by K. F. Breene
“They were trained in the same place. That stands to reason.” Cayan straightened and wiped his brow. His Gift spread wider, checking everyone it touched. Shanti didn’t tell him that she’d already done it. He needed to check in on his people.
“You and Sanders were trained in the same place, but your styles are so different it’s laughable. And Lucius isn’t like either of you, yet you are all good. These fighters are exactly the same.”
Cayan faced her then, wheels turning in his head. He didn’t say anything. Instead, he looked in the direction of Marc and Xavier, who were relieved but carried a burden. Shanti had no doubt they had found the Gifted.
“For all he complains of his fear, and of his incompetence, Marc is one of the best,” Rohnan said.
“He is like you.” Shanti followed Cayan in that direction.
“How so?”
“He hates his role by my side as much as he loves it. He hates the anticipation of battle as much as he craves the thrill of the win.”
“No.” Sad amusement drifted from Rohnan. “He hates the violence of his role, but will do anything for his love of you. And in that, he is like me.”
Cayan watched as three cats ran out of the gate, followed by Lucius and six other warriors. Lucius must’ve seen the fight and wanted the cats to help, like they had the night before. Thankfully, Cayan already had what he needed.
With a last look at the fallen at his feet, he made his way up the hill to where he felt Marc and Xavier in some sort of disorder.
“What are your thoughts?” Shanti asked, following close behind.
Cayan thought back to that battle. The Graygual had been skilled beyond anything he’d experienced, apart from Shanti. His movements were practiced and perfect, his speed lightning fast, and the strength behind the strikes noteworthy. He moved like a fast-flowing stream. And he’d been surprised by the challenge, which meant he hadn’t experienced others in his travels that posed the same sort of opposition.
He was the top tier of Graygual, and Cayan had beaten him.
“This is doable,” he said as he drew within sight of Xavier and Marc, arguing. Cayan stopped and faced Shanti. “It won’t be easy, but we can win this war. We are better than their best Inkna, and better than their best Graygual. We will win.”
Shanti’s eyes turned solemn. “We are better, but also few. It has always been a fool’s errand.”
“You thought that claiming the Shadow was a fool’s errand,” Rohnan said in his musical, supportive voice. It was the voice he used when Shanti’s thoughts turned dark.
Cayan took her hand and fed her a shot of determination as Rohnan continued. “You made the journey you didn’t expect to make, claimed the people you didn’t expect to claim, and reunited with your people, who you never thought you’d see again. And now you are here, about to capture one of Xandre’s assets, having just killed his treasured fighters. You will go all the way to the end, and when you get there, you will finally make your grandfather smile.”
Shanti snorted. “Even sitting among the Elders, that man will not smile. It would probably be physically painful.”
Cayan squeezed Shanti’s hand, bringing her eyes back up to his. For all her coarse tone and seeming disregard for Rohnan’s speech, he could feel her heart swimming with emotion. Her pairing with Rohnan must’ve been Fate. He was the keeper of her faith; Cayan saw that now.
“He has a bigger army, but they are now too spread out,” Cayan said softly. “They have left a great many holes. All we have to do is slip through. This is manageable, mesasha. We can win this, I feel it.”
Shanti shrugged. “We just have to find the holes, then.”
“Find, or create. Like now.”
Shanti barely nodded. “We’d better get up to the boys. They are about to come to blows, by the feel of it.”
Cayan smiled before running his thumb over her lips. Tonight had cemented in his mind that she was their most important asset. She needed those around her to accomplish her duty, but she was integral to creating the opportunities. Like tonight—this shouldn’t have worked. None of this. The enemy should’ve attacked the city, or shot them with arrows. If nothing else, no one should’ve been able to find the Gifted. Yet two vicious enemies were dead, possibly a third, depending on if they had followed the directive and left the man alive.
Cayan started back up the hill, shaking his head. It was madness.
