The Great Cave Horde teens carried sharp spears in one hand and held the reins of their vicious felines in the other. The cats wore soft leather saddles and bitless bridles. They galloped in huge leaps, their muscular legs swallowing the meadow as they charged toward the nets.
“Stop them!” Harak screamed. He rallied his patrol, and they rocketed to meet the saber cats.
Overhead, Meela’s Riders shot arrows into the giants who’d tossed the huge nets. Several Gorlanders toppled off the cliff.
Screams and shouts and smoke filled the valley. Rahkki’s legs shook, and his thoughts vanished. From the ground, he hacked at the Gorlan netting with mindless speed. It fell easily apart against the sharpness of his blade. A taller Rider spied the opening he’d made, grasped its edges, and ripped the gap open wider for the Sandwens and Kihlari to escape.
“Tuni, we can’t hold on to the wild herd and fight the giants!” a Rider screamed.
“Forget it. Cut ’em loose!” she screamed back. “Retreat!”
Harak whipped around. “No, hold on to them!” Then he turned away to fight the cats.
More holes appeared as Riders cut additional slits in the netting. It began to unravel. Uncertain what to do, some Sandwens tried to halter the wild Kihlari while others abandoned them.
Meanwhile, Sula and her buckskin friend struggled out from beneath the net. Using their wings, they held it aloft so their friends could also escape.
Rahkki sheathed his sword and took up his blowgun. The first dart was already inserted; the others waited in his quiver. It was time to see if the boiled dragon drool had the desired effect on his enemy.
He lifted the long pipe to his mouth and huffed. The dart fell short of his target—a rampaging saber cat. He needed to calm his breathing to get a good puff.
But when Rahkki inhaled, the rising smoke choked him. He glanced at the open end of the valley where the tiny dragons swarmed, their colorful scales flashing. They switched their flames to red, which were hot, but not as hot as the blue, and they stoked the fire higher. Steam burped from their mouths as they chirped in excitement.
Several Land Guard soldiers rolled across the grass, trying to snuff out their burning tunics. Others swiped at the burners with their sawa blades, cutting them out of the sky. This made the little dragons angry, and they chortled in deadly harmony.
Meela Swift and her patrol attacked the giants who had been hiding on the upper cliffs.
Meanwhile, the first saber cat reached the captured wild herd, and its long fangs punctured a mare’s throat, severing the vein.
Rahkki bent over and vomited.
Sula whinnied sharply at him, and her familiar voice jarred Rahkki back into action. He raised his blowgun, steadied himself, and blew a drool-soaked dart at the fanged cat that had killed the mare. It pierced the feline’s striped hide, and she collapsed with a snarl, not dead, but sleeping! It’s working, he thought.
“Sula, here!” he called to his Flier.
She glided to his side, and Rahkki leaped onto her saddle. “Hah!” he shouted. His fearless mare hurtled off the grass and carried him toward the charging cats. Her winged friends glided beside Rahkki, their legs coiled back to strike.
“Look,” Rahkki shouted to Tuni. “The wild herd is helping us!”
Behind Rahkki, fire blasted toward the sky, like a geyser exploding. The giants had painted the grass with torch oil to escalate the fires set by the burners, thus keeping the Land Guard army trapped on the other side of the flames, unable to help. Rahkki had not expected such cunning from the Gorlanders.
The saber cats roared, and the giants sent fast commands with their fingers.
Harak and his Riders glided over the cats and dived upon their riders like hawks, striking and plunging their swords. The tan-striped cats twisted and hissed. One giant guided his cat into a leap, and they snagged a Rider and Flier out of the sky.
Rahkki aimed and shot a dart, striking the cat, and it fell over.
He reloaded and shot again, this time striking a young giant.
He reloaded again.
And again.
And again.
Sula sensed Rahkki’s intentions, and she flew and hovered right where he needed her. His treated darts whistled through the sky, instantly felling giants and saber cats in swift numbers. Harak gaped at him, and Rahkki grinned. A ferocious Gorlander charged the distracted Headwind, and Rahkki blew a dart straight into the giant’s neck. The giant thudded onto the grass, instantly asleep.
Harak blinked, looking furious and grateful at the same time. Rahkki had just saved his life.
