"Why do I have to go over this twice?" Lieutenant Sanders demanded in a soft tone that barely masked a dangerous edge. "You shield the archers, and they kill everyone but Morindessa and Ferrich. Why are you making me repeat myself? You aren’t afraid, are you?"
Both men swallowed, shaking their heads quickly. "No sir," Golden beard replied curtly. "We just wanted to know if we should wait. The people Morindessa has joined are adept at the Arcane Arts, so they may cause more trouble than we anticipated."
"Those are children with her," Lieutenant Sanders laughed scornfully. "Are you afraid a few children are going to 'cause trouble'?"
The two men looked at each other darkly, before turning on their heels and moving back toward their assigned squad of archers. Jerking their heads sharply for the archers to follow them, the two File Leaders began closing in on the small camp next to the meandering river, while the rest of the Shielding Squad moved around to the other side of the camp with another group of archers. They disappeared behind the cedar trees several moments later, and Sanders turned his face toward the town of North Fork, trying to gauge the amount of time it would take the rest of his forces to arrive.
Lieutenant Sanders had already studied Morindessa's camp earlier, with one of the soldiers from the Shielding Squad following closely behind him to disguise his yar. He shook his head at the timidity of the File Leaders. A handful of children and a sick woman, Sanders thought in disgust. The sick woman, who had been lying on a bed of blankets, was by far the prettiest woman that he had ever seen. Nevertheless, she was a Zeran. Sanders hated the weak-willed Zeran race more than he detested fat people.
Turning back to his horse, Lieutenant Sanders rummaged through his saddle bags until he found a small vial filled with yellow liquid. He did not intend to risk Morindessa regaining her senses on the return journey to Shalilayo. He had learned drugging a prisoner to the point of imbecility was much easier than fighting them the entire journey. The thought of the legendary Morindessa drugged, and at his mercy, brought a smile to Sander’s lips that failed to reach his cruel eyes.
---
Celdic could not seem to keep his gaze from returning to Riah's face. He was not sure what it was that kept drawing his eyes back to her, the perfect shape of her giant form, or the white-hot purity of her resonance. Celdic had slowly begun to recognize a person’s resonance, once Terrance had given him a little direction on where to find the layer of senses that laid hidden from his mind all of his life. He had not stopped reaching out to feel everyone else's resonance since learning how, causing the others to look at him oddly as they felt his yar reaching out to them over and over again. He knew why they called it resonance now: it felt like a symphony of harmonic vibrations emanating from each person to define him or her uniquely from everyone else. As he felt Riah's resonance, it was as if there were a choir of virtuosos that had banded together to make the perfect symphony.
They set up camp between a large cluster of cedar trees and the river, hidden from the road’s view. Lendel and Jalorm were talking to Ferrich. They were trying to learn more about the city of Shalilayo, while Ferrich questioned them in turn about Chasel Ri’ Aven. Morindessa sat with Riah and Jesha, reliving some of her childhood memories with the beautiful giantess. The smell of food began drifting from the fire, where Cha'le, Li, Seranova and Lori were preparing dinner for the rest of them. After Lori's initial outburst that morning, she had latched on to Li like an attachment, following her everywhere she went. Celdic wondered what it was like where she came from, where women showed the amount of leg she had been showing before Li had given her some of her own clothing. The fire absolutely fascinated her, and Celdic overheard her telling Li she had never been camping, as she called it.
As Celdic's eyes inevitably found their way back to Riah, he blushed as he found her strange eyes staring right at him wonderingly.
"So you are Terrance's son?" Riah asked, looking at him as if he were a priceless work of art. "You turned out rather well after all,” she commented, her throaty voice tinged with awe.
Morindessa looked at Celdic speculatively, "Where did Terrance raise you?” Her dark eyes were touched with regret and guilt.
"I was raised in Chasel Ri’ Aven," Celdic answered, clearing his throat loudly. "I was actually raised by another family in Chasel Ri’ Aven. I only recently found out that Terrance was my real father."
