The Warriors of Valishna (Cartharia Book 1)

by Spencer Reaves McCoy

  Emily blinked, "Did you drop it, Catherine?"

  "No," Catherine said, "No, I'm sure I didn't. I couldn't have. It was in my purse. Look, it's gone now." She showed the other girl the inside of the small bag.

  "Let's go look for it," Emily suggested.

  Catherine nodded, but when she took a step back towards the street, she paused and frowned, "You didn't take it, did you?"

  "What?" Emily said, "Of course not."

  "No?" Catherine said, "I know how much you loved the bracelet. You're always admiring it. Tell me the truth now. Did you steal it?"

  Emily shook her head, "Catherine, I'd never steal from you."

  "Turn out your pockets!" Catherine demanded.

  "Catherine!"

  "Do it," Catherine said.

  Emily looked upset, but her eyes widened in surprise when her hand dipped into her dress pocket. She brought out the bracelet, her face paling, "I don't know how that got there, Catherine. I swear. I didn't take it."

  "Guards," Catherine said, "Arrest her."

  "No! No, Catherine please," Emily said, "Please, I didn't take the bracelet. I swear I didn't."

  But the Guards had already moved forward, and one of them stepped up to Emily. He looked apologetic but spoke anyway, "Come with me, Miss."

  "But Catherine, I didn't take it!" Emily shouted. The guard took her arm to lead her away, "Catherine! Catherine, please!

  Catherine stared after the departing girl and guard for a long moment, "He didn't go anywhere," she muttered. "He was a nobody and so are you."

  TWENTY-NINE

  Broken Senses

  ELDRIN CAME AWAKE IN ONE SWIFT, STARTLED moment. He took a quick stock of himself; he was sweating. His shirt was covered in it, sticking to his skin. There were goosebumps down his arms. His first thought was he was having a nightmare, and it had woken him.

  Then he smelled smoke.

  He wasted no time, his sluggishness from sleep gone in an instant. He rolled out of the make-shift bed and snatched his daggers from beside him before he even blinked. He ducked down into the shadows and positioned himself appropriately so that he could take inventory of his surroundings.

  His heart was hammering in his chest but he forced himself to ignore this. He couldn't let his adrenaline distract him. He had to use it to his advantage. It sharpened his eyesight and he was able to see a man to his left.

  The man was standing close to a tree, trying to blend in. He was doing a good job of it too; the only reason Eldrin saw him was by the flash of his sword. The moonlight had caught the color of steel and reflected it.

  Eldrin couldn't stare at him, though. He memorized his position and looked away. He didn't want the man to move before he had a chance to deal with him. He might not get so lucky with the moonlight again.

  With the immediate on one side noted, Eldrin cut his eyes to the right, searching. That was the direction the smoke was billowing from. Ten yards in that direction, a large fire roared. A red-haired woman stood there, illuminated by the light from the flames. She was dressed in dark leather, and by her tall, confident stance, Eldrin knew she wasn't trying to hide.

  She was smirking. It was a startling, riveting sight.

  But he couldn't let himself get caught up in that. She was showing herself for a reason. The instant their eyes locked, Eldrin threw himself to the ground. The heat of fire passed inches above his neck as her fireball landed in the trees somewhere behind him. Knowing she'd already be prepping another one, he rolled to his left, leaped to his feet, and sprinted.

  He twisted the dagger in his hand as he ran, then angled his body, and threw it. It cut through the air, spinning as it went, and then landed in the tree behind the man with the sword. He'd moved just in time to avoid a puncture to his throat. He adjusted his sword and burst out to meet Eldrin head on.

  Eldrin knew he couldn't allow himself to be caught in a duel with the two. Instead, he twisted his second dagger and looked back at the woman. She was approaching in a calm, but rapid manner. Each footstep was silent but well-placed. He turned away from her, instead running towards the man with the sword.

  The woman let out another ball of fire even as she gave a triumphant cry. Eldrin waited, knowing that every second counted. Every second could make the difference. It was hard to control the urge to drop to the ground, or roll to the side, but he knew how important control was.

