by K. F. Breene
“Ow!” Leilius rubbed the offending spot. “What’d you do that for?”
“Violence.” Gracas’ smile got bigger. He hadn’t changed at all.
Jubilation bubbled up as her gaze found Rachie. He stood with his hands in his pockets and a sullen expression. She looked at his hands, then back at his face, without saying a word. The youth yanked his hands out of his pants and scowled. Gracas laughed.
Next she looked at Marc. He stood with his head bowed, shooting furtive glances up through his eyelashes. “You came back,” Marc said in a quiet voice.
“Yes. We’ll get to that in a minute.”
Finally, removed from the others, with his hands firmly lodged in his pockets and his shoulders hunched, stood Xavier. Easily the biggest of them, though not the oldest, jagged pain radiated from his mind. He’d put on a couple pounds of muscle since she had last seen him, and in the next couple years he’d put on a lot more. His frame closely resembled a youthful Cayan’s; though he might not grow to be as robust or quite as tall, he had such potential.
“Start with the… young man with the large shoulders,” Rohnan advised. “He feels betrayed. He takes your leaving as abandonment. His budding confidence was knocked out from under him. His ego is damaged, which means his self-worth is fractured.”
Shanti started forward and stood directly in front of Xavier. She looked up into his dark eyes full of angered insecurity and laid a palm on his heart, a gesture in her homeland pleading forgiveness before words were ever spoken. He didn’t know the sentiment, but the confusion that was quickly overshadowed with a deep comfort meant he craved personal contact to make things right.
Holding his stare, she said, “I left you, and I know that. At the time I thought it was the thing I must do.”
“You didn’t even say goodbye,” he accused with a slightly quivering voice. To attempt to cover up his emotion and pain, he scowled down at her.
“I know. I was afraid. I left in cowardice. I have a lot to answer for.”
Xavier’s jaw tightened. Shanti heard Rachie whisper, “Did she just say she was afraid? Oh my god—can you imagine if Sanders admitted something like that? He’d probably kill us all for hearing it.”
“Do you think she’s going to kill us?” Gracas whispered back in a harried voice.
Shanti felt Rohnan’s humor drift toward her. Was I ever this young? Shanti would’ve asked him. But Xavier didn’t think any of this was funny. His eyes held hers like they might a lifeline; like he was afraid she wasn’t really back, and he was still drifting like he had been when she was gone.
The parallels between him and Rohnan were uncanny even though they were from totally different worlds, with totally different paths. Both of them mimicked how Shanti felt after she’d left Cayan. She’d been lost. Drifting.
Shanti shook her head to try and focus. She stepped away and walked to the other end of the clearing where she sat down and rested her forearms on her knees. She swept her glance across the boys and said, “In my homeland, when we make an error such as this, we either request punishment, or give something personal to the offended party.” She explained what that personal item represented and finished by saying, “I have nothing to give, however. I have no possessions, save my weapons, and a warrior is forbidden to give items of battle. So I must beg for a punishment—”
“You do have something to give,” Xavier interrupted. He stared at her with burning eyes. “You can give us your word.” He stepped forward. The muscles on his frame flexed. “Give us your word that you won’t do that again.”
“She has more to worry about than being your nursemaid, Xavier,” Marc said in a sullen voice.
Xavier’s eyebrows lowered in frustration and determination. “I’m not saying hold back for us, I’m just saying let us know before you charge off. Give us the option to go with you.”
Shanti leaned forward as she assessed the fervent young man in front of her. She noticed Marc’s face tilt up, his eyes glued to her. The other boys stood silent, waiting for her response.
Rohnan gave her a small nod.
She sighed in resignation. “I will give you my word that I won’t leave without some sort of farewell. I will not give you the option to go with me, but I will keep you informed.”
Xavier stared at her. His dark eyes held her accountable. After a silent beat, he looked at Rohnan. “Who’s he?”
The weight drifted off Shanti’s shoulders and cleared from her middle. With a smile she couldn’t help, she stood. “He’s my brother, Rohnan. I thought him dead. Apparently, he’s hard to kill.”
