This news gripped the queen. "So soon? They should still be three weeks away."
Takka finally spoke in a deep tone. "That was our original calculations as well." said the general of the specialists. "We didn't count on how quickly we put fire under their feet when they realized we were going to attack the second largest city under Runkamon's rule. Also, they are using streams and rivers to expedite their forces south. By the time they get here though they will be all exhausted from marching so far so quickly. The hundred thousand or so shall require rest and sustenance before becoming a viable threat. So we have a minimum of eight days before our oblivion." He finished cheerfully.
Sometimes Takka's casual demeanor irked Allahandra, but his attitude and confidence usually eased her worries.
Angie then regained the queen's attention. "But other than that I cannot clearly see anything else except red in your near future."
"Red?"
"Aye, the color red. I know not the specifics, but within the next few days you'll be approached by red and the moment will have great meaning, of some kind. I cannot see far enough into that timeline to tell you any further meaning."
"Red, as in Royal Guard red?" Allahandra asked with a touch of nervousness.
Angie saw the sudden flash of fear in the queen's features, but remained calm and detached. "Could be, but I cannot say for certain. Perhaps you'll meet in combat with a red warrior, but it could also be as simple as a red scarf or even blood pooling on the ground. I just don't know, but it will be significant to you for some reason. The only certainty I gleamed was that you'll be alive when you meet the color."
"What about after?"
Angie shrugged and didn't say anything further.
Uncertain fear assaulted the queen of Alluan, but just before it gained a complete hold over her Breaker gently pecked her cheek. She looked into the Fury lord's deep and intelligent brown eyes behind yellow eyelids to find them concerned. Of course he could sense her emotions, most creatures could. Although his beak made it impossible to alter his expression an inexplicable bond had grown between them and she knew he wanted to help.
She lifted her item case and withdrew a thin slate of black stone and a finger length piece of chalk to explain the situation. Allahandra didn't need to look up as she knew he read as she wrote from above her shoulder. Soon, she reached the point of Red and gave the reasons of the fear coiling around her heart.
Breaker remained quiet as he contemplated before extending a glorious wing, a gesture she learned that meant she needed to place the slate flat on the table. As she did Breaker hopped upon the low circular table and she offered the chalk, which he grasped with one yellow talon. Extending his twelve foot wingspan for balance, Breaker stood upon one talon and wrote clearly with the other. A talent she would have believed impossible if not being seen with her own two eyes. He wrote "If the red is to the future, wait for it to reveal itself for constantly worrying will only cause undue stress. Fly as you normally would for if you see dangerous clouds, do not exhaust yourself trying to avoid it. The storm will come regardless so save your strength to battle the violent winds when it arrives, not before. Remember I sleep only a few hours at a time so do not fear danger for it will not come near in the night. I will sleep when you council to be able to guard you more readily. In the coming days do not fear for I will always be near."
"Thank you, my friend." Allahandra etched and gratefully scratched Breaker's breast, just where he liked.
The queen then looked to the scar on his yellow talon and then to the one he inflicted on her after their first battle together and smiled. They were partnered, not as intimately as a fiend to a Furion, but more deeply than she ever believed. The only relationship that is as deep to Breaker would be with Rakkian, a man she has fallen for, for many years, but only recently have they been able to get so close.
And just as Breaker returned to his place behind his partner did Rakkian and Beta enter the tent. Her heart became even more at ease as he looked to her and a private smile he offered gave her happiness. "Good news, ya?"
"If only it were so. Sit and let me explain." Allahandra said as both Angie and her soon to be brother-in-law were absorbed in their items again, trying to find an advantage and give them a semblance of privacy.
Both the mountain of a man and his fiend lord sat beside her and listened to the latest reports she received. Rakkian simply shrugged saying "We will find a way to win, we always will." and received a gentle kiss on the cheek for restoring her confidence.
As the day progressed she received an influx of varying reports from enemy scout sightings to the mundane as a lesser noble wanted better ale and wine for his evening meals. Before evening came she had had enough and excused herself till morning, leaving her trustworthy aids to deal with minor matters while resting. Angie hadn't seen anything new or saw fit to report.
But a small smile danced upon the young queen's lips at what would come during the night. Angie knew of Allahandra's and Rakkian's late meetings as a powerful seer, but is a loyal friend and uses the upmost discretion. Lily on the other hand gave pointed suggestions that gave no doubt that she knew about the once a week meetings. Still, very few knew just how close she and the top general are, but the mass knew how they fancied each other to an extent.
And just a few hours after night blanketed the whole area she awoke to a tender touch upon her cheek. Rakkian sat on the side of her soft bed and left his five items laying upon the chest that also held her items. Breaker and Beta gave them privacy within the dark tent, but she knew they remained ever close.
"You kept me waiting?" She stated as she rubbed the knotted muscles of his bare arms. Torchlight from outside the tent gave just enough light to see by. It would be foolish to keep a fire within the tent and make it too easy to locate where someone inside resided by the casting of their shadow.
"I shall I make amends, ya?"
"Then best be quick before our time together comes to an end."
