by Ian Gregoire
“If you think I’m chasing after you, you’ve got another thing coming,” Kayden yelled in annoyance.
The Rogue disappeared, yet again, and as before Kayden sensed the tell-tale Zarantar of her enemy behind her. She spun around to parry another series of slashing strikes, followed by another lull in the ongoing duel.
Smirking at her hooded foe, Kayden said, “You can disappear and reappear all you want. I’ll always see you coming.”
In response, the black clad figure disappeared again, reappearing in the blink of an eye on her right-hand side to slash her across the right thigh before vanishing again. She squealed in anguish, dropped her sword and keeled over clutching her leg. Instinctively, she invoked Inkansaylar to create a barrier sphere to protect herself. From her prone position on the ground she frantically looked around the clearing to see where the Rogue was. She caught sight of her assailant some twenty yards away, to her left, walking slowly towards her. She promptly created an additional barrier sphere around her first, then repeated the process until she was protected within the confines of seven translucent bubbles. The desperate measure wouldn’t keep the Rogue at bay indefinitely, but hopefully long enough to allow her to tend to her injury.
Kayden tore her gaze away to examine her thigh. Blood was seeping between the fingers of her right hand as she tried in vain to staunch the flow. She slapped the ground three times with her left hand. The pain was agonising, but the petulant outburst was provoked more by anger than anything else. The Rogue was just toying with her. Somehow, the son of a bitch had the ability to prevent her from sensing the invocation of an application of Zarantar, and that’s how she was taken by surprise. There was no forewarning of the attack that injured her.
She tore open the slash in the uniform borrowed from Fay’s quarters, to better see the extent of the injury. It was little comfort to note that the gash in her leg didn’t look nearly as bad as it felt. The wound inflicted upon her by the Rogue was a deep one that needed to be cauterised before she lost too much blood. If she passed out, she was as good as dead. Taking several calming breaths to prepare herself, she invoked Shakbarilsan—using two fingers of her left hand to guide the burning stream of hot air over the wound. Her mouth opened wide in a silent scream as the heat seared her flesh and blood, bringing tears to her eyes.
Once the wound was cauterised Kayden slumped backwards, lying flat on her back, looking up at the night sky through her multiple barrier spheres, breathing hard. She realised her amateur ministration was probably a wasted effort. She was still in no condition to defeat the Rogue—not that such a goal was feasible even if she was uninjured. But as long as she could draw breath there was still hope, so she would do her utmost to survive.
The sound of an incendiary orb, detonating against the outermost of her seven barrier spheres, did not intrude upon Kayden’s thoughts. She just lay on the ground intending to make the most of the respite afforded to her within her multiple translucent bubbles—however long that might be. When she was good and ready she would get up off the floor to face the Rogue, one last time.
Fay watched Kenit departing towards the western edge of the temple complex ruins in compliance with her order—the pretext being that she had seen one of the bodies moving, and didn’t want to leave the Sharadi Forest until she was absolutely certain all the renegade Sanatsai of the Conclave were dead. In truth, she merely wished to speak to Tylo, alone.
“So, Tylo,” she said, pulling her eyes away from her departing colleague, “you’re Sister Inara’s son, right?”
“Yes, Miss Annis.”
She smiled at the boy. “You won’t remember this, of course, but the last time you and I met,” she said, “you were just a toddler, barely able to walk. But it appears you have grown up to be a very capable young man. Whoever picked you to play the hapless abducted child, chose well. I was unsure if Kenit could be persuaded to come back for me.”
“He was certainly hard work, but I can be very persuasive when I need to be.” Tylo chuckled, knowingly.
“Well, I thank you,” she patted Tylo on the shoulder, “and I trust you’ve been told not to speak about tonight’s events in the presence of anyone from the Order?” The boy nodded at her in affirmation. “Also, while travelling back to Relona you are not to do or say anything to my colleague to tip him off that this whole thing was staged for his benefit.”