A burst of fear from the two boys had Cayan breaking into a jog. He cut through some brush and came upon Xavier and Marc, backing up against a body. In front of them, standing still with a lowered head, were both of Cayan’s cats.
“Leave it,” Cayan said before wading through the snarling feline bodies. These cats had no appreciation for new friends. He nudged the male aside with his knee and then reached down to push away the female. “Go on!”
“They don’t listen.” Shanti waded through next.
“Where’s yours, S’am?” Marc asked with wide eyes, still staring down at the cats.
“Who knows? He does whatever he pleases.” Shanti put her hand on Marc’s shoulder before moving him to the side. She crouched down to the body, reaching out to brace two fingers on his neck.
“Is he an Inkna?” Cayan asked.
“He’s dressed like one, but…” She leaned back and looked up at the sky. “I don’t have enough light to see for sure, but his features don’t make him look like he was born to the Inkna. His body is bigger. Broader.” She ran a hand up the back of the man’s shirt, then pulled back and squeezed his butt. “He has some muscle tone. I’d bet he was or is a fighter.”
“He was really quiet,” Marc said, backing up so he was nearer Shanti. “He was as quiet as those Graygual. Almost. He panicked, though. He took off running. That’s what gave him away. Or he just never learned to run quietly.”
“So he has training of some kind.” Shanti motioned Rohnan forward. “Carry him into the city. We need a better look at him.”
“I told you,” Marc said sullenly.
“All I was saying was that we should wait for S’am!” Xavier moved around to the captive’s feet.
“It’s dangerous to keep him alive.” Cayan turned toward Sanders and gave a long, loud whistle.
“I said that about you,” Shanti said.
“I can handle this guy.” Xavier hoisted the body up and over his shoulder.
“It is better to fight with large men. It makes laziness easier.” Rohnan followed behind Xavier.
“He can cut off our power, making us susceptible to Inkna,” Cayan said. “We won’t be able to feel what’s coming or what’s ahead.”
“We can keep him unconscious.”
“You can also keep him at the back of the line with a guard,” Rohnan suggested. “Your range will be greater than his.”
“We can’t always keep him at a distance.” They got to the city. Men rushed forward to relieve Xavier of his burden. “Keep him secure. Work with Marc and Ruisa to come up with something that will keep him unconscious.”
“Who got him?” Sanders asked.
When Cayan was sure his orders would be followed, he directed Shanti and Sanders toward Daniels’ tent. The man didn’t want to take residence, even temporarily, in one of the hovels in the city. “Marc and Xavier.”
“Do we think there are any others?”
“Doubtful,” Shanti said as Cayan reached the flap of the tent and held it open. The soft glow of the lantern illuminated her beautiful face as she smiled at him before ducking into the tent ahead of him. He motioned Sanders through after her.
“Don’t expect a smile from me,” Sanders growled. “I’m not that kinda lady.”
Cayan smirked as he waited for Rohnan.
“I will wait out here.” Rohnan stepped to the side and gracefully fell into a cross-legged position.
Cayan knew better than to question him. Instead, he followed his grumpy Commander through. Daniels stood in front of a map, trailing a finger across and down. He glanced up
as everyone came in.
“How did it go?” the older man asked. Creases lined his face and circled his eyes. He was under a lot of pressure to find a way that would minimize casualties while still ensuring victory. It wasn’t an easy task.
“We took down two Graygual and captured a third man who we think is Gifted,” Cayan said as he came to a stop at the map.
“Why would it be doubtful that there are others?” Sanders asked Shanti. “There’s no telling what else that Being Supreme has under his hat.”
“There would have to be another Gifted who can block power for there to be others,” Shanti said. “And while that is probably true, he is only the second I have come across, which means they must be rare. Rarer than our Gifts.”
“I agree.” Cayan scanned the way before them on the map. “If Xandre has another, he wouldn’t assign them to the same task. What would be the point? The chances of that Gifted being captured were minute. I am still amazed that we were able to do it.”