Riah nodded as if that made sense, though Morindessa seemed puzzled by the arrangement. Jesha was watching him silently, her delicate features studying him seriously. He suddenly realized she had cat-like pupils, just like Selindria and Riah. "Is this your daughter?" Celdic asked without stopping to think.
Riah laughed a warm rich laugh, "No, she is Morindessa's daughter."
Morindessa looked at Riah askance, causing Riah to laugh harder. Celdic began to wonder if the humor in their culture was different, or if they were just crazy. Jesha looked at Morindessa with one of her eyebrows slightly upraised, an expression Celdic would not have expected on a child her age.
"She is a friend," Morindessa told him, smiling at Jesha. "She is a little too old to be my daughter."
Celdic looked back and forth at Jesha and Morindessa several times, wondering if Morindessa was younger than he had first thought. "How old are you?" Celdic asked Morindessa finally, hoping he was not being rude.
"Thirty-five," Morindessa replied, looking over Celdic's shoulder to where Ferrich stood with Lendel and Jalorm. "I see Ferrich has sunk his talons into your friends already."
Celdic looked back at Ferrich, trying to make sense of the age differences between Morindessa and Jesha. Ferrich was asking questions almost quicker than Lendel and Jalorm could answer them, gesticulating as he talked excitedly. Turning back to Morindessa, Celdic tried to bring the subject back to Jesha.
"How is she too old to be your daughter if you are thirty-five?” Celdic asked with a puzzled frown.
"Because she is twenty-two," Morindessa chuckled at the disbelieving look on his face. "She is Zeran. They age differently than humans."
Celdic looked back at Jesha in fascination. He had grown up around Selindria, but aside from her eyes, there was nothing to set her apart from the other women, except an unrivaled grace. Jesha's long blonde hair hanging over each shoulder made her appear even younger than she already looked. Celdic noticed several subtle differences in Jesha. Her shoulders seemed to make a graceful curve down her slender body, and her elbows had the same smooth curve that her shoulder did, as if she were made of clay.
Li tapped a large spoon against one of the pans loudly, interrupting his inspection. "Dinner's ready!"
As Celdic turned to move toward the fire, he saw a flash of movement back in the trees toward the road. He froze, trying to locate the source of the disturbance. He tried using his yar to sense the area, but felt nothing. He was not sure if he felt nothing because there was nothing to feel or if he was just doing it wrong. It did not really matter. He had spent most of his life relying on his physical senses, and they were telling him that someone was out there.
"What are you looking at?" Jesha asked nervously, peering toward the road.
"Lendel, get your sword!" Celdic shouted, not waiting for someone to confirm what he saw. Drawing his own sword in one hand, and a long dagger from his boot with the other, he began making his way toward the movement. Lendel and Jalorm had immediately broken off their conversation and drawn their swords at Celdic's shout. Everyone in the camp stared into the trees around their camp warily and pulled out weapons.
From the corner of his eye, Celdic saw a blur flying through the trees. He spun sideways as an arrow tore through the sleeve of his grey coat. He heard the whistle of arrows shooting through the trees all around the camp, followed by sharp cracking sounds. Celdic charged toward the first place he had seen movement, risking a glance over his shoulder at the camp, fearing the worst. All around the camp, arrows lay broken, as if they had hit a solid wall. Riah collapsed with a sigh, and Celdic felt the small b
arriers she had quickly surrounded the camp with disappear.
Celdic crashed through the last of the thick sagebrush and cedar trees, twisting sideways as another arrow skimmed past him from a soldier in thick leather armor twenty paces in front of him. The man had a large scar that crossed over one of his cheeks, and he was missing several teeth. He hurriedly tried to draw another arrow, but Celdic reached him before he even began drawing the string back and slashed his short sword across the man’s throat. His scarred face turned white and he grabbed at his neck as if he could keep the rushing blood inside with his hands.