"My pleasure." he rumbled into her ear and his deep tone was exactly what she needed to completely clear the residual sleep from her mind.
An hour after their passionate time together Allahandra laid her head upon her love's broad chest while he rubbed her back.
That all came to an end as someone cried out in pain from somewhere just outside her tent and it was immediately followed by an unmistakable roar from an enraged Beran.
Rakkian flew out of the bed and slipped on his breeches and his gauntlets before hefting his heavy battleaxe in a matter of moments. The spiked greave items were too difficult to equip under the circumstances.
Allahandra slid into a slip and grabbed both her dagger and item case. She slipped the hidden ring from the hilt and clasped it upon her wrist and allowed a foot of wire to hang between the ring and the dagger's opal pommel.
As Rakkian jumped out the tent first a brilliant light flared to life from his double-sided battleaxe, bathing the entire area. Allahandra stepped out of her tent to see the effects of her general's item momentarily blind those nearby.
Royal Guard warriors somehow infiltrated their entire camp and over twenty armed men stood within visual sight. They had passed Freelan's formidable perimeter without any alarm and had gotten this close to her tent before revealing themselves. Many reasoning's flashed through her, but she wondered if this was Angie's prediction about meeting red.
Darkness soon returned and the earlier cries turned into a joined confrontation as more Royal Guard seem to appear out of nowhere.
Though Rakkian and the nearby warriors began fighting, Allahandra heard a wheeze to find one of her personal guards laying on the ground with a palm pressed upon a wound inflicted on his upper abdomen. She rushed to his side and opened her case to jab one of her two scalpels into his thigh to ease the discomfort and withdrew a full syringe of her item.
Seeing that it is the queen tending to him he reported quickly "We didn't see them till they attacked like specters. My partner, Largepaw, heard something
and bumped me aside just a moment before I felt a blade slip into me. I have little doubt that our fiends couldn't even smell them as the Royal Guard infiltrated the camp. Something is wrong my queen..."
A deadly rumble lifted the hairs on Allahandra's neck and she turned to see eight inch, blood-soaked sabers not a foot from her face. Fear gripped her again until she realized that the Beran began purring affectionately and worriedly. It must be Largepaw because the lion-like fiend did indeed have enormous paws for a fiend not the size of a lord. She sighed and turned back to her warrior "Remove your hand and let me see."
Light from a flickering torch gave just enough clarity to locate the wound as he removed his hand. Blood instantly gushed more quickly and she lifted his tunic. She plunged two fingers in the inch long, four inch deep hole and felt around without a second thought. The man gasped in pain, even though her scalpel remained in his thigh. "Your liver has been punctured, but I do not feel any other harmed organs. But the wound will not allow you to fight further this night." And she withdrew wet fingers. "Grit your teeth." And as he did as ordered she stuck the needle into the open wound and squirted only a portion into it before using her still wet fingers to pinch the opening closed. Only a second later she let go and the wound remained closed. She only hoped the solution would reach and seal off the hemorrhaging liver, it should.
Allahandra the stood and looked Largepaw directly in the eye. She pointed to his partner and then to the north where battles didn't occur. Even with a language barrier the gesture is easily understood. The fiend lowered his head until his partner wrapped a weak arm around his thick mane and together they moved away from the raging clanging of metal.
A sleek black creature flew past her as Beta pounced upon an enemy who had gotten behind Rakkian and finished him off with a swipe of his razor sharp, neurotoxin laced claws. Within moments the man suffocated after becoming completely numb to everything.
Red tunics flooded into the area in a mass of weapon wielding fanatics.
Still, Allahandra knew they were surrounded and outnumbered. Another of her protectors fell and the man who killed him clearly wanted the honor of dispatching the queen personally. As he rushed her a heavy pressure pushed against him as Breaker threw his full weight down and placed his beak in the man's ear and a shriek of immense levels made the man fall down lifeless. His body twitched as blood escaped the ear canal, but it is obvious that such a close shriek of its magnitude was indeed deadly.
Breaker then lifted his frame and beat his wings until he stood protectively at her side with half open wings. He had only one more shriek of such strength left and would need to conserve it.
A hiss and thud nearby brought her attention to a nearby archer, but as he decided to notch another arrow he found himself with the hilt of a dagger sticking from his breast. Allahandra yanked her wrist back and the blade pulled free. Trained in several weapons, Allahandra excelled in knife throwing and her dagger's perfect balance and design has saved her life on more than one account, but gratefully the archer didn't wear chainmail or any protective armor.
The archer began choking, drowning in his own blood just as Allahandra pulled on the wire to retrieve her blade.
Even with the fiends rushing to aid the warriors and their partners Allahandra was at a loss at just how many Royal Guard infiltrated to take her and the other top officers out. And to worsen matters the enemy has begun to fight more effectively now that Rakkian's axe light faded. Fire erupted from an elemental class warrior and consumed three of her men.
Only sixteen of her men and eleven fiends remained alive against a hundred, with more seeming to appear by the moment.
It was all in a matter of moments that Allahandra knew they would be slaughtered, before the full force of Freelan could offer any assistance.
