The journey had been hard on Calsifer’s knees, and he was glad to finally stretch them out before the fire. Araybiatt was a sturdy steed, but a man still used his knees when riding. After seeing the girl Zodie had her tent fastened properly, he gathered a few foodstuffs and mixed them in a cauldron for the men. It was not long before supper was ready.
Zodie had shot a brace of rabbits and already skinned them as she joined the group. She roasted them beside the fire and pulled out a bag of apples she gathered during the day. She and the tiger had taken to riding in the forests to keep the horses from balking and always found better food than he. The first fruits of fall were a little tart on Calsifer’s tongue, but years of scant soldier food taught him to appreciate every bite.
He watched the girl converse with a man on her right as Arrow lay with his head in his paws to her left. She subconsciously scratched behind his ear, and he looked as though he may contentedly drift off. Calsifer thought the brown in her hair made her face a little too pale, as if nature gave her the wrong color, but she was a pretty lass nevertheless.
Prince Nolen joined them and sat to Zodie’s left. He tried to start a conversation with her, but she politely steered the conversation away. Arrow suddenly seemed quite alert with his ears turned back. Zodie looked back to her food, meeting Calsifer’s eyes for a brief moment. It was her look of uncertainty that gave her away.
The bread in his mouth turned stale, and the bowl in his hands nearly slipped loose. ‘How is it she could be before my eyes all this time, and I not see her?’ He knew Princess Robyn as a little angry girl whose look of uncertainty and mute terror betrayed her training in nobility; as the pretty thing on her brother’s arm, shown off at parties, and forced to dance with the lordling boys of noble houses; as the articulate child with eyes too old for her age and a charm that bent the highest nobles. He never expected the girl to have blood on her hands, dust on her thighs, or riding a tiger with a band of marauders.
His sudden realization must have been apparent to her, for she pulled Arrow up and left quickly. He realized he alarmed her, so he followed.
“Wait,” he called before she could slip inside her tent. His knees ached as he limped along and he held out a hand. No wonder her brown hair looked so against nature. “I mean you no harm.”
“Believe me Arden, if I felt threatened, you would be dead.”
“You may know me better as General Calsifer,” he said and stopped, eyeing the tiger that stood with his ears back.
“I knew it,” she said to the tiger who gave a flick of his tail.
“Where have you been these two years? Lady Mage Aisling and Prince Balien had their spies out looking for you. I even returned to Urima Manor to seek you out. Do you know what turmoil the Lady and your brother have been through because of you?”
“I couldn’t return. We feared my location had been compromised when Mage Cordis went missing.”
“We?” Calsifer questioned strongly, his military voice taking over. She flicked her eyes to the tiger.
“What is Cain really doing?” she asked before he could reply.
“Searching for a Mage. That is all I know,” he answered as his calmer voice took over. “You—you do know who Cain is, yes?” His voice fell and he took a step closer. “He is Prince Nolen. Do you remember him?”
Her mouth parted, and she looked towards the fire. “I have not seen him since I was seven. I was spirited away from Kilkiny Palace before he took up residence.”
“You need to return to Anatoly City immediately. I will send Aisling a bird that I’ve found you, but you need to be on your way by morning.”
“Thank you, General, but we will make our own plans.”
“Lady Aisling is the only person holding Anatoly together! Queen Miranda has squandered the money reserves on public relations and forgotten what it is to be a leader—if she ever knew. Squatters from Cinibar take land across the Ellonine year by year while Shalaban lands ships off the Myron Islands. Do you know the Islands fell to them last year? Anatolians on them are enslaved, and I’ve not mustered the strength to free them because Miranda denies there is a problem.”
Robyn looked down at her tiger who kept his eyes on Calsifer. “We are heading north. I should like to stay with the party until they divert, then I will return to Anatoly City.”
“Very well.”
She gave a sharp nod. “Do you remember my warden Mage Cordis?” He nodded. “He went missing on his way to the City. Did you ever hear anything suspicious two summers ago? Vigilantes or outlaws or anything strange on the Cendal Road?”
“I never did. I thought Nolen might be searching for him on this trip actually. Be careful around Prince Nolen. He has a reputation for snapping his temper easily. I’ve heard and seen enough things to know his well-earned repute. Stay out of his path.”
“Thank you, General.” Robyn nodded. As he turned she added, “I’m sorry I let you down.”
“The palace is not always safe, and safe is a relative term.”
Robyn’s shame weighed heavily on her. She had been living the life of ease thinking all was well when people needed her. Selfishly she hoped to linger as long as possible in the cottage with no outer contact, and all this time her people suffered. ‘How could I have been so foolish?’