Rahkki soon ran out of darts, but he had two more quivers full of them. He unhooked the empty tube, let it fall, and snatched a new one. He strapped it to his back and refilled his blowgun. He could only shoot one dart at a time, but could reload and take aim faster than the archers.
The afternoon breeze gusted harder, and the clouds thickened, swallowing the sun. “Land to skies,” he muttered. The wind would make shooting straight more difficult.
Pausing for breath, Rahkki surveyed the valley. The pale bodies of his victims littered the brush, appearing dead. His plan was working better than he’d expected, but more saber cats were coming. Meela’s patrol had driven off the giants atop the cliff, but there hadn’t been many up there to begin with. Sula’s wild friends circled the valley like vultures, dropping down to slice at the giants with their knife-sharp hooves.
Fire Horde giants had dragged several Kihlari out of the sky, and these fought with tooth and hoof for their lives. Sula’s buckskin stallion galloped into the fray and head-butted a Gorlander, toppling him. Then Rahkki heard the trumpeting of elephants—where were they coming from?
Sula faltered when a spasm gripped her still-healing left wing. “Land,” Rahkki called, guiding her to the valley floor.
His mare touched down with a hard jolt. Rahkki dismounted to help her recover, but as soon as his weight was lifted, she reared up, her eyes white rimmed. She whinnied a warning, her loudness shocking his ears.
“Rahkki, behind you!” Tuni screamed. She and her patrol were trying to free the last few wild steeds. Tuni screamed again. “Watch out!”
44
Betrayal
HIS PULSE SPEEDING, RAHKKI TURNED AND FACED the fangs of a charging saber cat. It galloped at him, tail lashing, jaws wide. Sula snatched Rahkki by his belt and threw him out of the cat’s way just as it pounced. The cat snarled and lunged at Sula. She flared her wings with such a loud snap that the feline recoiled.
The wild buckskin stallion blasted across the valley and slammed into the cat, knocking it onto its back. Hissing and spitting, the cat struck out with its huge paws. The buckskin lifted off and twirled out of its way.
Rahkki reached for his blowgun, and realized he’d dropped it. He grabbed his sawa sword instead. The cat turned on him, muscles rippling, lips curled back in a snarl, whiskers bristling. It prowled forward, its yellow gaze on Rahkki.
The elephants trumpeted again, and from the corner of his eye, Rahkki watched them burst out of a wide waterfall. They’d been hiding behind it, waiting. This valley was full of tricks and traps! At least fifty elephants emerged from the hidden cave and swam across the watering hole. They were lead by the biggest giant of all: the Highland Horde king. The elephants paddled toward land. Ferocious adult Gorlanders sat astride them, carrying long spears in their palms.
Rahkki’s heart walloped.
The hissing feline edged closer as the clouds shivered and dropped a torrent of warm rain on the valley. The fanged cat growled at the sky, its expression offended. Then it sprinted toward the boy. Rahkki charged it. Use all your might, he told himself. All your might! He slammed his sawa blade into the cat’s chest and pushed. It hissed and bucked. Sula flew down and kicked the cat in the head, knocking it out. It tumbled onto Rahkki, pinning him to the ground. The valley floor spun around and around. He couldn’t breathe.
“Help!” Rahkki tried to push the cat off him.
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A pregnant pinto mare and a huge hairy white stallion flew to Rahkki’s aid. They kicked the cat off him. The emerald-feathered mare cocked her head, nickered, then flew away to battle more giants.
“Th-thanks,” he whispered. Land to skies, she looked right at me, Rahkki thought. He yanked his blade out of the cat, feeling sorry for killing it. Then he retrieved his blowgun off the grass, loaded it with fresh darts, and whistled for Sula.
She and her handsome buckskin friend glided across the grass and landed. Sula lowered her wing, and Rahkki climbed aboard, guiding her toward Harak Nightseer for orders. Sula’s buckskin followed them, whinnying piercing whistles at the rest of the wild herd. When they reached Harak, Rahkki spoke, catching his breath. “They’re too many giants!”
Harak’s exposed arms were slick with sweat; his green eyes glowed. He twirled his blade and grinned. “Nah, Rahkki. Look.”