“Kenit won’t learn of it from me, Miss Annis.” Tylo mimed turning a key in a lock next to his lips.
The pair briefly made small talk, until Kenit returned to inform Fay that the corpse she had supposedly seen moving, was very much dead. She in turn instructed him to begin the journey back to Relona with Tylo. She would catch up with them a short while later.
“I don’t understand,” said Kenit. “Why aren’t you coming back with us now?”
“I need to stay behind to incinerate all these bodies,” she replied. “Erase all evidence that the Conclave was ever here.”
“Let me stay and help, then we can all go back to Relona together.”
“You have already helped me enough,” she insisted, “and I’d rather we didn’t further delay getting Tylo back to his parents. So, it’s time you took him home—that’s not a request.”
Kenit didn’t argue the point. He told Fay that he would leave her horse tethered at the same spot so she wouldn’t have to walk back to Relona—he and Tylo would ride back together on his horse. He then instructed the boy to fall into step alongside him, and follow his lead while making their departure from the ruins, back into the trees.
Fay watched the pair leave the clearing, then waited until she was certain they were gone and not coming back. Once she was satisfied they were not likely to intrude upon her, she cast her gaze around the ruins. The bodies strewn throughout the ancient temple complex, including the decapitated Saharbashi, vanished into thin air, as though they had never been there at all. Smiling, she then turned to face the trees at the northern edge of the clearing. She began clapping her hands in applause, prompting a dozen-strong group of Jaymidari to emerge from the trees to join her among the ruins.
“I cannot thank you enough, dear Sisters,” she declared, clearly pleased. “Your illusion was incredibly convincing, despite the short notice—for which I apologise.”
The only Sister among the group whom Fay recognised by sight, Lola Meris, stepped forward.
“Think nothing of it, Fay,” she said before embracing her. “We were more than happy to help.”
Upon being released from the embrace of her Jaymidari counterpart, Fay inquired, “Is Inara not with you?”
“No,” replied Lola. “She plans to meet you when you return to Relona.”
“Good! I’m pleased to hear it. I really must commend her on doing such a sterling job raising young Tylo; he is a credit to her.”
“Yes, he’s a wonderful boy,” said Lola, with a smile. “It’s just a shame he cannot follow in his mother’s footsteps and pursue the calling. Tylo would make an exceptional Jaymidari if he’d been born female.”
After a brief round of introductions with the other Sisters of the group, followed by some small talk, Fay notified the other women that she needed to get going as she didn’t want to fall too far behind Kenit and Tylo.
“Will you be heading to Relona also, or returning straight back to the seminary?” she asked the Sisters.
“Actually,” began the Sister introduced to Fay as Riva, “we’ll be camping here for the night before returning to the seminary in the morning.”
With that, it was time for Fay to take her leave and begin the return journey to Relona. She bid the Sisters farewell then left the ruins back into the trees to retrieve her horse for the ride. Soon enough she was on horseback, leaving Sharadi Forest at a gallop, hoping to catch up with Kenit and Tylo. She congratulated herself on a job well done, content that she had helped Kenit turn a corner.
Her only concern now was how well Ari was faring with the much tougher proposition presented by Kayden.<
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CHAPTER NINETEEN
The Unbelievable Truth
The Rogue had soon abandoned trying to breach Kayden’s barrier spheres through the brute force of incendiary orbs, choosing instead to rely on the invocation of Yuksaydan to neutralise the impenetrable bubbles.
Still on the ground within her translucent defences, Kayden ignored the fall of the first four barrier spheres but once the fifth was neutralised—leaving just two between them—she decided it was time to get to her feet. She forced herself up off the ground, trying to mentally block out the pain of her wounded leg, then bent down to retrieve her sword off the grass. She gripped the hilt tightly in both hands, glaring at the Rogue standing on the other side of her two remaining barrier spheres.
While she had been lying on the ground, Kayden spent the time thinking of every conceivable way she could get out of the predicament she was in. Eventually, she came to the realisation that the only way she could bring an end to the confrontation with the Rogue, on her own terms, was to lose their duel…or at least appear to lose.
