting Kris, Seanada was probably right: they’d change their thinking when they saw how happy the two were.

  But that was a consideration for later. There would be no courting of Kris, no reunion with her children, and no consideration of her family’s feelings if she lost focus and botched this plan. There might not be a tangible plan yet, but there was a basic one: kill Amnastru and don’t get killed in the process. Just as when she’d left family and friends behind to hunt Annabelle with no distractions, Kari had to push Kris from her mind, at least until she was safely home. Then she could fantasize about his red stripes, muscular arms, and shapely rump all she liked.

  Kari flicked her gaze back to Seanada, and the half-syrinthian actually started laughing. Kari laughed with her. It was amazing how much her life and her views of other peoples had changed over the last few years. Here she was putting her life into the hands of a half-syrinthian, half-succubus, and joking about her love life. Just in the wake of Kari’s deadly hunt of Turillia, she would’ve never expected to trust a half-syrinthian again, much less become close friends with one.

  Is she my friend? Kari wondered, but only briefly. Just like Makauric, Seanada had come into Kari’s life as an unknown, even a tentative enemy, but she had become a friend. Seanada had watched over and protected Kari’s children for weeks while she hunted Annabelle. She had gone above and beyond what Kari could imagine anyone not in her family doing for her, and she had forged a special relationship with Kari’s children in the process. Seanada was a friend to her, no matter how atypical it might look to an outsider.

  Kari now had two syrinthians and a half-syrinthian as friends, and she couldn’t help but wonder how much that might help her stir up unrest among the syrinthians of Sorelizar as well. Their high priestess was safe under Kari’s protection, and Kari had defied their king – and was about to do so again, much more vehemently. Would the syrinthians see this as a weakness in their monarch and rally to Kari’s side? Such might give her a solid foothold on Mehr’Durillia from which to begin fighting the war she was certain was coming.

  Kari glanced at the hovering globe of arcane light. “I didn’t know you were familiar with the arcane. Don’t think I’ve ever seen you use it before.”

  Seanada frowned, but then shrugged. “You do not grow up among the mallasti without learning something of the arcane. The ability to use it is one of the few positives that come from being half-demon.”

  “Don’t say that,” Kari protested.

  The assassin shook her head. “Kari, I am half-demon. My mother was a succubus. It is not simply a misnomer, as when people call your husband or your family half-demons. I am the daughter of a succubus; I am half-demon.”

  “That only means what you make of it, though,” Kari insisted.

  Seanada nodded. “This is true, I suppose, for myself. For others, though, it can take a great deal of effort to convince them of my trustworthiness. You, I should say, were strangely one of the easiest to convince.”

  “Well, what can I say? Marracir Vakt being honest with me about everything gave me good reason to trust you.”

  Aedrien said something in beshathan, and Seanada rose to her knees and
straightened up. “What is it?” she asked in infernal, likely so Kari could understand.

  “Border patrol,” he replied.

  An arrow ripped through the wagon’s cover a moment later, narrowly missing Seanada’s light source to lodge itself into the side of a barrel. Seanada had her blades in hand in a moment, and her arcane light winked out with barely a thought. “This is no border patrol! How many are there?” she hissed as her brother dove into the back with them to get out of the line of fire.

  “Looks to just be a trio,” he answered.

  “What’s going on?” Kari asked. The question sounded stupid to her ears, and she half-expected a condescending answer.

  “A border patrol would not attack without first questioning our identity and destination,” Seanada whispered. “These must be assassins tracking us from Kaatherai. Kari, none of them can survive to tell anyone of our whereabouts. We must kill them, and quickly.”

  Kari nodded and belted on her swords, then drew them and motioned out the back with her head. She paused only to pull her helmet securely on again, and then followed Seanada as the half-syrinthian jumped from the rear of the wagon. The snake-like agility of the assassin left Kari in awe for a few moments as Seanada deftly dodged an arrow she could scarcely see, and then she was off. Kari hit the ground, crouched low, and tilted her head down so any projectiles would bounce off of her armor. Nothing hit her immediately, so she turned and followed after Seanada’s swift and deadly shadow.

  There were three people out among the trees, and it took Kari a few moments to get her bearings when she realized they had crossed the border into the forested hills of Sorelizar. Her night vision kicked in quickly without the arcane light source, the woods dark and deep even under the light of the stars somewhere above the canopy. There were exclamations in beshathan – more than one utterance of the not-swear ketava – and Kari split off from Seanada to confront one of their attackers.