Celdic heard shouts of dismay to his left, and knew that Lendel and Jalorm had reached some of the other soldiers. Celdic moved to his right, ranging around the perimeter of the camp, looking through the thick sage and cedar trees for more of the concealed archers. The sound of a bowstring drawing back was all the warning he had before he lunged forward in a roll that brought him behind a large cedar tree. An arrow sailed over his head. Looking back the way he had come, he saw the soldier that shot at him fitting another arrow to his bowstring. Celdic pulled his arm back and threw his dagger into the man's forehead, just as he began pulling the bowstring back. As the man fell backward, his eyes seemed to be staring up at the hilt of Celdic's dagger.
Celdic pulled his other dagger from his left boot, continuing his circuit around the perimeter. He could hear cries all around now, as more of his companions began hunting down the archers. There was a loud drumming noise coming from the road, and Celdic looked through the thick brush to see close to forty men with swords running toward their camp. Turning, Celdic ran back to the camp, racing swiftly through the thick sage as if it were grass. He heard a few more arrows buzz past his ear as he ran, ignoring them and hoping that his luck would hold. All he could think of was Riah, laying unconscious after the first volley of arrows, waiting helpless in the camp.
Celdic crashed into camp and slid to a halt as Morindessa whirled toward him with a dagger in each hand, completely covered in blood. She was standing over Riah's comatose form, surrounded by the bodies of seven men. Cha'le and Li were nowhere to be seen, and Ferrich lay unconscious next to a blunted arrow. Seranova was bent over Ferrich checking his pulse. Jesha was sitting next to Riah, with an arrow sticking out of her shoulder. She was white-faced and in shock, staring at nothing while Lori sat next to her crying, not knowing what to do.
"There are forty men headed this way," Celdic informed Morindessa, gulping in huge breaths of air. "We need everyone here if we are going to have a chance."
Morindessa nodded. "Come back to camp!" she shouted. Celdic felt her amplify the sound with her yar. Her face was grim as she stood watching the direction from which Celdic emerged. A moment later, armed men began jumping through the trees, slowing slightly as they advanced on him and Morindessa.
"Surrender, or we will be forced to kill you!" one of the soldiers with a knot of rank demanded, making his way to the front of the growing number of soldiers.
Celdic did not bother replying. He ran forward, knocking the first blade away with his sword and striking its owner in the throat with his dagger at the same time. He kicked another soldier on the side of the knee, causing a loud popping sound as the bone snapped. He spun among the soldiers like a whirlwind, kicking knees, stabbing throats and eyes. He lost his dagger after sticking it into the back of a soldier’s head where it became lodged in the bone. Morindessa was her own whirlwind of death, spinning through the soldiers like a scythe through wheat. As often as not, the soldiers would fall from loud concussions from her yar as she knifed others. What seemed hours later, though in reality was only moments, Celdic heard Jalorm, Lendel, Li and Cha'le join the melee, spinning more death into the tight knot of suddenly demoralized soldiers. The ground around them was growing slippery with blood, and Celdic felt as if his lungs were going to burst. The last few soldiers finally turned and ran back the way they had come, one of them falling over as Lendel's sword speared into his back.
"Is everyone all right?" Celdic demanded, panting heavily. "Is anyone hurt?"
Cha'le and Li shook their heads, and Lendel pointed at the ground below them, which was covered in gore and still-dying men. "I would say that quite a few people are hurt."
Celdic felt relief wash over him. It had all happened so sudden, that Celdic had been sure one of their party would be dead. He turned back toward Riah, and cursed loudly. Lori was laying on the ground unconscious, and Jesha was nowhere to be found.
"Jesha?" Morindessa called out, the fear loud in her voice. "Jesha!" Morindessa screamed, running past Riah and into the thick sagebrush behind her.
"We should spread out," Li said urgently. "We don't know which way they went."
"In pairs," Celdic insisted firmly, pulling another dagger from his belt, "We need someone to watch our backs."
Li nodded, following him as he went back the way the soldiers had first come in. They covered the entire area for miles, searching for some sign that she had escaped or was still alive. Several miles north of their camp, they found the place where the soldiers had first gathered, before ambushing them. A long line of hoof tracks led back to the road, toward North Fork.
"I think that they are gone,” Li said finally, as the sun began to sink toward the eastern horizon. "We should check back at camp. Maybe someone else found her."
