by Callie Kanno
***
Adesina sat crouched among the branches, as she had when she had taken her final examination two years ago. There was a feeling of irony as she considered the girl that she had been back then. She had thought that she knew everything, she had thought herself invincible. She had also been completely alone, and had often tried to convince herself that such solitude was what she preferred.
If she had known back then all the things she knew now…
She sighed and glanced at the moon for what felt like the hundredth time. It was probably still an hour before midnight.
L’iam shifted slightly on the branch next to her. He was wrapped in his long cloak, and his face was hidden by his cowl—just as Adesina had instructed. She was in her full Shimat attire, including the hood and scarf. Ravi waited down on the ground, next to the horses.
Adesina waited until there was only a half hour left before turning to her companion. “I need you to go ride the horses in circles until it is time to go.”
He frowned in confusion. “Why?”
“Because we need to appear as if we have come from a long distance at a fast pace. They will notice if our horses are too well rested.”
He asked no more questions, but climbed down out of the tree where they had been keeping watch. He mounted his horse and took Adesina’s by the reigns. Then he urged them into a run, going as fast as he could in the thick forest. He wove through the trees, never slacking his speed.
The former Shimat kept an ear out for any trouble in the forest behind her, but her eyes were fixed on the fortress before her.
Once she had found comfort in the solitary strength of the building, but now it looked dark and sinister. The stone seemed to absorb the moonlight rather than reflect it, and the battlements were like crooked fingers tearing at the heavens.
Guards could be seen pacing along the wall, keeping a sharp eye out for any sign of trouble. The entire section used by the Shi was dark, but a few lights could be seen in the towers.
Adesina’s heart sped up when she felt the time was upon them. She whispered down to her guardian, “Go get L’iam.”
Ravi disappeared like a shadow, making no noise whatsoever. It was only a couple of minutes before she heard the soft sound of hooves against the damp ground. She climbed out of the tree and mounted her horse.
Her eyes turned to her two friends and she asked in a voice tight with tension, “Are you ready?”
They both nodded, unable to speak. Adesina had to remind herself to take a deep breath.
“Remember: keep your head down, and do not speak under any circumstance. Shimat who keep servants make sure that they are mute. Stay close, but remain at least one step behind me.”
L’iam nodded again. “I remember.”
She glanced at Ravi, but she was certain that he had been invisible to strange eyes for quite some time now. She took another deep breath and braced herself.
“It is time.”
A sharp kick spurred their horses into a run. Adesina urged her horse to go even faster, keeping her head low to its neck.
They rode across the open grass, bathed in moonlight. A flurry of motion swept across the fortress’s battlements where the Shimat guards were stationed as soon as they came into view. The two L’avan rode up the hill that led to the main gate and then slowed their horses to a stop.
“Open up!” shouted Adesina in the Shimat language. “I have an urgent message for the Sharifal!”
A whispered conversation passed between the two guards closest to the gate before one of them addressed Adesina.
“Where do you come from, messenger?”
“That is only for the Sharifal to know,” she replied haughtily.
The whispered conversation continued for a few moments more. “Dismount, Shimat. We will send down an escort.”
Adesina’s stomach clenched in anxiety. “We need no escort. I know the way to the Sharifal’s tower.”
“Even so,” replied the guard, “you must be accompanied.”
She dismounted, and indicated that L’iam should do the same. He gave her a panicked glance as he moved to stand behind her. She tried to appear confident, but she wasn’t sure if she succeeded.
The gate opened just enough to permit two Shimat to walk through. They gestured for Adesina to pass, but held L’iam back.
“Your servant can wait here.”
Her mind raced, trying to find an adequate excuse for keeping her “servant” with her. “The Sharifal requested that I bring him with me.”
The two Shimat exchanged glances, as if they knew something that Adesina didn’t. Finally, the first one nodded and waved them both through. On the other side of the gate they were met by two more Shimat, and led through the courtyard by all four escorts.
Adesina could feel a multitude of eyes fixed on their party as they walked through the darkened halls. She lifted her chin defiantly, as if showing that she had nothing to fear.
Even so, she was afraid.
She had not intended to actually be taken to the Sharifal’s tower. It was too late to turn back, but it was also impossible to try and take on the Sharifal and her guards. Her mind was scrambling, trying to come up with some sort of plan that would save them from imminent death.
The two leading guards made an unexpected turn in the darkened corridors of the fortress. Adesina frowned and asked, “Where are we going? This is not the way to the Sharifal’s tower.”
“The Sharifal is not in her tower.”
This gave Adesina a small measure of hope. They wouldn’t have stood a chance if they had been in the confined space of Signe’s study. If they were going towards someplace more open, and on ground level, they might be able to overtake the guards, or at least escape.
They were led through the guarded door that went away from the Shi section of the fortress, and down a set of stairs. Torches were much more plentiful in these hallways, and L’iam lowered his head even further to hide his L’avan features from the light.
After the maze of corridors, they came to a simple wooden door. The foremost guard knocked twice, and a voice bid them to enter.
Adesina braced herself, ready to spring into action.