Her men began losing ground quickly as they were pushed further and further back and the fiends were also completely overwhelmed. Rakkian quickly retreated with Beta. The general held his bare ribs where a deep six inch line had sliced the flesh, but nothing major had been penetrated. He willed his axe to flash again, but unable to do so for it needed another few minutes to be ready again.
They didn't have that long, but still they fought frantically.
A howl ripped through the air, causing Allahandra and many others to look up as a void in the twinkling stars seemed to consume more of the tiny dots of light, but she could feel the rush of air from a massive form.
Shade launched himself into the fray by jumping clear over Allahandra and the others. His immense weight, when he landed, caused nearly a half dozen Royal Guard to falter.
When Shade landed, Alex jumped into the mass of fighters and blurred into motion as his body began moving at a speed these men couldn't match or avoid, let alone clearly see in the darkness. His swords fell fighter after fighter as grain to a scythe. His rage couldn't be contained as his blood burned for release and dismembered the opposition or cleanly cut them in half.
Ava swooped when she made absolutely sure her voice would only effect those in red tunics. A dozen fell beneath her.
"Finally! Play time!" Lily crowed as she dove off Crest and began hacking all who stood in her way. Already her crescent sword had grown to six feet in length after devouring the enemy's blood while rose-like petals danced around both she and Crest as they waded into glorious battle.
Stunned, Allahandra watched them fight and as her men realized Alex had returned and fought for them they gave another battle cry and began fighting with renewed vigor. She watched as the Royal Guard fought as the tide of battle changed and they were the ones now giving ground as their numbers plummeted. Seeing their High Alpha surrounded and felling all attackers by claw and fang the other Shadow Fangs rushed to his side and killed many.
Then five Royal Guard broke through the lines, seeing Allahandra only protected by a lone fury and two wounded fighters who chose to remain as protection. They knew they were lost, but still wanted her head.
They didn't make ten steps before falling from some invisible force and she watched as the men's throats were suddenly ripped out.
"Allahandra!" Yelled a familiar voice as the screams of battle cooled a minute after Alex's arrival. The queen turned as two riders on a lone warhorse stopped abruptly nearby and Niranene dismounted and rushed to her side with Krum.
Before either of them could say something Marlin yelled "Jakz! Protect them!" and he kicked Clift into action with his cane extended and whipping before sending it off and crushing an enemy soldier's skull.
An unmistakable sound of approach forced Allahandra to turn and see wild looking fiends descending upon her. Then she noticed a massive Grizon with many scars of battle come to a stop and watched as Jakz slid from his back. Fire danced across the wire of his item and took up a defensive stance around the women. To add more defense he willed the wire to lengthen and lay on the ground in a complex pattern to snare any who dare to approach the women from the front.
"Am I glad to see you!" Allahandra admitted and embraced her long time friend.
"What is going on? Why have the Royal Guard so easily gotten here?"
Before the queen could answer, howls and roars of victory filled the air.
A second later Alex approached and Allahandra gasped at the gore splattering his expressionless face, but it was the bubbling of blood sizzling on his sword that gained the most attention as a pink mist surrounded the naked blade. It still frightened her to see a sword do that, but it was how he gained the title of the Blood Mist. In a calm tone he said "The soldiers have been beaten, but several have fled and I must track them down. I suggest you lock this area down and allow none to flee to the rest of the camp because they might try another assassination again, in our own colors. When I return I'll use Dominance to make sure the opposition isn't allowed to live among us."
She watched as he turned and howled. Shade and a dozen other Shadow Fangs followed him as he raced into the shadows like no other man could.
Rakkian returned
a minute later, soaked in the blood of his enemy and of his own, to say "Beta just took off with Alex to locate any stragglers. What do you want me to do?"
"First come here." And as he did so she pulled out the second of her three syringes and quickly stopped the bleeding from four open wounds, but none were in life threatening areas, just deep. While she pressed the skin and muscle back together she had him issue the rushing warriors to make an impassible perimeter around the command area and ordered none may leave without first being properly identified. He still issued orders while she and Niranene were forced into her tent by Breaker’s flapping wings.
"I'll help you get dressed, by now the whole camp is wide awake and will seek answers." Niranene offered and went to the chest that held Allahandra's dresses.
Thankfully a ewer and empty bowl always sat ready and Allahandra washed the blood from her body and dagger, but not before hearing "And I see you had an exercise before the fight." Niranene hinted to Rakkian's leg items.
The light humor would have colored Allahandra's cheeks if not for her dark complexion, but at the moment too much was going on.
"Do you know what just happened?" She asked to distract her friend.
Niranene grabbed a light blue dress and said "I'm just as clueless. All I know is that when we arrived at the edge of camp, five minutes ago and Alex yells that he sees Royal Guard surrounding the command area and rushed in. I didn't see them, but just as I heard the sound of clashing items I saw them. They just appeared. Shade took off with Crest and Lily right behind him while Clift did his best to keep pace." Then she began lacing up the strings on the back of the dress while Allahandra brushed her own hair. "I swear, I didn't see anything till the fighting began."
Ra' van (Book Three of the Items Trilogy) Page 16