Celdic nodded resignedly, following Li as she led the way back to camp. When they arrived, Cha'le and Lendel were already there, looking worried. Ferrich was conscious again, though he looked groggy.
"You didn't find her," Cha'le said worriedly, not really a question.
Celdic shook his head, looking at Riah's still-unconscious form in concern. "Is Riah all right?"
Lendel shrugged uncertainly. "Her heart is still beating, but we haven't been able to wake her up."
"Where is Morindessa?” Li asked sharply. "We didn't see her."
"Neither did we.” Lendel looked around in frustration. "They can't have disappeared!"
"We found a lot of horse tracks," Celdic said quietly. "They were headed toward North Fork."
Lendel bit off several savage curses. "They could be thirty miles away by now!"
There was a bright flash, causing everyone to look up into the sky to see a conduit of light descending down to the ground. Lochnar and Thistledown emerged from the end of it. Celdic could feel an immediate difference in Lochnar from when he left. His resonance seemed the same as it had when Celdic had first met him, though there still seemed to be parts of him that were not there. The missing pieces of his spirit that he had used to heal Riah were once again filled. Celdic wondered if they had a stockpile of spiritual matter somewhere.
Thistledown and Lochnar looked around the camp in amazement. It was still covered in blood and body parts, with a few of the dying still dying.
"What happened?" Lochnar demanded in a growl.
"Some men attacked us," Celdic replied quickly. "We fought them off, but someone stole Jesha, and Morindessa hasn't come back since we all went to search for Jesha.” Celdic licked his lips nervously. "We don't know what to do. Riah passed out after keeping the first couple of arrows from getting through, and we didn't dare leave her to go after Morindessa and Jesha."
Without a word, Lochnar disappeared. Lendel stared at the spot he had been standing. "Is he better now?" Lendel asked Thistledown, pulling his long hair back over his shoulder.
"And some," Thistledown muttered, half to himself. He moved over to where Riah lay and began examining her.
Ferrich was just beginning to become coherent again. "Where is Morindessa?" he demanded intensely.
"We don't know, Ferrich," Li said soothingly. "She is looking for Jesha. She will probably be back later."
Ferrich stood up, took two quick steps, then fell down hard. He slowly sat up, looking around vaguely. "Who hit me in the head," he grumbled, rubbing the large goose egg that was sticking out the back of his head. "This is my most valuable possession. Couldn't they shoot me in the l
eg or something?"
"You are in no condition to go looking for Morindessa," Li told him firmly, folding her arms beneath her breasts. "Lochnar is already on his way."
"I still need to go after them," Ferrich insisted stubbornly. "What if this Lochnar fellow fails?"
Thistledown rose from his examination of Riah to face Ferrich, "If Lochnar is unable to rescue them, then no one alive will be able to.” Thistledown's face looked tight, as if the skin on his face had been pulled backword. Celdic noticed his feral eyes had a small light burning in them Celdic had never seen before. It took him a moment to realize Thistledown was smoldering with rage, an emotion Celdic had begun to believe did not exist in the jovial little man.
"What are we going to do now?" Celdic asked Thistledown tentatively, unsure of how to act around Thistledown in his present mood.
Thistledown looked at Celdic, "We go to Shalilayo."
Thistledown looked around at the other youths, his gaze pausing on each of them before moving to the next. "From now on, I will be giving all of you lessons on yara. Pack everything up. We will stay the night in North Fork."
Thistledown was already moving back to Lori's unconscious form as he finished speaking, probing her head gently with his clawed fingers. Celdic hurried over to the fire-pit and began putting the dirty dishes back into Li's pack.
Celdic looked around at his companions, noticing the worried crease on Li's forehead as she joined him and began silently putting the strange food into one of the packs. Lendel was scowling as he rolled up the few bedrolls that had been unpacked, his large hands almost throttling the wool blanket. Cha'le wore the same worried crease on her forehead that Li did as she helped Lendel with the sleeping gear. Jalorm seemed to be the only one unaffected. He already had all of his gear packed and strapped to his shoulders.
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