She glanced briefly at the old High Priest’s cell as she crept by. A pang of guilt assaulted her even though she knew that her chances of escape were slim enough without having to worry about rescuing an old man. She swallowed the guilt and moved slowly toward the guard station, listening to them ramble on inside. She watched the door, preparing to dive for the shadows or just run as fast as she could if it opened. Inching along silently, she finally made it past the door and slipped further down the next corridor.
She knew where she was because this was the way they had taken her to witness Yosu's torture. Tears started to well up in her eyes as she passed the chamber that he had died in, but she quickly brushed them away and pulled the hurt inside, letting anger burn away the tears. She was sure that the front entrance to the prison would be guarded but to her surprise it was not. The passage leading outside looked to be empty of guards. Saying a quiet prayer she thanked the Gods that the night was thick with fog. She slid quietly down the hall until she was right at the edge of the entrance into the prison. She saw no guards and quickly capped the two torches on either side of the entrance, snuffing out the only light that illuminated the courtyard between the prison and the outer wall of the compound.
The instant the torches were out she heard the startled call of a man around the wall at the side of the building. She heard another voice, a woman’s, asking the man what was wrong. He cooed her and said that somehow the torches went out, and started walking toward the entrance. A sly smile crawled across her lips as she thought of how lucky she was that these men cared more for drinking, gambling and prostitutes than keeping vigilant watch.
As the guard rounded the corner to retrieve another torch and re-light those that had been extinguished, Kyrianna was waiting for him. He jumped back in surprise, seeing the flash of her blades but try as he may, he could not scream. His voice came out as a low gurgle as blood started to spill from the two deep, parallel slices that stretched across his throat. It was only a blink in time before one of her blades then pierced through his chest, cleaving his heart. Before he could fall backwards, Kyrianna grabbed the front of his tunic and pulled him forward, letting him fall slowly, and quietly to the dirt. Kyrianna fished through his pockets and pulled out a few silver coins. She rounded the corner, sheathing her blades, and came face to face with the prostitute. Her hand came up quicker than the woman could scream, clamping over her mouth.
Kyrianna pulled her close and whispered in her ear. "Do you wish to live?"
The woman nodded vigorously.
"Did he pay you yet?"
She shook her head, tears streaming down her face over Kyrianna's hand.
"Then take this and give me your clothes." Kyrianna glared into the woman’s confused eyes. When she showed her the silver coins she had taken from the guards, those eyes widened in recognition. When she was sure that the woman wouldn't scream, she let her go and the prostitute quickly slipped off her simple, scant clothing.
"What is your name?" asked Kyrianna in perfect Kaheendran, a dialect very similar to her own.
"Tanni," she said meekly as she tried to cover herself from Kyrianna's gaze with her arms and hands.
Kyrianna gave her an incredulous look and took off the swords, tunic, and dirty sheet. She threw the tunic at the woman. "Here Tanni, put this tunic on, leave the sheet."
Before the prostitute could object, Kyrianna raised the silver coins in front of her face with raised eyebrows.
Tanni quickly started to slip on the tunic.
Kyrianna belted on the swords over her naked hips first so that they hung low between her legs, and then threw on the dress next, concealing the weapons, then the shirt and bodice, which she had to have Tanni tighten up the laces in the back.
"Why do I have to wear just the Tunic?" Tanni asked, not looking at all happy to be wearing something so provocative.
Kyrianna couldn't understand why. "Cause you live nearby and have other clothes no doubt. I on the other hand do not, and where I'm going, I cannot stand out."
Tanni looked suspicious until Kyrianna turned a heated scowl her way. Finally she seemed to accept her predicament, cinched tight the revealing tunic and then ran her fingers through her straight black hair to get some of the snarls out, an attempt to look more presentable, or alluring, Kyrianna figured. Either way it would make her escape all the more probable.
Kyrianna spoke a silent prayer again, thanking the Father that she was captured in Kaheendra, where she looked similar enough to Tanni, and could pull this off. She hoped that the fool Makashin had kept her capture secret enough so that the lower ranked guards would not know her as the Princess of Vorea.
The two women made their way toward the gate, Kyrianna trying to imitate the way Tanni strutted as best she could without looking ridiculous. There were two guards at the portal leading out of the compound. As soon as they saw the two beautiful women approaching, obviously after just finishing a job, the two men halted their progress and began walking circles around them, looking them up and down and giving dirty suggestions. Kyrianna kept her gaze down, not wanting the guards to see her bright green eyes. The one closest to Kyrianna ran his hand up the front of her thigh, coming centimeters from touching the sword dangling between her legs under her dress, and slapped her rear. Without thinking Kyrianna slapped him across the face. The man stepped back and held a hand to his cheek, looking as though he would burst into flames.
"Our shift is over and you can't touch if you got no money, honey. So keep your hands off or you'll have to deal with our keeper," said Tanni quickly, seeing the trouble Kyrianna may have caused.