The sixth of the original seven barrier spheres was neutralised. The beginning of the end was close at hand.
Kayden kept her eyes on her adversary. The Rogue’s sword dangled in one hand, the tip of its blade hovering just above the grass, while the other hand was outstretched as the hooded figure continued invoking Yuksaydan to neutralise the final barrier sphere separating the two combatants. She elected to save her black clad enemy the trouble of breaching the last impediment, bringing down the barrier sphere of her own volition.
The Rogue advanced a couple of paces, then stood on guard, sword gripped tightly in both hands, mirroring Kayden’s opposing stance. But the similarities between the pair ended there. In stark contrast to the Rogue’s motionless poise, Kayden’s blade was shaking perceptibly, courtesy of the pronounced trembling of her arms.
“Let’s put an end to this, now,” she uttered without conviction.
The Rogue bound forward on the offensive, putting Kayden on the back foot. Her injured leg caused her to grimace, but worse than that it was hampering her mobility; she would not be able to hold off her assailant for very long. She evaded and parried several slashing strokes then swiftly attempted to counter-attack. Not only was the effort in vain, it proved costly. The Rogue effortlessly disarmed her, knocking the sword out from her grasp, sending it tumbling to the ground. She back-pedalled as quickly as she could, narrowly avoiding the follow up swing that would have cleaved her head from her body, while simultaneously reaching for the twin daggers at her hips. She unsheathed the blades then stood her ground, waiting for her opponent to make the next move.
Again, the Rogue advanced towards her while she slowly backed away, making no effort to steady the clearly trembling grasp she had on her weapons.
“Do not be fearful, my intransigent friend,” came the androgynous voice from beneath the black hood. “Your death will be quick…if not painless.”
Kayden halted in her tracks. Although she had a two-to-one numerical advantage in weaponry, there was little chance her two daggers would allow her to overcome her sword-wielding opponent. Lowering her arms, she dropped the daggers at her feet and submissively sank to her knees before the Rogue, eyes cast down at the ground. When she saw the booted feet stop under her nose, she looked up. It no longer bothered her that the face beneath the hood continued to elude her vision.
“I do not fear death,” she declared, defiantly. “But I am not ready to die.” Her whole world seemed to move in slow motion. The Rogue’s sword rose slowly upwards, readying to be thrust down upon her skull.
Kayden invoked Yuksaydan, reaching first for the two discarded daggers lying on the ground on either side of her. The twin blades began to rise up, their trajectory setting them on a course to plunge into the chest of the hooded figure in front of her, though she knew the weapons would never meet their target—the Rogue would make sure of that. Simultaneously, she used the ‘unseen hand’ to reach several yards behind her foe to seize the sword she had purposely allowed to be knocked from her grasp. The bladed weapon rose off the floor, heading towards the black clad form of the Rogue, on a lethal course between the shoulder blades.
Eyes never leaving her assailant, she looked on as her two daggers were deflected harmlessly away by the Rogue’s invocation of Yuksaydan—one to the left, the other to the right—just as she had anticipated. The downward stroke of the sword that should have followed, never came—the weapon fell to the ground, behind its owner. The hooded figure shuddered then froze with an audible gasp of shock; the blood-stained blade of a sword protruding from the chest was the apparent cause.
Kayden had succeeded in besting her implacable adversary, who never saw it coming.
She had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
The strange sense that time had slowed down came to an end as she rose from her kneeling position. She took a few steps backward to avoid the Rogue’s body keeling over, falling to the ground before her. She stood silently for a moment, staring down at the body with her sword stuck in its back. There was no reason to believe the Rogue wasn’t dead but Kayden cautiously circled the body of her fallen adversary, just in case. She kicked the body once, twice, three times. Only then—satisfied she had achieved her first successful kill—did she pull her sword from the corpse, wiping the blood off with the sleeve of her borrowed uniform. Sheathing the weapon back into its scabbard, she proceeded to retrieve her twin daggers from the ground.