Following Harak’s gaze, Rahkki sighed in relief. The rain had doused the fire that was blocking the pass, dwindling it to embers. General Tsun raised his fist and issued a war cry, and the Land Guard army crossed the fuel-soaked grass as the fire gasped.
Harak hollered for his patrol to regroup, Headwind Swift’s Riders flew down from the cliffs, looking fresh, and Rahkki snatched another breath. His team of protectors raced to join him, coughing on the smoke. “About time you got here,” Rahkki whispered, smiling weakly.
“Who killed all those giants?” Mut asked, astonished.
Rahkki shrugged, not yet ready to reveal the secret about his treated darts.
Harak sent fifty warriors to help Tuni capture the wild Kihlari who remained trapped and then shouted the order to attack the elephant army. The pounding rain had agitated the remaining saber cats to the point that they’d become difficult for the giants to control.
Rahkki aimed his blowgun and kicked Sula forward. The more giants he shot, the more lives he’d save and the quicker this would be over. At this moment, that was all that mattered to him.
Then a flash of green material fluttered down from the cliff overhead. He watched it, transfixed, as he realized it was a Sandwen cape.
His eyes trailed up, and there he saw I’Lenna—walking to the cliff’s edge surrounded by a respectful entourage of red-haired, soot-smudged giants. Fire Horde. I’Lenna’s winged roan, Firo, trotted by her side. The princess caught Rahkki’s eye, her expression triumphant, and his entire body felt suddenly cold.
I’Lenna was friends with the giants. Had she betrayed the clan?
45
Queen of the Fifth
I’LENNA’S GREEN CAPE HAD RIPPED LOOSE IN THE wind and was dropping fast, pushed down by the rain. The oddness of it—a plummeting cape embroidered in gold silk—drew all eyes, even the saber cats’ and elephants’ eyes, toward it. A quiet pause drifted onto the battlefield, the fighting momentarily forgotten as the cape twirled to the ground.
I’Lenna had reached the edge of the sheer rock wall above the valley. Her body teetered, and a waterfall of stones tumbled down the cliff’s face. Firo dipped her head and nickered to the wild herd.
Rahkki’s heart stalled. What was I’Lenna doing? Her unbound hair stuck flat against her head, drenched, and her dark-leather vest was so soaked with rain that it appeared black. Behind her, the clouds massed and roiled like living things. Her dark eyes scanned the valley and settled on Harak Nightseer. She lifted her hands, preparing to speak.
The quiet grew quieter.
I’Lenna signed in Gorlish and spoke in Sandwen. “Cease fighting, Fifth Clan.” Her voice echoed down to them, sounding both tiny and huge at the same time. The soldiers and giants fidgeted.
I’Lenna continued. “I’ve parlayed with the hordes and reached terms with all three. A peaceful bargain has been struck.”
Peaceful? That sounded good. Rahkki let out his breath.
“What terms!” Harak shouted, his expression savage. “And on whose authority?”
General Tsun lifted his sword. “Let her speak.”
I’Lenna gazed at them both. “I’ve traded the Fifth Clan fallows in exchange for the release of the wild herd.”
The Sandwen soldiers broke into angry grumbles; others clenched their swords tighter. Rahkki fidgeted. So this was why I’Lenna had snuck off with the giants last night—to parlay for her mother.
“No!” Harak spat, signing his words for the giants. “Our queen would never allow that.”
The Highland Horde king urged his elephant forward, his fingers signing to Harak. “This girl says she is the Queen of the Fifth.”
Jul Ranger, who’d been studying Gorlish as part of his Rider’s apprenticeship, translated for Rahkki’s team. “The giants say that I’Lenna is our queen. Did she lie to them?” he wondered.
“Of course she lied,” Mut said.
“Can’ trust a Whitehall,” Koko added, nodding her head like she’d just tallied a huge hay order without a mistake.
“Shh,” Rahkki admonished.
From her place on the cliff, I’Lenna glared at Harak, and anger shot between them in spite of the great distance they stood apart. Then she reassured the giants. “I told you, I don’t need the queen’s permission—I am the queen.”
Her words hit Rahkki like a punch to the gut. Had I’Lenna usurped her mother? Had she been leading the uprising all along?
Harak shouted in Sandwen and signed in Gorlish to the three hordes. “Nay! She lies! She’s not the Queen of the Fifth.”
