Every Battle Lord's Nightmare

by Linda Mooney

  “A little after three, I think,” Renken answered.

  “Were the men in full dress uniform?”

  “Yes,” the two chorused.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Renken added. “You’re thinking those men were coming off duty and went to their room, but you’re wrong. The soldiers’ barracks are over by the stables.”

  Yulen narrowed his eyes. “What about the officers’ quarters?”

  “They stay close by in separate lodges. I’m thinking those rooms down that hall here in the main lodge are for the kitchen help. Or servants.”

  Atty gave him a surprised look. “And you know this because?

  Renken grinned. “Because of a certain red-haired waitress who liked my attention.”

  “What else did you discover?” Yulen inquired.

  “His men are very tight-lipped about this entire affair. But I did glean one interesting tidbit. LeGreen’s been getting ready for this trip for almost a year.”

  “A year?” Atty gasped.

  “And you were going to tell me this when?” the battle lord softly challenged.

  “The moment you walked outside your bedroom door,” Renken told him, giving Atty another look that Yulen couldn’t decipher.

  Atty ignored the man’s piercing glance. “What does it mean, Yulen? You think LeGreen’s covering up something big, don’t you?”

  “I can’t be sure, but personally I can only believe the long preparation to mean one thing,” he said. “LeGreen’s in on this with Highcliff. It doesn’t take a battle lord more than a week, maybe ten days, to prepare for a cleaning mission, or any sort of travel that would take them away from the compound for several weeks. Not if he’s already done it more than a couple of times. And I know for a fact that LeGreen’s well-seasoned in that aspect. But when you’re planning something as big as a summit…”

  Atty broke in. “Yulen, it took you several months to plan out the conference at Alta Novis, on top of the anniversary party you mixed in with it. But most of that took place after you’d sent out the invitations. Why would they need a year before sending out the invites?”

  “They would if they brought other battle lords in with them,” Renken answered with a dark tone. “They’d need that much time to plan everything exactly the way they wanted, so it would end exactly how they wanted.”

  Yulen rubbed his forehead, hoping it would help him think more clearly. “It would explain why LeGreen kept sidestepping my questions tonight as to who else had been invited. He’s protecting those who are in on this thing, along with him and Highcliff.”

  “What thing?” she insisted. “Are you saying there really isn’t a conference? That they’re using the summit as a ruse to cover something else?”

  “Oh, I think there’s going to be a summit, all right.” He sighed. “But in the event it doesn’t end the way they want it to, they may be prepared to provide an alternate solution.”

  “Why an alternate solution? Why wouldn’t the battle lords want to establish treaties between Mutah and Normals? It’s a win-win for both sides.”

  “Well, apparently some battle lords don’t like rocking tradition,” Yulen admitted. “They don’t want Mutah to have any rights others than what they specifically allow them to have.”

  He saw Atty grow pale as an ugly truth reared its head. “You said there could be an alternate solution. What kind of solution?”

  “The only other kind there is,” Renken answered for the battle lord. “If they don’t get their way, they’ll kill for it.”

  Reaching up, Yulen took one of her cold hands in his and gazed into her eyes. “Yes, my love. We’re talking drastic measures. Now, we could all be wrong about all this. We could be missing some vital information that would tell us otherwise. But right now, this is all we have to go on. And as such, we have to act on it and be prepared.”

  “Prepared for what? Spit it out, Yulen.”

  “I’m talking about genocide, Atty. The nearly complete eradication of an entire species.”

  “But battle lords have been trying to do that for centuries,” she argued. “I don’t see how this would be any different.”

  Yulen nodded. “You’re right. They have, and with some success. But somehow, I think LeGreen and Highcliff are using this summit as a ways to a means. By gathering us all together, it eliminates the need for them to go out hunting for Mutah.”

  “So you think there will be more Mutah there? Other compound representatives?”

  “Yes.”