Sanders pointed at Shanti. “Her harebrained ideas work more often than they don’t, but when they don’t, they really don’t.”
“Yes, thank you, Sanders,” Shanti said dryly. “Enlightening.”
“What do you think?” Cayan asked Daniels.
Daniels straightened up with a grimace. “We should get word to the Shadow Lord. She and Portolmous are waiting in the east. They don’t want to push through the Graygual until they know where they’re needed most.”
“And when, exactly, do we mean to go?” Shanti asked, peering between Sanders and Cayan at the map. Her eyes went wide. “That city?”
Cayan looked at the sprawling interior laid out before him. “Yes. That city. I mean to make a statement.”
“Do you mean for us to live through it?” Doubt colored her words.
Cayan leaned against the table as certainty and confidence filled his center. “I’m not just making a statement to Xandre—I’m making one to this whole land. People need to see that Xandre isn’t invincible. They need to see that he can be stood up to, and he can be beaten.”
“Well, it’ll be good practice.” Sanders crossed his arms over his chest. “I sure hope you can pull some magic out of your ass, Daniels, because we’re going to need it.”
Daniels’ eyebrows lowered. For a moment it seemed as though he would ignore Sanders. A moment later, his chin rose slightly. “I have gone over all the possible scenarios and chosen one I think will work with our limited forces. The Shadow will meet us there from the other side. The hardest part will be coordinating the two forces.”
“How many Inkna are in that city?” Sanders asked.
“From the reports we’ve received, there are a great many Inkna,” Cayan said, refusing to acknowledge the tiny kernel of doubt. “There are far more Graygual. They are complacent, though. They have run that city for years. They have their system down and have not received any pushback for a long time. They won’t expect to be attacked.”
Shanti wandered toward the door. “If they know we are coming, they’ll prepare. We should hurry.” She stopped by the tent flap and glanced at Cayan. The spicy feeling of their Joining rose up, overwhelming his senses. “I’ll see you later.”
With a tiny smile, she left, her confidence surging. Confidence in him and this plan. It could only mean this was the best, or maybe the only, way.
“She’s right,” Cayan said to Daniels. “We need to leave tomorrow and waste no time. We’ll take a direct route. Hopefully we’ll have the city taken before news of our whereabouts reaches Xandre.”
“With his spies disengaged, I’m sure of it.” Daniels wiped some dirt off the corner.
“We can’t be sure of anything.” Sanders took a step away and shook his head. “What are we going to do with the captive?”
“We need information,” Cayan said. “We’ll talk to him first and see how he came by his post. Hopefully he’ll cooperate.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
Cayan clenched his jaw. “We’ll see what happens. Hopefully it won’t have to get messy.”
“Don’t let the Shadow at him, then.” Sanders took a step toward the door. “Something tells me they don’t play nice.”
“And you assume the Shumas do?” Cayan nodded in farewell to Daniels and followed Sanders out of the tent.
“You should think about the kind of statement you want to make, sir,” Sanders said, his voice deep with warning. “This land won’t want to trade one tyrant for another. We need the Shadow brutality for battle, and something tells me the Shumas will make that brutality pale in comparison to the rage they have stored up, but people shouldn’t see that side of them. We should hide them.”
Cayan shook his head. “I’d do the opposite with the Shumas. I’d put them on display. I want people to see the desecration and sorrow in their eyes, and I want people to see that they are fighting back. That they have not been beaten. People need someone to rally around. That someone will be Shanti.”
Sanders sighed. “To speak plainly, sir, I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“So do I.” Cayan scanned the land with his mind again, making sure no one waited in the woods. What he had planned could go horribly wrong. In fact, there were very few ways it could succeed. But they had to try. There were no other options.
14
Shanti rode in silence, staring next to her at an ugly man with a few wicked scars on his face and arms. It looked like someone had taken to him with a sword and then left him for dead, not expecting him to get up and keep going. He reminded her of Tomous. And of Rohnan. And herself.