The Highland king knit his brows over his small blue eyes. His pale skin reddened. “Answer to this charge,” he signed to I’Lenna. “Who are you?”
I’Lenna opened her satchel and produced a crown. It was forged of iron and dragons’ teeth. A giant black dragon scale sat ensconced in the center. It was Queen Lilliam’s crown, a replica of Reyella’s original. I’Lenna lowered it onto her head. “I am the new Queen of the Fifth.” And then she made the sign of the rebellion: a closed fist and then four fingers pointed down.
Uproar from the Sandwen warriors filled the valley. The queen’s crown was kept in a chest with three locks. Lilliam, her Borla, and General Tsun each possessed a key; and all three keys were needed to open the chest. Lilliam and the Borla would never willingly give up their keys, which meant that I’Lenna had secured the crown by force. It also meant that the princess was telling the truth—she was the new Queen of the Fifth.
Rahkki clenched his jaw, his thoughts swirling. But how? When? Lilliam had retreated to birth her child, only six days past. Had I’Lenna assassinated or banished her mother while she was helpless?
His brain throbbed as he tried to piece it together. General Tsun was here, which meant he must have given I’Lenna his key before he’d left. And the general had already admitted he was against the queen. Rahkki had assumed that General Tsun was the leader of the rebels, but no—it was I’Lenna. He remembered the table full of parchments in the secret tunnels. That’s where she met with the rebels, he guessed.
I don’t want the throne, she’d claimed.
This is an inside job, Brauk had insisted.
I’Lenna had lied to him twice!
Her gaze met Rahkki’s across the span of cliff and valley that separated them. Her expression was sad, maybe even regretful, but unashamed. She’d supplanted her mother, and there was no turning back. Rahkki couldn’t believe it. Can’t trust a Whitehall, Koko and Mut had said more than once. The princess has charmed you, Rahkki, Mut had accused. Were they all correct? Had I’Lenna misled him so soundly?
Harak’s sun-dark face paled, and he screamed at I’Lenna. “Lilliam isn’t dead!” He bent over, hiding furious tears.
“I didn’t kill my mother, Headwind Nightseer,” I’Lenna said calmly. “She abdicated her throne to me. I ordered her banishment from the Realm, and the Borla coronated me four days ago.” I’Lenna let the word banishment settle on the Sandwen armies. “As soon as my mother and her new prince are fit to travel, my forces will escort her to Daakur. She’ll live comfortably there with her c
hildren—in exile.” She tossed a smile to General Tsun.
“Prince?” Harak rasped. “The baby is a boy?”
I’Lenna ignored his query as tension filled the space between the soldiers loyal to Lilliam and the soldiers who were not. Eyes shifted, and swords clanged against boots. Who was a loyalist? Who was a rebel? The confusion soon turned to suspicion.
Rahkki tried to piece together the timing. I’Lenna must have ousted her mother right after the armies marched to Mount Crim—that meant the palace guards were on her side. It was all clear now, as if the clouds had parted. If I’Lenna had failed to overthrow her mother, all her associates would have been punished for treason: General Tsun, the palace guards, and Rahkki, if he’d known she was involved and had chosen to join her. He realized I’Lenna had lied about her part in the rebellion to protect him.
Cold relief swept through Rahkki—reminding him of the time when he was six years old and Brauk had caught him playing with a scorpion. One bite from the insect would have stopped Rahkki’s heart forever. Now the boy stared at I’Lenna—her matted hair, proud eyes, stick-straight back, and heavy crown—and his body shuddered. He’d had no idea he was playing with such a dangerous girl.
I’Lenna turned to the Highland king and projected her voice so that every Sandwen could hear. “All fighting must cease. I am the rightful Queen of the Fifth, and tonight I will seal my treaty with the Gorlan hordes over soup. You will return home now. The battle is over.” She pointed west. “Go. I command you.”
Harak lifted his fist and roared, “Never under the bloody skies!” He drew an arrow and aimed it straight at I’Lenna. General Tsun blasted across the field to stop him. Harak whirled, facing the general. “Traitor!” Harak loosed the arrow, and the shaft plunged straight through Tsun’s throat.
His breath cut short, the general collapsed and his life force pooled atop soil that was too wet to inhale another ounce of moisture.
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