With both blades back in place, one on either hip, Kayden hurried off in the direction of the dirt path that would guide her through the forest, determined to complete Master Ari’s task; her journey had been delayed for long enough. She walked no more than a dozen paces before slowing down, then halting in her tracks. She wasn’t able to leave the clearing just yet. Something was gnawing away at the back of her mind. She needed to know who was lurking beneath the Rogue’s hooded cloak.
For a drawn-out moment, pregnant with tension, Kayden stood motionless, peering back over her shoulder at her vanquished assailant. She could not shake the horrible feeling she would recognise the person in the black uniform. Finally, she decided to find out for sure. She returned to the Rogue’s body and then, using her right foot, flipped the corpse over onto its back.
That’s impossible!
Kayden staggered backward, then tripped over her own feet, falling flat on her back. Quickly, she sat upright to look back at the Rogue. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. It was her own face staring lifelessly back at her.
It’s some kind of trick!
The sound of footsteps approaching from behind caused her head to spin around sharply. Her racing heart skipped a beat—again she couldn’t believe her eyes.
“Mama?”
Her deceased mother, Tan’dee Jayta, was walking slowly towards her like an ethereal apparition. She was still so young and beautiful, just as Kayden remembered, wearing nothing but a flowing, sheer white dress that rippled like water. Her bare feet seemed to glide across the grass as she walked past her daughter, ignoring her presence completely to kneel down beside the body of the Rogue. Kayden was even more dismayed when her mother began to gently caress the face of the dead impostor.
“Oh, my sweet baby girl. Is this how you have chosen to honour me?” lamented Tan’dee, speaking Zenoshanese with the lilting voice Kayden hadn’t heard in so many years. “Why would you become the very thing you despise?”
Kayden crawled quickly on her hands and knees to her mother’s side, and knelt next to her.
“Mama, get away from her,” she pleaded, adopting her mother tongue. “That’s not me! I’m right here!”
“Why would you shame me this way?” Tan’dee continued, seemingly oblivious to her daughter’s presence at her side. “Why would you make me the mother of a murderous monster?”
Seeing her mother lay her head upon the chest of the Rogue was too much for Kayden. She rose to her feet then bent down to grab Tan’dee u
nder the arms. She was simultaneously disappointed and relieved by confirmation her mother was real—a living, flesh and blood woman she could touch. Pulling Tan’dee up on to her feet and away from the impostor, she placed her hands on either side of the beautiful face she had missed all these years, forcing her mother to meet her gaze. It was a surreal moment. The last time she gazed into her mother’s loving eyes required her to look up at Tan’dee, since she was several inches taller than herself. But now, she was the one with a three-inch height advantage, so her mother had to look up at her.
“Mama, I would never do anything to shame you,” Kayden protested. “How could you think otherwise?”
Finally, Tan’dee acknowledged her daughter’s presence.
“Your hatred has overcome you.”
Kayden was deeply perturbed by the accusatory look in her mother’s eyes.
“Now you deem yourself the arbiter of who should live and who should die. And very soon, you will kill as no one before you has killed.”
“No, Mama,” she retorted. “I’m not a killer. I will never be a killer. You know I would never harm anyone.”
“What about your stepfather?”
Slowly, Kayden’s hands fell away from her mother’s face.
“Mama, that’s different,” she said meekly, taking a step backward. “When I end his life, I will simply be meting out the justice he has escaped all these years.”
“Because you are the arbiter of who lives and who dies?”
Kayden could feel herself beginning to choke up but she was determined to keep her emotions bottled up.
“He deserves to pay for what he did to you—for taking you away from me,” she said. “How can I go on living knowing that he is out there enjoying the life he forfeited the day he took yours?” She was close to breaking down but she stiffened her resolve. “Mama, I have to kill him. I will kill him. Please tell me you understand and accept that. Tell me I will not shame you by this one-off action.”