“Just like you, S’am.” Leilius walked forward with excitement. “I’m really good at hiding. I’ve been practicing. I even got the Captain.”
“Got strangled by the Captain, you mean.” Gracas came forward, too. “I’m terrible at everything but throws, S’am.”
“I only got strangled because I scared him.” Leilius scowled and put his hands on his hips. “I probably could’ve gotten a knife in his ribs. He was preoccupied.”
“How can he read you so fast? Rohnan, I mean,” Marc asked in a sheepish voice. “We watched him fight you today—he seems like he reads you before you’re fully moving.”
Shanti let the gratitude for quick forgiveness clear from her mind. Without wasting any more time than she already had by leaving, she began explaining about Rohnan’s Gift. She physically moved the boys around the clearing before putting them to work fighting, throwing, and most of all, learning.
* * *
Later, as all the boys were paired off and working on what they’d learned, Shanti divided her focus and let her Gift push out past the walls, making sure each of the sentries were vigilant. Reveling in the added power Cayan lent her, she pushed further still, testing her range and trying to analyze the detail. Animals moved about their business or flitting through trees but other than that, all seemed quiet, almost peaceful. She let her power drift, taking her mind from the training for a moment so she could focus solely with her Gift, calmed by the rustle of the trees and sounds of training. She almost felt like the breeze, easy and tranquil.
She took a deep breath, then gave one final push with her power before pulling it all back in. That’s when she felt shadows of minds at the edges of her awareness. Patient but watchful, male humans sat in groups around the city. Past the sentries and hidden, one sharp and cunning mind laid in wait. Expectant.
The Hunter.
A blast of fear stole her breath. Her adrenaline spiked and her fingers started to tingle. “He’s here! How did he find us so fast?”
Rohnan’s head snapped up. His eyes opened wide and her mirrored fear blasted from his awareness. “So soon?”
“He’s expectant—waiting for something.” Shanti put her hand on her sword’s hilt. “He’s going to come in after us. Why else would he be hanging back?”
“We can’t let him.” Rohnan stalked toward the edge of the clearing. “I get Burson. You get Captain.”
“I am here.” Shanti started at Burson’s calm voice, from just beyond the rim of the clearing. His mind wasn’t blasting the conflicting emotion she’d grown to expect. He was completely shut off, and had approached without a sound.
Shanti turned to Xavier, unpracticed but still undeniably the leader of this crew. “We’ve been followed by one of the best. He’s outside the city. I have to leave again soon. We are journeying east. Now you know.”
Shanti turned to Rohnan with instructions on her lips, but was cut off by Xavier. “We’re going too—I thought you knew. The Captain told us shortly after you left the training yard earlier.”
Shanti rounded on Xavier with an incredulous expression. “No, you—”
Burson cut Shanti off. “They are going as your guard. As I am. As is Rohnan. I believe the Captain has already notified those leaving with us. Although, he expected to have more time.”
“They are still learning—this will be a dangerous journey,” Shanti seethed.
“We’re le
aving now? I haven’t even packed!” Gracas spit out.
“Chosen, we don’t have time argue. We must get out,” Rohnan pushed in an urgent voice.
Shanti filled her lungs and forced calm. Ignoring the fear of a lethal enemy just outside the gates, and the danger it posed to these people, she focused on Rohnan. “Pack our things. Get everything ready. I’ll get the Captain and send word where to meet us.”
“The boys?” Rohnan asked.
Shanti didn’t even spare them a glance. “Send them home. I need to speak with Cayan about it.”
She ran, bursting through the trees while searching for Cayan with her Gift. The Hunter was at the very edge of her range—he’d chosen his spot well. He couldn’t be ready to move in yet, but how long did they have? And what did he have planned?
* * *
She found Cayan in the heart of the city. His emotions flitted between expectant, eager and partially aroused. As she sprinted to the location, she was confused when she realized he was at the tailor’s shop in which she’d visited earlier that day to order her dress.