  “D’Jacques.” Renken drew their attention. “Let’s assume that’s what’s planned. But we know the Mutah won’t be there in total. Even if Highcliff and LeGreen do manage to have the ones in attendance killed, there are still more compounds out there.”

  “Which they will eventually discover. Didn’t you see LeGreen’s face when Twoson told him he was from a Mutah compound?” Yulen slowly shook his head. “If events don’t turn out as they plan, LeGreen and Highcliff’s men could take the Mutah there as prisoners and torture them until they reveal the location of those compounds.”

  He felt Atty shiver, and turned to her. “Cold?”

  “No. Just makes me sick thinking about that possibility.”

  “But you said the near eradication,” Renken brought up. “Why not all of them?”

  “Because we’re still good for something,” Atty bitterly answered back. “They’ll keep some of us to do their most degrading and menial jobs. And because we make good whores. Or don’t you remember?”

  Renken apologized. “All right. So what’s our next plan of action? How do we counter, check, and mate their opposition?”

  “I don’t know,” the battle lord admitted. “Until I know more, I’m at a loss. Do you have a suggestion?”

  “Not at the moment, no.”

  “Then we keep our eyes and ears open even further. We must remain on high alert.” He patted Atty’s hand. “Let’s hope and pray we find a way to stop those men before all hell breaks loose.”

  She smiled and kissed his hand in answer. And for the first time since they’d left Alta Novis, Yulen was glad he hadn’t forced her to remain behind due to her pregnancy as he’d originally planned to do.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Questions

  “Must she ride along with us while we discuss business?”

  He didn’t know how he did it, but Yulen managed to give the battle lord a look that didn’t border on total disgust. “Any business I deal with, she’s also a part of. We rule Alta Novis jointly. She stays.”

  He saw LeGreen’s eyes dart over to where Atty rode behind. “Very well. We have three days before we reach Rocky Gorge. Before we get there, I dare you to convince me I should sign a treaty with abominations.”

  A definite dissenter, Yulen acknowledged to himself. Given the fact that this would mean shaking up eons of tradition, he understood why LeGreen would be reluctant. Welcome to my world, Don. Trust me, it’s not that bad. In fact, there’s a whole lot more good to it than you could ever believe.

  He glanced upward. The day was sunny and cloudless, giving out a little heat. It was enough to keep them from shivering in their coats. Yulen checked behind him where Mastin and Paxton were flanking Atty. Renken was a little further back, acting as a secondary backup. It was a solid tactical maneuver in case someone tried to pull something from the rear. Sniffing, he cleared his throat.

  “What could I possibly say to change your mind when there’s never been a reason for you to reconsider any other time?” His voice was worse, almost to the point where he could lose it if he didn’t watch himself. It made him wonder if LeGreen was deliberately trying to make it to where he’d be unable to talk at the summit.

  Listen to yourself, D’Jacques. How much more paranoid could you get? Maybe the man was honestly wanting to hear from him. Maybe he sincerely wanted a different future. Then again, maybe all of this was a ruse for something Yulen had yet to discover. So far, Atty hadn’t sensed anything threatening, bu
t that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be down the road.

  LeGreen grinned without humor. “I’ve heard a lot about you over the past couple of years. About things you’ve done. Things you’ve said. I dismissed most of it as hearsay, mind you, until I could get it straight from the horse’s mouth. So tell me, D’Jacques. Do you really believe Mutah are superior to us?”

  “In some ways, yes. Are all of them? It depends. I haven’t met every Mutah.”

  LeGreen made a rude sound. “You’re gonna have to be a bit more specific than that.”

  Yulen took a long swallow from his water bottle. The wetness helped cool the fire in his throat, albeit temporarily.

  “Each Mutah has a mark. Something that shows he’s not a Normal. For those with physical abnormalities, they’re often better at what they do than a Normal without that abnormality. My son is like that. He has Mutah eyes, and he can see farther and with greater clarity than anyone. And he’s just two years old. God knows what he’ll be able to do when he gets older.”