His shoulders were pushed back and the set of his jaw was defiant as he looked straight ahead, his icy blue eyes unfocused. His fists occasionally clenched behind his back, and Shanti suspected he was pulling at the rope binding his wrists. Her Gift was smothered.
“So you were hacked at by the Graygual, and you thought, ‘I know what I’ll do, I’ll join up with those bastards and help kill people just like me,’ huh?” Sanders, riding on the man’s other side, spat. “That makes a lot of sense. No explanation necessary.”
Ahead of them walked a line of horses and men, following Cayan and Lucius, who led to their next destination and hopefully not their death. They had been right about this man’s range. It was less than half of Cayan and Shanti’s. Cayan was beyond his influence and made sure Shanti rode as close to the middle of the line of fighters as possible. He was too overprotective for his own good.
They’d been at this for a couple hours now, Sanders doing most of the talking. So far, they’d gotten very little out of the man, but what they had gotten was informative.
“So what’s next, then?” Sanders asked. “You hang out with us, hoping for the best, until you can escape and go back to a tyrant who made you look like a cut-up slab of meat?”
The man gritted his teeth. “I have never killed anyone. I make it so no one else can kill with the mind power.”
Sanders braced a hand on his knee in indignation. “Do you actually believe this horse shit?” He shook his head and looked toward the front. “For the first time, I wish that twin of Shanti’s could use his mind magic.”
“You killed the men I was with. How are you any better than the so-called tyrant?” The man’s hand flexed and released.
“Or maybe you’re just dumb.” Sanders’ face went red, an early indication that he was close to losing his temper. “They were trying to kill us, you shit for brains. That’s what it means when scary people sneak up on sleeping people in the middle of the night with a big sword. What would you have done in our shoes? Oh, that’s right, you would’ve rolled over, played dead, and then sashayed right into the enemy’s hands so you could help rule the land.”
The man swung his eyes toward Sanders. His whole upper body flexed, showing an array of muscle along his back definitely denoting the ability to fight. His hands were tightly clenched, clearly fighting his own temper. Shanti couldn’t see either of their faces with this man in the way, bu
t judging by the silence, and the duration of the stare, she bet they were trying to kill each other with their eyes.
“Marc, go get Tomous,” Shanti instructed.
Marc lethargically looked back at her and stared for a moment with dazed, tired eyes. He blinked a couple of times. “Sure. I mean, yes, S’am.” He took a deep breath and turned his horse out of the line before riding to the end.
“You don’t like the truth, huh?” Sanders prodded, anger in his voice.
The man had returned to staring straight ahead, apparently trying to ignore Sanders. Sanders was doing an excellent job of getting under his skin. He was a hard man to shrug off. Poor Junice.
“How long have you been in the army?” Sanders asked.
Silence answered Sanders’ question.
“How many kids did the Graygual kill? Or don’t you care about trivial things like that?”
Muscles flared and fired along the man’s shoulders. The veins in his neck stood out. He was struggling with something, and Shanti bet it was memories.
“Yes, S’am?” Tomous moved his horse in behind her. There wasn’t enough room for more than two horses and one Bloody Bastard to walk side by side on the road. The Bastard didn’t like other animals in his horse bubble.
“Our friend here was taken down by the Graygual, similar to you.” She jerked her head at the man. “Similar to me.”
The man jerked as if he had been poked in the backside. He didn’t turn her way.
“I wondered, if you were chopped down, what would make you join their army?” Shanti asked, always watching the man. Trying to learn from his body and reactions what he wouldn’t reveal with his voice.
Tomous took a moment before he answered. When he did, his voice was dripping with a hatred so intense that Shanti barely kept herself from looking back. “Never. There is nothing that would make me fight by their side. Nothing that would make me help them destroy someone else’s life as they destroyed mine. Anyone who does should die a slow and agonizing death. I’m on hand if you need that done, S’am. Let me know. I don’t mind getting my hands dirty to rid the land of filth like this.”