The room they entered was small and simple, with no windows and means of escape other than the door they were walking through. She was about to throw the Shimat nearest to her into the room and call for L’iam to bar the door, when she caught sight of the face seated across the desk.
It was Kendan.
He spotted her eyes, her only visible feature, and was just as stunned as she was. He hurried to control the emotions on his face and slowly got to his feet.
“What do you want?” he asked one of the escorts.
The Shimat in question jerked his head toward Adesina. “She claims to have a message for the Sharifal. She does not seem to be aware of the change.”
Adesina didn’t know what the guard meant by “the change,” but she knew that there was no chance of pretending to be anyone other than herself.
“Of course not!” Kendan said sharply. “This messenger has been under deep cover.”
She stared at him in shock, hardly daring to believe the words coming out of his mouth. The other Shimat seemed equally surprised.
“Sir, she fits the description of the renegade…”
Kendan cut him off impatiently. “Do you suppose I would not know the renegade when I saw her?”
“Of course not, sir!”
He waved his hand at them. “Then leave us.”
“But, sir-”
He silenced them with a look. They bowed their heads and started to withdraw, but he called them back.
“Wait a moment.”
Kendan beckoned all four guards into his study and closed the door behind them. The Shimat watched him warily, uncertain what he was doing.
Then, with lightning quick movements, he drew a dagger from the sleeve of his black robes and slashed the throat of the guard nearest to him.
Adesina ru
shed to draw her sword and dispatch another, and Ravi lunged to kill a third. Kendan, who could not see Ravi, was too stunned by the mysterious death of the Shimat to react quickly enough to kill the fourth guard. That left him to L’iam.
The guard tried to escape out the door to warn the rest of the fortress, but the L’avan prince threw a knife into his retreating back. The man fell to the ground, never to move again.
Kendan stepped past L’iam to drag the body back into his study, then he bolted the door shut.
Adesina stared at him in disbelief. “What are you doing?”
He produced four small white squares of cloth, staining each of them with the blood of the fallen Shimat and then placing the cloth on the fire to burn.
“I lied to them in order to protect you, and there can be no witnesses to such a betrayal.”
Her frown deepened. “Others have seen me here, and they have probably reported it to the Sharifal. Are you going to kill all of them, too?”
“None of them know that I helped you,” he replied. “Besides, the Sharifal is not here.”
Adesina had been looking at the bodies strewn at their feet. Her head whipped up at this revelation. “What? Where is she?”
He pressed his lips together and shook his head. “It is enough to know that she is gone for a time.”
Her expression became hard. “Where is she, Kendan?”
“It does not matter,” he insisted. “You are here now, and there is nothing you can do about anything other than what happens where you are. Perhaps it is better that she is gone,” he added softly.
She gave him a sarcastic stare. “Why is that?”
His dark eyes were full of unspoken emotion as he looked up at her. “Because I was left in charge, and therefore you were brought to me.”
An awkward silence filled the room. Adesina didn’t know how to reply to such a statement. Kendan studied her face a moment before sighing quietly and turning away.
The young Shar’s gaze was arrested by the body of the third guard, whose neck had been crushed by Ravi’s powerful jaws. “Did you kill him with your magic?”
She quirked an eyebrow. “I suppose there was an element of magic involved.”
Adesina glanced at Ravi, who inclined his head to show that he was willing to reveal himself. Kendan gasped at the appearance of the giant feline.
“What is it?”
“He is a Rashad. He began following me when we left the fortress to go to the High City.”
It took a brief moment for Kendan to recall her strange comments about the animal following them as they rode north.
“And he has been with you ever since?”
She nodded. “He is my guardian.”
L’iam cleared his throat gently. “Adesina, we have to hurry.”
She started as if she had been in a daze. “Of course. I am sorry.”
He gave a sad smile and shook his head, indicating that her apology was unnecessary.
Adesina brought up her Blood Sword, pointing it at Kendan’s neck. “Where are the L’avan prisoners?”
He raised his hands slightly, in a defensive gesture. “Adesina, I am on your side.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You were willing to kill four men in order to protect your standing as a Shimat. You are not on my side, you are on your own side.”
He started to speak, but she cut him off. “Where are the L’avan prisoners? I will not ask you again.”
Kendan looked into her pitiless eyes and was saddened by what he saw. “Most of them are one level down, in the laboratories, but your father is being kept in the dungeon.”
Adesina tried to keep her expression harsh, even though her heart began to beat faster. “What makes you think I am related to any of them?”
“He told me,” Kendan said quietly.
She shook her head, not wanting to believe him, but he persisted. “Ask him. Ask him if he knows me.”
Taking a quick step forward, she hit him across the face as hard as she could with the hilt of her sword. He dropped to the ground, unconscious.
Adesina could feel herself shaking as she stood over the man she had once loved. She tried to tell herself that she didn’t love him anymore, but the tears that she fought back would prove otherwise.
She struggled to control her voice as she began to issue orders. “Ravi, go find E’nes and Sa’jan. Tell them to get all the prisoners from the laboratories and then meet us at the stables. We are going to get my father.”