Gabriel’s warm tiger frame curled up beside her, and she rested her head on his arms. Mercifully, he said nothing after Calsifer left, and when he eventually did speak, it was to ask about Nolen. Robyn knew little of him, and even in Urima Manor stories about him had been few. She knew he had a twin sister and an exiled father. She never considered Nolen was a Mage since when she knew him, he had yet to attain an Element. She furrowed her brow. ‘How could I have overlooked such obvious details?’
By morning she was still glum, but the party continued north and she did not deviate their path. General Calsifer rode closer to her than usual until she gave him a glare that sent him away. The last thing she needed was her cousin identifying her. She still had not worked out his motives, but she was sure they could not be trusted.
They continued north for two days before camping a few miles south from the town of Sabin. They were main producers of leathers and dyes for Anatoly, and even at this distance the air mixed with fermenting smells. After they set camp, Prince Nolen, the General, and a few men headed into Sabin for news and drinks. Robyn had a few hours to herself to rest as Gabriel slept, his breath puffing the dirt before him. Calsifer was the first to return, riding Araybiatt hard into the camp before reining in by Robyn’s tent.
“I’ve word from Lady Aisling. She thinks that Nolen is searching for Mage Cordis’s son Gabriel, and Nolen has mobilized his Air Guard.” He dismounted and let Araybiatt catch his breath. “Have you heard from Mage Gabriel since you fled?”
Robyn reeled from the declaration when his words caught up with her. “Wait…what?”
“I knew this would happen. I thought when we stopped by Urima Manor that Nolen may be looking for the Mage Cordis or his son, or—”
“You’ve come from Urima? Why did you not tell me?” she hissed under her breath.
“It was inconsequential.”
“So Aisling thinks Nolen is after my Gabriel,” Robyn growled and clenched her fists.
“Your Gabriel?” Calsifer scoffed. “It’s been years since you left him.”
Robyn balled her fists at her side. “I never left him. He’s right here!” she whispered and pointed to the ground. Calsifer looked around the trees, peered into the tent, and glanced over his shoulder at the men in camp. “General.” He snapped his head back at her and slowly followed her pointed finger to the golden tiger.
Calsifer met the blue eyes of the tiger unblinking, and his mouth parted. “It’s not possible.”
“It is for a Class Ten Mage,” Robyn whispered. Gabriel put his ears back and sent her a glare. “He needs to know. What does Nolen want with him?”
Calsifer was still looking at the tiger. “Stick your tongue out, and raise yo
ur left paw.”
“It’s him, be still,” Robyn snapped.
Calsifer cleared his throat and straightened his coat. “I don’t know what the Prince wants, but Aisling said he mobilized his Air Guard south.”
At that moment Nolen trotted into camp. Robyn pushed pass Calsifer and marched over to the Prince as he dismounted.
“Hullo, Zodie,” was all he got out before Robyn pushed him square in the chest. He raised his hand at her but decided otherwise.
“I am tired of gallivanting around like a trained sheep. You’re going to tell me who we are looking for and why, or I am leaving tonight,” she snapped. The eyes of the camp were on her now, waiting to see if the man would answer or dismiss her. “I will know if you lie.”
He scanned the men before meeting her eyes. “Do you know the Queen’s Mage advisor, Lady Aisling?” he asked.
Robyn shrugged.
“Years ago she lost a dear friend of hers, a Mage Cordis. We have been following leads all the way to Sabin, and while I have not located the Mage, I believe I found the men who abducted him. By tomorrow everything should righten itself, and you can return to your cabin.” He gave a small forceful smile. The cut on his lip was healing straight. “Now, would you like to push me again and see where that gets you?”
“I think the first got its point across,” she replied and left. As she returned to her tent, Gabriel and the General were gone, but it took only a moment to track their prints far into the forest.
She found them in a small depression in the earth surrounded by old gnarled trees that offered solid cover. Gabriel was in his human form, seated back against a fallen tree, and the General stood not far off, bending his knees with a delighted smile.
“Why are you out here?” she whispered.
“Nolen’s lying,” Gabriel replied. “Calsifer says Nolen and Aisling are enemies. He would never do anything nice for her, and I would be surprised if she told him my father went missing to begin with—it would raise too many questions that would point back to you. We, the three of us, are leaving tonight.”
Calsifer nodded. “I cannot say for sure where the Air Guard is, but I am hoping they are still a day away. This time of day an army would make camp, and seeing as there is no camp, we should be safe.”
Robyn pointed to his bent knees with question, and Calsifer looked in Gabriel’s direction.
“His ligaments needed inflating,” Gabriel answered. He was garbed in his usual black trousers, white shirt, with a pair of sturdy-looking canvas shoes. He could never alter the color of a fiber, but he was deft at finding the correct colors in nature unless he was being lazy, in which all his clothes were gray. “We will head for Anatoly City staying off the roads to avoid the army.”