  Seconds before the ball of fire hit him, he finally went to the ground, and rolled to the side. He tucked his dagger up to his forearm as he moved to prevent injury. By the man's sudden yell of pain, he knew the fire had hit him instead.

  He allowed a grin to tug at the corners of his lips, savoring the moment of success. Just as he was about to leap back to his feet, an arrow slammed into his chest.

  "Dead."

  The word was proclaimed cheerfully from a young woman with inky black hair and wide, vibrant eyes. She looked pleased as she jumped down beside him, holding a long bow in one hand and a shaft of arrows in the other.

  She was dressed in leather shorts, a tank-top, and a leather belt lined with many small vials. She had a long leather throng tied down one leg, and this held several silver daggers. They were quite a bit smaller than the ones ELdrin preferred but they fit her well. Despite the weaponry, she looked more at home on a beach than in the woods.

  Eldrin removed the arrow from his chest without a word. It had snapped off when it hit his body. It would leave a large bruise but no real harm had been done. All of their weapons had been charmed to prevent real injury. It was a type of manipulation that Eldrin hadn't quite mastered yet.

  "Honestly." The red-haired woman who'd thrown the fire strolled up to Eldrin and leaned forward to pat him on the head. He tried to duck away but she was quicker. "I don't know how they let you pass basic training in the Guard. Third death this week."

  The man with the sword - Seven - chuckled. "Be fair. That wasn't too bad. He lasted longer than you'd expected him too. And Six is a great shot."

  The woman with the arrows grinned, "I am," she agreed, "But you know, he didn't even look for me. That was his problem."

  Eldrin ignored the banter. With the adrenaline from the fight wearing off, he found himself tired and hungry. Of course, that wasn't a new feeling. Attacks from his comrades came quite often and were always unexpected. Eight, the woman with the fire, had told him he'd learn to sleep with one eye open and piss with a weapon in hand.

  Everyone in camp was trained to a physical skill level that was unheard of. All of them swore they could hear Eldrin at his quietest moments as though he were a fumbling baby. All of them could disarm him in less than eight seconds.

  He was like a child, and they treated him like such.

  Eldrin had been angry at this treatment when he first met them, but that anger had soon been replaced with embarrassment. Everything he thought he knew, every ability he thought he'd mastered was nothing in comparison to what they could do. Even the weakest of them--Four--could surpass Eldrin at his finest moments.

  Four joined the group now, his thumbs hooked into his belt. In comparison to Six, he wasn't loaded down with weaponry. He only carried a knife and a thin staff, serrated on one side. He gave Eldrin a friendly smile, "How'd it go?"

  Eldrin sighed, "I died again."

  "Don't worry," Four said in a reassuring tone, "You'll live soon enough." It was Four's optimistic attitude that almost always caught Eldrin unaware. It felt so out of place with the rest of the group. The rest had a habit of realism that was sometimes a touch too much. "You'll have to. We're moving out soon."

  "We are?" Eldrin tried to contain his shock, but it was difficult. Since he'd joined the group, the need for slow methodical moving and patience had been stressed. They'd taken out a few military leaders, but for the most part had stayed in the same area.

  Three joined the group. She rolled her eyes at Eldrin, arms folded over he chest, "Yes," she said, "We are. It's time to go forward. We need to work on your disarms though. You can pr
actice this as we travel. It might make it a bit more difficult, but that's not a bad thing."

  Eldrin shrugged. He'd learned not to express any opinions--disagreements or otherwise--with Three. She was the one training him to delve into other peoples' minds and block their ability for manipulation. It was a talent that very few knew but important for the group to master.

  Three allowed Eldrin to practice on her. She used his thoughts and opinions against him, when he delved into her mind. So far he'd been unsuccessful at stopping her from manipulating. Their training always ended the same way: with Eldrin frustrated and on the ground.

  "Where is Two?" Three asked, looking around.

  Six picked up her broken arrow and frowned at it. She shot Eldrin a look, but he ignored it. She sighed and snapped off the end of the shaft and slid it into her belt. When he stared at her, she gave a simple shrug and then smiled. "It's good luck." She turned her gaze to Three. "She couldn't come. She was sick again."