Kyrianna held her breath, wondering what the guard would do. To her relief he seemed to turn completely uninterested in her once Tanni mentioned her keeper. Judging by the way the two men instantly composed themselves she guessed that this keeper was someone not to be taken lightly. She wanted to jump over and hug Tanni for her quick thinking but she held her defiant pose and even played into it a little more. She harrumphed at the guard and spun around, flipping her hair out, and walked through the gate with Tanni. Once they were further into the city and out of the sight of the guards, Kyrianna pulled Tanni into a dark alley and gave her a huge hug then placed the silver coins in her hand. Tanni put the coins back into Kyrianna's hand and pushed it away.
"You look as though you will need this silver more than I, keep it," said Tanni.
Kyrianna realized that she indeed had no coin or food or even proper clothing. She pulled Tanni in for another big hug and thanked her.
"Thank you for killing that pig," Tanni said with a wry smile, and then spun on her heal and was off down the street before Kyrianna could say another word to her.
Kyrianna went out the backside of the alley, before exiting, she lifted her skirt and pulled free one of the blades, spun it around behind her and deftly slipped it up behind the laces of her bodice, slicing them, and let the tight piece fall to the alley floor. She looked more like a peasant now than a prostitute, deciding that a peasant would draw less attention now that she was outside of the prison compound.
It wasn't long before she was passing through the city gates, the guards giving her only a brief look, disregarding her completely. Thanks to the cover of fog, she had only walked a short distance before the city gates were out of sight and she burst into a run, cutting off the road, not wanting to confront any patrols. It felt awkward running on her legs after being confined in the cell for the past weeks, but the adrenaline kept her pushing harder and faster until a large farm came looming into view.
A quick check in the barn and she was comfortable that no one was inside. A few goats and a single cow were uneasy with the new intruder and the goats started bleating but Kyrianna quickly found some grain and tossed it to them, stifling their protests. She climbed up into the loft and collapsed onto a bed of straw. Now that the threat seemed distant, the fight or flight response was diminishing and she quickly found herself coming down off the adrenaline rush. She hadn't slept fully
in days. The city would soon be swarming with guards, looking for her but hopefully they would assume that she had not made it out of the gates. And even so, they would most likely believe that she would immediately head for Vorea and send out squads looking for her along the roads heading north. That’s why she purposefully headed south, and after she got a couple hours of much needed rest, she would continue to Sanjeera. As tired as she was, coupled with this new emotional drain of escape, it was not long before she cried herself to sleep.
†††
Hihanzo was seated at the feast with Makashin and High Priest Yanzin when a messenger came running up to him, panting. He knew by the look on the man’s face that the news could not be good so he excused himself and led the soldier out of the dining hall, all the while scowling deeply at the man for interrupting the feast in such a way. “This had better be important soldier or you will find yourself cleaning the waste slits.”
The soldier swallowed deeply and knelt down with his head bowed before Hihanzo. “The Princess has escaped.”
Hihanzo stood staring at the back of the man’s head for a moment without speaking.
The soldier looked up, wondering if his General had heard him.
Hihanzo planted a knee into his chin. “What!” he screamed, “How could that have happened, when?” But before the soldier could stand and answer him Hihanzo pulled free his short sword and impaled him where he lay. Some of the guards who had heard the outburst came rushing into the corridor. None questioned the General as he stared at them with wild eyes.
Hihanzo swallowed hard and took a deep breath before pulling his sword free of the messenger and returned to the dining hall. He wondered if his fate would be the same as the dead soldier after he delivered the unsavory news while the War Councilor and the High Priest celebrated their achievement.
Friend or Foe
Lucian pulled in his reins, stopping his powerful warhorse, Thunder, in front of a small farm house. Instead of continuing on into Kaheendra, he had decided it best to find a place to rest after the attack. They headed west a few miles, toward the mountains and stumbled onto a large farm. It looked secluded enough so he decided to chance it.
Eliath moved to help Tarriel from her horse but she indignantly waved him away. She was a proud warrior and was trying to act even more so, since her nearly fatal fall earlier. She was still shaken by that and the sight of her entire squad lying dead in the mud when she woke. Luckily the other horses had stayed close and she now rode atop Thaddeus' mount. Lucian knew that despite the way she tried to play it down, her emotions were rent from the experience. But she was strong and he knew that she would pull through the terrible ordeal.
All three of his companions disagreed with his decision to speak with the farmers but he was determined to go about it the civilized way instead of sneaking around like assassins. It had grown late in the night but a light from inside gave him hope that the farmer had not gone to sleep yet. He knocked softly on the door, not wanting to startle whoever was inside. A moment later the door slowly pulled open, revealing a short weathered old man. His narrow eyes closed even tighter as he regarded the people on his porch. He was slightly stooped forward, probably from years of hard labor in the fields and his skin looked thick and leathery, a result from long hours in the sun.
Lucian had taken off his armor, wearing only his woodsman clothes now, in hopes not to raise any unwanted suspicion, but by the way the farmer looked at him, he realized that his normal appearance alone was cause enough. He was about to speak when he suddenly realized that he didn't know a lick of Kaheendran and stood staring, open mouthed, at the old man who was growing ever more suspicious.