Chapter Forty-six: The Cliffs
E’nes sat on his horse, studying the face of the cliffs under the light of the moon. He and Sa’jan rode slowly, trying to find the cave that would lead them up into the fortress.
The young L’avan was growing nervous, and glanced at the sky for what must have been the thousandth time. Midnight was fast approaching, and they still did not know how they were going to get into the Shimat stronghold. What if they did not find the entrance fast enough to be of any assistance to Adesina and the others? What if they met their deaths because he and Sa’jan were not there to prevent it?
He glanced over at his companion, but Sa’jan’s craggy features showed no signs of the anxiety that E’nes felt. There was nothing but focus on his aged face as his sharp eyes scanned the surface of the rocks.
He abruptly brought his horse to a stop, and E’nes quickly did the same. Sa’jan pointed a few feet ahead of them, where a shadow darker than the rest was tucked back in a crevice.
E’nes wasn’t as certain of his eyes as Sa’jan was, so he connected to his vyala. His vision took on a dark green tint, and the cave stood out clearly from the rest of the cliffs. He nodded to Sa’jan with a relieved smile on his face.
They dismounted their horses silently and approached the cave as quietly as they could. E’nes could not help but think to himself that his sister was much better at stuff like this.
Sa’jan brought forth his own vyala, and his eyes glowed a light green. He scanned the cave for a moment and then held up two fingers to his companion.
There were two Shimat guarding the cave.
He dropped his hand to the belt that Adesina had given him and pulled out two of the darts. Sa’jan moved to the side, allowing him to pass.
E’nes did not have the kind of training that Adesina had. Even though he had known about his vyala much longer, he did not know how to translate it into action as effortlessly as she had shown in the northern forests. He could tell the general location of the two guards, but he knew that his aim would not be nearly as precise as his sister’s would have been.
The Shimat were on opposite sides of the cave, meaning that E’nes would have to move quickly if he was going to render both unconscious.
He aimed as carefully as he could before stepping into the cave and letting the first dart fly.
It hit the Shimat in the thigh, which wasn’t quite where he had been aiming, but it would do. E’nes hurried to throw the second dart, but the remaining Shimat was already moving. Her small, feminine form ducked behind the large rocks of the cave, using the shadows to hide her movements.
“Sa’jan!” he whispered in alarm.
The other L’avan was instantly at his side, just in time to cry out in warning. A small throwing knife shot out from the cave’s shadows, and E’nes dove to one side. He was just slow enough that the blade grazed his arm as he leapt, but he was grateful that it had been no worse.
He scrambled to his feet, using his green tinged vision to watch the catlike movements of their opponent. She was silently creeping closer, waiting for them to take a false step. She drew two short swords and climbed up behind a larger rock, preparing to attack from above.
E’nes waited, switching his vyala and praying that his reflexes would not fail him. When she sprang down upon them, he used his power to throw her back with as much force as he could muster. The backlash of her sword as she flew away caught E’nes across the chest, slicing the skin painfully.
He ignored his own wounds and dashed acr
oss the cave, drawing his sword in preparation of a fight.
It was unnecessary, however, because the Shimat had landed on one of her own swords. Her eyes were wide with shock and agony as her fingers felt the blade that pierced her body. She struggled for a moment before falling back and becoming still.
E’nes felt sick at the sight. He had never killed anyone before, on purpose or by accident. The glory of battle that he had expected as a boy was not here to bear him up. He only felt a slight nausea spreading through him.
He heard Sa’jan come up behind him and place a hand on his shoulder. “Are you all right?”
E’nes couldn’t find his voice. He merely shook his head and turned away from the body.
“The first is the hardest,” Sa’jan said softly, leading the young man back to the mouth of the cave.
He sat him down on a smooth rock to take a look at his wounds. E’nes stared at the moonlit waves lapping at the rocky shore.
“Does it get easier?”
Sa’jan shook his head sadly. “No, but the shock begins to fade.”
He turned his attention back to E’nes’s injuries. He walked out to gather the horses and bring them into the cave, then he got his medical pack out of his saddlebag.
“This is a fine way to begin,” he said grimly, as he bandaged his young companion. “We have not even entered the Shimat fortress, and you are already bleeding.”
E’nes grimaced apologetically. “I am sorry.”
A brief smile crossed the older L’avan’s face. “Do not be sorry, be faster on your feet.”
He chuckled and nodded his agreement. Then he glanced once more at the sky, gauging the position of the moon. “It is midnight,” he informed his friend in a voice tight with tension.
Sa’jan nodded. “Let us go, then.”
They each wrapped themselves in their long cloaks, bring up the cowls to hide their faces. Then they mounted their horses and began riding through the tunnel found at the far side of the cave.
The silence was suffocating as they rode, filled with the anxiety of expectation and the fear of failure. They did not speak, and there was little else to break the silence. The sound of the horses’ hooves was muted by dirt that had been packed down on the tunnel’s floor, and even the usual jingling of the bridle seemed absent. Torches were few and far between, giving only the minimum of necessary light.