  Everyone winced, including Eldrin.

  Two had been out hunting three days earlier when Lamonte soldiers had come upon her. She had escaped, eventually. She wasn't in good-shape when she'd made it back to the camp, bruised, bleeding, and close to death. She'd told them that she'd killed the soldiers though, and then she'd passed out.

  Most of them hadn't believed she'd make it through the night. She looked almost as bad as Eldrin had felt when Three had found him. It was clear that she'd been tortured. But she'd pulled through, and when she'd woken, it was with a grim smile.

  "Do you think she'll be ready to travel?" Eldrin asked. He was thinking about the way labored way she sounded when she breathed.

  This time, all eyes fell on him. Most of them were hard and unyielding. Eldrin ran a frustrated hand through his hair, and resisted the urge to sigh. The group had a way of ignoring injures and pushing forward no matter what the cost.

  Four cleared his throat. "She's going to be fine with traveling. She wouldn't want to slow us down, you know."

  "Right," Eldrin said. He could hear the sarcasm dripping from his voice, but he was unable to stop it, "Right, she'll be fine. How else would she be allowed to be?" He stepped away from the group before anyone could argue with this statement, his head pounding with exhaustion.

  "You have to stop getting upset," Four said, stepping up beside Eldrin and joining him on his walk away from the others. "None of us hurt Two. None of us asked for this. We care about her."

  Eldrin nodded, but he couldn't help but ask, "Couldn't we wait until she's feeling better? A week is all she needs, Four."

  "You know we can't do that," Four said with a shake of his head. "You know the drill. We get the signal, we move. That's the way it is."

  Eldrin rocked back on his heels, and stopped to look at Four. "Some of us could stay behind then to help her recover. Just a few of us. Three stayed out of your camp for nearly three weeks helping me recover."

  "She was less than a day's travel away," Four said, "If we needed her, we could have contacted her and she would have left with us."

  Eldrin winced at the thought. If Three had left him, there was a good chance he would have died.

  "Besides," Four said, "None of us can tell her no. You know that. Look, just don't hold it against any of them. They've learned to be hard. It's just their nature now."

  "Right," Eldrin said with a shrug, "But we've all been part of this war, Four. And we've all learned about being hard. But most of us still care about our comrades. We care if they live or die."

  "They care," Four said, "We care. Sometimes though, you have to put your personal feelings aside. That's what we're about. We all chose this life. Only you and Six were brought into it. The rest of us knew what we were getting into when we started. None of us would want to stop because of simple uncomfortableness."

  Eldrin sighed again, knowing that it was pointless to keep arguing, but unable to contain himself. "It's not uncomfortableness. She's in severe pain. What did she say about it?"

  Four put an arm around Eldrin's shoulder and offered him a coy, boyish smile. "Tell you what. We're going to go talk to her right now. How's that sound?"

  "No," Eldrin said, frowning. He tried to slide away from the other man, but Four didn't let him. "I don't think it's a good idea." He was imagining the way that Two had looked when she'd come in. He wasn't sure he wanted to see that again.

  "It's a great idea," Four insisted. He dropped his arm from around Eldrin's shoulders and took off in a jog. Knowing that he'd never catch up, Eldrin sighed and took off after him.

  Eldrin slowed down as he neared the medical tents where Two was. He could see Four standing just inside. He was laughing at something Two had said. Eldrin watched them for a moment, briefly jealous.

  Then he shook off the feeling and went to join them. He winced when he saw Two. She had multiple bruises, cuts, and one of the soldiers had taken a knife and cut off most of her hair.

  "You looked worse," Two said.

  "Still does, as a matter of fact," Four said.

  Eldrin rolled his eyes then looked over Two, "How are you feeling?"

  "I've been better," Two admitted, "But I'll live."

  "Eldrin wanted you to stay here," Four said, "He thought it'd be better for you to wait and heal before moving. I kept trying to convince him that it wasn't the best idea, but he wanted to hear it from you."

  "I'm fine," Two said, glancing again at Eldrin, "I'm not staying behind and I'm not slowing the party down. We have places to be and men to kill. I'm not going to hold us up."