Eliath stepped up next to Lucian and began to speak in perfect Kaheendran to the old farmer. When he finished, the man looked to him, then Lucian, and started rambling off something to Eliath, who nodded and bowed several times then turned and started ushering Lucian and the others off the porch.
"He said that we could stay in his barn for the night because he has no room in his house," said Eliath as he led the others in the direction of the barn.
Lucian gave Eliath a clap on the back. "Thank the Father for you my brother. I don't know what I would have done had you not spoken to that man."
"I'll tell you what you would have done, continued looking ridiculous until he shooed you off his porch and then you would have forced poor Tarriel to sleep in the woods again." He gave a wink to Tarriel to show that he was joking, a good idea judging from the way she had already started to bristle up at the remark.
Lucian offered a half smile to his friend as they made their way to the barn. It was warm inside, the lone cow and goats did not seem at all pleased to have to share their body heat at first but after Lucian found some sweet grain to feed them, they became quite acceptant of the company.
The barn was quite homey compared to where they had been sleeping lately. There were several stalls for animals all filled with fresh, soft straw. The loft still had a good amount of straw stocked up for the winter months. Two lanterns gave a soft, warm glow to the bottom floor of the barn but the loft was cast in shadows. Lucian was about to go up the steps to check it out when the soft sound of steel rang out from above. It was not at all loud but the sound a blade would make being slowly pulled from a scabbard. Many years spent in the woods listening to the ambient rhythms of nature had trained his ears to pick up such out of place sounds. His body reacted reflexively, without thought as if he had moved in such a way thousands of times before. He jumped back off the steps just in time to see the glint of a sword slice past were his head was and thunk into the railing.
He touched the pummel of his sword, feeling the energy surge through him, and was just about to pull it free when something within urged him to stop. Before he could decipher the reason for this impulse, a dark form leapt down at him. He ducked back, just far enough to let a second blade wisp by his face. The first was still lodged in the railing. His last dodge put him in close to his attacker making it possible for him to easily strike a deadly blow, but again something inside gave him pause.
And then, in the soft glow of a lantern he caught a glimpse of his attacker, and she was absolutely beautiful. Brilliantly bright, angry, green eyes locked onto his for a moment and then he was moving again to avoid the swinging blade. Her skill was impressive, but he found himself effortlessly maneuvering to stay clear of her thrusts and swipes. Somehow he could read her every movement and react quickly, staying a step ahead of her.
He heard the footfalls of his companions coming to his aid and knew that he had to stop this before anyone was hurt. The blade came in at a low thrust and he anticipated the second higher thrust. As it came in he spun around, letting the blade pass only inches from his back. When he came out of his spin he was face to face with his beautiful attacker and pulled her in close with one hand as he caught her sword hand with his other. Twisting, and pivoting, he pulled her over his hip, launching her head over heels to land on the floor facing the opposite direction she had been. As she hit the floor he landed on top of her. She grunted from the force of the landing but the fight was far from out of her. She tried to squirm, and free herself from Lucian's grasp but could not. She even tried to head butt and bite him.
"Stop this, we mean you no harm!" Lucian screamed in her face as she tried to head butt him again.
She finally stopped and gave him a curious look, relaxing her body. He could see in her eyes that the act of submission was a ruse but the effect was enough to cause him to miss the slight adjustment she had made with her hips and feet. With a sudden powerful thrust she launched him up and over her head. The maneuver surprised him so much that he wasn't ready for the round house kick that nearly caught him in the side of his chin as he rolled to his feet. He had to fall back quickly to avoid it.
Lucian yelled for the others to stop but Tarriel would not hear it. She dove and rolled, coming up behind the attacker. But to Lucian's surprise and Tarriel’s as well, the woman kicked out behind
her without looking and caught Tarriel right in the stomach, sending her crashing through the wooden frame of a stall.
The crazed, beautiful woman charged him, and Lucian realized that she was not hearing his pleas. Her eyes were wild with panic. As she jumped and pulled her legs in, ready to blast out at him with a powerful kick, he dropped his arms down and stood straight up, giving her an easy, vulnerable target.
Kyrianna couldn't believe the man's reaction as she leapt into the air to kick him. He dropped his arms down and stood up, opening himself completely to the attack. She could have killed him had she followed through with the kick. What was he thinking? At the last second she rolled her shoulder down instead of kicking and slammed into him, carrying both of them to the floor. She could feel the others moving in on them but he lifted his hands out to the sides as he lay on his back, signaling them to stand down. His eyes never left hers. They were unlike any she had ever seen, shining with a golden glow. Beautiful, she thought, and warm with a kindness she hasn't seen since her fathers. Suddenly she realized that he was not Kaheendran. She looked around at the others and they too were foreigners.
"You are not of Kaheendra." She said to the man that she straddled on the floor in her best Sanjeeran accent. She then quickly stood and helped him up.
Lucian was surprised to hear her speak a language he knew, it was definitely Sanjeeran dialect but very similar to his own. "No, I am Lucian, of Yavasura." He motioned to Eliath and the others. "That is Eliath, also of Yavasura and Solomon of Ortsk and..."
Revelations of Doom Page 32