  He took another long pull on the bottle, coughing as some went down his windpipe. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he cleared his throat.

  “But there are Mutah whose specialness isn’t so evident. Like Atty. You can tell she’s one of them because of her hair, but what makes her unique isn’t visible. I’m also sure you know there are Mutah whose differences aren’t so obvious. They’re hidden underneath their clothes, or maybe not. But I’ve never met a Mutah who didn’t show some kind of special gift. They’re us, Don, but better. Not altogether better, but in bits and pieces.”

  LeGreen checked out Atty again. “I’ve heard tales about her prowess with a bow.”

  “And knife.” Yulen smiled. “And crossbow. Anything that requires accuracy, she’s good at. Hell, she’s superb at. Better than anyone I’ve ever witnessed in my life.”

  “What about a sword?”

  “A sword’s too heavy,” Atty remarked. “I need something with a little more finesse that doesn’t require brawn to wield. How about loaning me a rapier?”

  LeGreen stared ahead of them. After a moment, he pointed at something on the road. “There’s a red bird sitting on a branch—”

  The arrow zoomed past them without a whisper of sound. Lightning fast, it struck the bird, which squawked as it dropped into the bushes below. Yulen hid his smile as LeGreen’s eyes widened. The shot had to be eighty yards, easily.

  The battle lord of Oka City turned around in his saddle to address Paas. “You there.”

  “My name is Paas,” she calmly told him.

  “What’s your special ability?”

  Yulen loved the smirk that lifted the corners of the warrior woman’s mouth and watched as she placed a hand on the hilt of her own short sword. “Some of us aren’t resistant to rapiers,” she almost purred.

  “You!” LeGreen nodded toward Twoson. “What about you?”

  “Sorry. No weapons skills here. I’m more of a democratic sort of guy.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means I can tell when someone’s bullshitting me, or when they’re sincere. I can also tell if someone is flat-out lying, or speaking the truth. Or hiding something,” the councilman told him.

  LeGreen snorted. “And that makes you superior to me?”

  “No,” Twoson smoothly retorted. “It makes my judgment superior to yours.”

  Yulen tensed and waited to see what LeGreen’s response would be. Strangely enough, the man only shook his head.

  “I wish I had someone like you on my team,” the battle lord commented. And that was all he had to say about the matter for the next several hours.

  *

  They stopped around noon for a bite to eat and to rest the horses. After the battle lords went to check on their men, Atty took the opportunity to approach Thrasher. This was her first major trip away from the compound without MaGrath’s cynical company to keep her on her toes, and she missed the old grouch terribly. And even though Thrasher was nothing like the older physician in temperament, at least she trusted him enough to allow him into her small circle of close confidants.

  She found the man finishing his lunch where Paas had roasted several small lizards over their fire pit. The man looked up as she approached him and wiped his fingers on his thighs.

  “I was about to come check to see how Yulen was doing,” he admitted, getting to his feet.

  “That’s why I’m here. Do you have any more of that elixir the Oka City physician prescribed?”

  Thrasher frowned. “Yes, but I gave him a dose this morning before we left. If I give him some more now, it could make him too drowsy to ride. Why do you ask? Is he complaining?”

  She shook her head. “Yulen never complains about how he feels. Not even when he’s in great pain. But his cold doesn’t seem to be getting better, and he’s coughing more. His voice is very rough. I can tell he’s struggling when he speaks. I’ve been watching him closely, and he’s already drained his water bag once, and normally he refills it every other day.”

  Concern clouded the physician’s face. “Can you tell if his fever’s returned? Is his face flushed?”

  Atty shrugged. “I haven’t gotten close enough to tell if it’s a fever or windburn. He’s been keeping some distance between us to prevent me from catching whatever he’s got. Can I, Fergus? Can I catch what he has? Or is it allergies like he claims it is?”

  “Hold on a moment.” The doctor went over to his horse and extracted the satchel containing his pharmaceuticals, looping the strap over his head. “Okay. Let’s go check him out.”