She burst into the shop. The bell above the door clanged, announcing her presence. Cayan stood in black slacks covered in white dashes and lines. He turned, shirtless. Thick cords of muscle on his sizable frame rolled and flexed with his movement. Large shoulders tapered down into a thin waist and trim hips. Every ounce of his upper body was perfectly defined and unerringly cut. Her mouth momentarily went dry with the sheer power she could see in his body.
Her logic and fighting mind restarted, cataloging that power and obvious prowess as a needed asset.
“Yes?” he asked in confusion. The tailor scoffed at the interruption.
“He’s here—the Hunter. The Superior Officer pursing me. He’s already outside the city walls just out of Burson’s reach. We need to leave. Now!”
Cayan’s mind exploded out, taking hers with it. The effect, unexpected, dizzied her for a moment. Lightheaded, she staggered forward and reached, bracing a hand on his warm pec. The skin contact solidified their link. Their Gifts boosted, extending past her earlier reach until the quantities of men as well as their emotional state became clear.
Cayan honed in their combined focus on the sharp and cunning mind. “Is that him?” He grabbed her shoulders to steady her.
“It is. Do you feel his intelligence—the sharpness of his mind? He’s a highly strategized thinker, and has years of experience and the best training Xandre could impart.”
“Have you met him before?”
“No. Just run from him. I’m basing it on his intelligence, his position, and my knowledge of Xandre and his army.”
“We have many more than he has. We can easily take him down.”
Shanti broke contact and stepped away. “He has more than a dozen Sharshers, all spread out. With them are men that are no doubt excellent with blades. You don’t have an army of Sanders, and even if you did, Burson can only protect one area at a time. They are too far away, and too spread out, for us to kill that many. We’d have to fight in groups, and this officer will have prepared for that. You think Daniels is excellent at his craft? You’ve not met anyone like a Superior Officer. Daniels has a lot to learn still, and will need to learn it from the master that is waiting outside your gates. Soon the Hunter will start killing sentries. You aren’t far from losing men, Cayan. And for what? Just to run, anyway. We have to leave.”
“If he’s planned to withstand my men, he’s certainly planned to keep us here.”
The bell jingled again as a blast of chilled air assaulted Shanti’s back. Sanders and Lucius burst into the shop, making the tailor frown in irritation. Shanti looked at Lucius, the man she’d named Chance the last time she had been there. When he met her gaze, she felt as much as saw his regret. There was a distance there that hadn’t existed before, and when he glanced at Cayan, it became clear. He’d had to choose, and he had chosen his Captain and his city.
A pang hit Shanti’s heart, but she didn’t dwell on it. He’d chosen family and his home, and if she was honest with herself, he was probably better off. Death rode her shoulders—he didn’t need any part of that.
She nodded once, indicating she read him, right before Sanders stepped further into the shop. “One of the sentries saw something. He said he could’ve sworn it was a man in a black uniform, but he only caught a glimpse. He didn’t want to check it out—everyone around here knows what a black uniform means. He called for a shift change and got to me as fast as possible. Can you use that mind thing and check it out?”
Shanti glanced at Cayan before she said, “It was a man in a black uniform, and we have trouble.”
Chapter Eleven
Marc waited behind Shanti at the front gate with white knuckles clutching the reins of his horse. With every swallow he choked on his own terror. He’d done this before, and battle terrified him. He wasn’t good with a blade, and could barely ride a horse. The Captain and Shanti had made a grievous error bringing him on this journey.
Horses shifted around him, sensing the anxiety of their riders. This was it. They were going to storm out of the city and try to run down the enemy while the twilight confused the eyes. They would face down one of the smartest, most cunning enemies with only one mind-warrior person, and she couldn’t ride a horse well either.
Marc tried to swallow the knot of acid rising in his throat.