  Eldrin frowned, "I still don't understand why we can't wait a few days. That's all you need."

  Four sighed, "That's not how it works," he told Eldrin, "We get the signal from Five, we move camps. We're tracking high commanders, so we have to be quick on our feet or we lose opportunities."

  "Who are we going after?" Eldrin asked.

  Four shook his head, "I'm not sure yet."

  "Well, Two can't fight like that."

  "Yes, I can," Two said, sitting up quickly. She immediately winced, a hand moving to her side as she coughed. Four gave her a concerned look.

  "You need a healer," Eldrin said. He sighed at the pair of them, "How is that there are no healers or true medics in this group?"

  "One and Nine were the medics," Two said, "And they both died. The rest of us make do."

  "No," Eldrin said, "You don't. Are your ribs even wrapped?"

  Two said nothing.

  "That's what I thought," Eldrin said. "They need to be. Four, you're going to have to help me."

  "I'm fine," Two said.

  "Being fine isn't going to stop a rib from puncturing a lung if you move wrong," Eldrin said. "Four, get some bandages."

  Four glanced at Two for confirmation. She gave a reluctant nod. Four quickly darted off to find them.

  "You're a medic?" Two asked, "I didn't realize."

  "I'm not a medic," Eldrin said, "I'm a Priest. Or rather, I was a Priest. I can't heal anymore. I can barely manipulate at all, in fact. But the Chapel teaches a full medic course during training. So I know what to look out for. I should have made sure your ribs were wrapped sooner. Someone has to be responsible around here."

  Two let out a weak laugh.

  "I'm serious," Eldrin said, "You lot may be the best at fighting, but you're not going to get anywhere when you're all bleeding to death and nobody takes the time to slap on a bandage."

  "Good thing we have you now," Two said, sounding cheerful despite her injuries.

  Eldrin rolled his eyes.

  "Here we go," Four said, joining them again. He held out a roll of bandages.

  Eldrin moved to Two's side, "Let me see," he told her.

  Two hesitated before lowering the blanket she'd been clutching to her chest. Her left side had a large, purple bruise. Eldrin ran his fingers along her ribcage, feeling. Two let out a hiss of pain, but didn't stop him.

  "Right there," Eldrin said, touching a rib. "It's broken." He ran his finger down, "A
nd this one too. Alright Four, you need to help her sit up."

  "I can sit up just fine," Two said. She shifted again, and let out another hiss of pain. Before she could argue further, Four stepped up, slipping an arm around her to offer some support. She leaned heavily against him, smiling up at him. Eldrin felt that twinge of jealousy again. He couldn't help but think of Matilyn and how many times she'd given him that same smile.

  He took the bandage, carefully slipping it around Four. He wrapped her chest snugly but made sure not to wrap it too tight.

  "How's that feel?" he asked afterwards.

  Two moved a little, "Better," she admitted.

  "Good," Eldrin said, "It's going to take a few weeks for them to heal naturally. I'm sorry I couldn't do more."

  "No," Two said, "Don't be silly. Thank you, Eldrin."

  Eldrin sighed, "You're welcome."

  "Come on," Four said, "Let's go get ready. We leave tonight."

  THIRTY

  This Day's Battle's Fought

  HUNDREDS OF ARROWS FLEW FROM THE SKY, following the one that landed at Matilyn's feet. Instinctively, shields were raised, blocking much of the attack. People cried out in surprise that wasn't really surprise at all. They'd known the archers were there.

  Matilyn led the Charge forward to the gates at a slow, methodical pace. Matilyn shouted an order for the archers to take out anyone they could. One by one, defenders fell from their positions on top of the ramparts of the castle.

  They'd been planning to take the castle for a while. It was their first truly offensive maneuver since Matilyn's promotion to commander. It needed to go well.

  Sean, Janice, and several other officers pushed their way in front of Matilyn, protecting her from the brunt of the incoming attacks. She tried to focus on several of the defenders, but her manipulation was stifled. She'd already known there would be protectors; it was just confirmation. She feared they wouldn't be easy targets. They'd definitely have more protection than the two in Teirford.