  “You didn’t answer my question,” she reminded him as they walked the side of the road to where she and Yulen had their campfire.

  Thrasher countered with his own questions. “Did he eat?”

  “Very little.”

  The man’s expression went grim. “Then it’s not allergies. Not now, anyway. It may have started out that way, but it’s gotten worse. And, yes, there’s the chance he could pass it along to you, my lady. As long as he’s sneezing and coughing, he’s most likely contagious.”

  A horrible thought came to her. She halted, her hand on his arm. “Fergus, we’ve been sleeping together. Is it possible…”

  The man stared hard into her face. “How do you feel? Tired? Aching?”

  “God, yes, but I was that way when I was carrying Mattox.” Another thought made her cringe. “If I catch what Yulen has, could it harm our daughter?”

  The man hesitated answering, which was an answer in itself. “Listen, Atty. If you start to feel any of the symptoms Yulen has, you come to me immediately. You hear me? I have some medicants I can give you, but to be honest, I’d be very reluctant because I don’t know how they would affect the baby, or if they would. And as for sleeping together, you may not want to hear this, but I strongly suggest you don’t. Have him move to a separate tent for the time being. Preferably alone. If he moves in with someone else, they could catch what he has.”

  “My tent is large. What if he sleeps on the opposite end?” The thought of not having his warmth next to her was hard enough. To imagine him completely out of sight, especially while traveling through unknown and potentially dangerous territory, was too frightening to contemplate.

  Her hopes sagged when Thrasher shook his head. “Sorry, Atty. His germs could spread over the pillows and blankets you share. In fact, they could already be all over them.” He made a disparaging sound. “I should have thought of that sooner.” He looked at her, his concern furrowing his brow. “You need to be the one to sleep elsewhere. Just until he’s no longer contagious. Those germs won’t be viable long. Not in this weather.”

  “I don’t like your suggestion,” she grimly told him.

  Thrasher gave her an apologetic smile. “I know. I’m sorry. But it’s long been known that Mutah physiology is different from Normals’. What could be a minor illness for them could become catastrophic for you, and vice versa. Do you really want to risk it?”


  A scream split the air, sending ribbons of fear down her spine. Before she realized her actions, Atty bolted for her campsite where her horse and her weapons were located.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Attack

  Atty reached the site where several men, her husband included, were gathered by the edge of the road, not far from where their temporary camp was located. Hurrying over to them, she listened as they discussed what had occurred.

  “—best leave it be,” LeGreen ordered the soldiers standing just inside the tree line.

  She tugged on Yulen’s sleeve. “What happened? Who screamed?”

  “We think it’s a soldier went in to relieve himself.”

  “And you’re not going in to find out if it is?”

  “He’s one of mine,” LeGreen interrupted. “Accidents happen. We need to be moving on.” The battle lord turned to leave. His callous disregard for his soldier rankled. Without commenting, she turned and pushed through the underbrush, ignoring Yulen’s yell for her to stop.

  Given she knew what she was doing was risky. Yet she couldn’t help but remember the many times in the past when others had been separated from the group, only to find death waiting for them. If it had been her, she would have prayed for someone to come looking for her.

  She moved quickly. Her growing belly was no small hindrance, but she could still maneuver silently through the dead brush and leaves. Behind her she could hear others coming in after her, or to lend their aid. She knew one of them would be her husband.

  Focusing on the foliage around her, she listened for any further sounds. Any whimpering or similar noises that would give her a clearer target.

  Something grunted. To her right. Not far.

  Arrow drawn, she advanced, mindful of those who were following her. Smartly, they didn’t call out to her. They knew that doing so might draw the attention of whatever danger was in the vicinity.

  Another grunt, and she zeroed in on it. Cautiously, she pushed aside a low-hanging branch with the tip of her bow. Fifteen feet away, the soldier lay on his back. He was covered in blood, but it was difficult to tell how injured he was. Or if he was still alive.