He took a deep breath then ran over the plan that had taken more than two hours to hatch. Shanti and the Captain would break up into teams. Shanti would exit the front, toward a person called the Hunter, his two Sarshers, and a few other Graygual. The Captain would go out the back toward a few Graygual and four Sarshers. Burson would shield the Captain and his crew from the mental warfare, while Shanti thought she could handle the two Sarshers out the front.
The Captain had asked, “What if you can’t?”
It had been a good question, to which she replied with a terrible answer: “There are always risks.”
The sides of the city had the least protection, with only one Sarsher each and a couple Graygual. That was because the enemy at the front and rear could easily run to head off anyone fleeing out the sides.
The most surprising thing was the last-minute addition. She was a girl. Not a warrior girl like Shanti, either. A girl of no more than Marc’s age from the orphan house. Marc couldn’t fathom what her role might be, and no one was talking about it. He could tell Shanti had been confused, too. She’d asked repeatedly why a young woman with no training was going with them. Why weren’t they taking an experienced fighter instead? Apparently this girl, Ruisa, had a special talent they would need in the Shadow Lands. That had started Sanders muttering, but no one would say what that special talent was, despite Shanti threatening to hurt someone if they didn’t share.
Marc glanced up at the darkening sky and shifted in the well-worked leather of the saddle. “I don’t like this. I think I would’ve rather been pushed off to the mines.”
“That’s because you’ve never been in the mines,” Xavier said in a low hum. His hard eyes were on the middle of Shanti’s back, his knuckles just as white as Marc’s.
“You have the map?” Shanti asked Rohnan.
Rohnan didn’t so much as glance at her. He stared straight ahead through the open gates. “Yes. The meeting point is noted. The Captain sure he get through?”
“Yes, though since the Hunter is probably certain we’ll go that way, I’m sure he has someone covering the roads leading out of here.”
“He’ll follow the wild game trails,” Tobias noted, a warrior who was good with a sword and better with a bow. His eyes were hard and expression grim.
As far as Marc knew, Tobias didn’t shy away from danger, but he also didn’t enjoy running straight at it, unlike Sanders, who waited with crazy eyes filled with expectation. The Commander was unhinged, and Marc hated being in battle with him. Sanders made a guy think he should have no fear. And often, it did erase the fear, which led to doing stupid things.
“Okay, it’s about time.” Shanti absently patted her horse before nocking an arrow. “How is your aim, Rohnan?”
“I not the one who fall off horses, Chosen.” Rohnan nocked an arrow. “How is head?”
“I wish I knew how strong the Sarshers are.” Shanti’s fingers whitened on her bow.
“Only one way find out.”
“Yes, Rohnan. Very helpful, as always.” Shanti winked at Marc, nodded at Xavier, and then to Rachie. They had been chosen to go out this way. The rest of the Honor Guard had gone with the captain.
Marc knew from experience that when she smiled, or winked, or hugged, it meant she was preparing for the worst. That meant this was going to be one of the worst.
His stomach pinched and he breathed deeply to stop himself from throwing up. It was barely working.
“Are you going to tell us who to shoot at, S’am?” Rachie asked in a whisper.
“Usually, I’d call you an idiot for that question, Rachie,” Shanti said in a flat voice. “But in this case, you aim for anyone in an all-black uniform.”
“Do they know we are coming out?” Xavier asked.
“They will be ready.” Shanti glanced back. “One of the sentries sent through an alarm an hour ago by shooting an arrow. He wasn’t as clever as the sentry before him. The Hunter’s mind-path changed shortly after that. It appears the Hunter does not need much to figure out his enemy’s movements.”
Silence filled the space when Shanti stopped talking. Men shifted on the walls, bows in hand, waiting. If this Hunter killed Marc and Shanti and the rest, and decided to attack the city, the defenses were ready. The Captain had prepared for failure.
“We be okay.” Rohnan’s sing-song voice was almost as pleasant as his soft gaze when he turned back to glance at Marc. It didn’t help.
“Okay, here we go.” Shanti kicked her horse. It neighed and pranced sideways. “Bloody stubborn animal. What does it want, a please?”