“You two rest up until then. It will be a long while before we can stop for rest in case Nolen chooses to pursue us.”
“Which of us does he want?” Robyn asked.
“There’s no telling, Your Grace,” Calsifer replied.
Robyn looked at him strangely. No one had called her that in years. “We should retire with the sun.”
“Stay up and have supper to give Nolen no reason to suspect,” Calsifer corrected.
They returned to the camp from different directions at different times, and Robyn suffered through another meal with Nolen, all the while watching him thinking ‘I know your secrets, cousin.’
Gabriel wearily transformed into human form once supper was over, and they locked themselves inside their tent.
“Ready for a long night?” he asked, tightening the band on his trousers with a pattern. He left a shirt unfashioned and instead pulled a blanket to his neck.
“We should have seen this coming,” she sighed, lying back into the blankets.
“I’ve always been too trusting,” he admitted, pillowing his head with a hand. “There is time to talk later. Sleep while you can.” He closed his eyes.
She turned her head to look at him, surprised he had not changed into tiger form, but she said nothing, happy he was comfortable beside her as a man. It was the first time he had done such a thing, but before she could inquire, his breathing changed as he drifted off. ‘Must be nice to fall asleep so easily,’ she mused.
She caught a few minutes of sleep here and there, listening to the noises of the camp. Gabriel slept soundlessly on his back with a hand over his bare stomach. He’d turned a few times, and the blanket was now half-draped across his stomach and hip. She watched the rise and fall of his torso under the moonlight streaming through the tent canvas. ‘His outline looks silver.’ He was as handsome a man as she had ever seen, gentle and trustworthy to match. She could not deny a part of her wanted to call him her own, but she knew she could never have him. He was too great a Mage and she would water his bloodline. Still….
She cautiously reached a hand out to him. Other than massage or a rare embrace, she never touched him, never truly. Ever so carefully she laid her fingertips on his stomach and waited to see if he would wake. When he did not, she gently pulled her fingers across, feeling the curves and dips of his torso until two fingers stopped atop a rib. He had a solid contact, and she had always wanted to feel if he was as strong as he looked. When he did not wake, she dragged her fingers down to his hipbone. It took her a long, distracted moment to realize his breathing changed.
“Woman, you’re in dangerous territory,” he said softly, causing her to jerk her hand back with a squeak.
Mortification painted her face as she put her hand over her mouth. “I am so sorry, I thought you were asleep.”
“That makes it better how?” he asked slowly.
“I didn’t mean to offend—”
“I’m not offended—”
“Can you ever—”
His suddenly sat up, and his whole body tensed. His fingers flicked and sent a pattern out away from camp. “Thousands of men. An army,” he whispered. “It’s just over the next rise. They’re coming.”
Robyn jerked her boots on and strung her bow, and Gabriel grabbed her arm and pulled her around to face him. “I will hold them back if they are here for you. If not, you need to stay with the General and get out of the battle. Either way, run as fast as you can from here.”
“Gabriel, can you fight an army?”
He clenched his jaw and thinned his lips. “I’ve never killed a man before.”
She nodded. “Again, I’m sorry.”
His eyes looked pained and she felt a spike of adrenaline as she expected a damning retort, but before his body changed to tiger form, he managed to get out, “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like it.”
She gaped for a moment as he vanished through the tent flap, feeling her chest clench with longing at this new revelation. For a feeling second she saw her whole world encompassing him if they made it to Kilkiny Palace, and she realized the desire she denied herself could be actualized if he shared her feelings. She rushed after him to ask what he meant, but he was yards away and trotting to Calsifer’s tent.
Outside the camp was still awake. The fire burned high, and Nolen sat looking as pleased as a pigeon. She rushed to the General’s tent and woke him, but Gabriel stuck a paw out and grabbed her leg. Slowly, he shook his head. ‘We’re too late,’ Robyn realized, and thought for certain she heard horses not far off. A crackle in the brush far behind her sent her jumping, and she searched for moving shadows.
Gabriel turned and walked into camp, leaving Robyn in the shadows as Calsifer readied Araybiatt. Eyes looked up as the tiger walked in without his usual companion. Gabriel came to the center, yards off from the fire, and stopped before Nolen. In the span of two heartbeats, he transformed and stood to the chorus of gasps. A few men even turned and ran, certain the veil to the spirit world had opened and revealed a specter.
Nolen smiled coyly taking time to brush himself off. “Oh, there you are.”
Robyn’s face felt cold as the blood drained from it. ‘He knew. He knew all along.’
The men in the camp were silent as thei
r eyes flitted from the Prince to the Mage.
Gabriel folded his arms over his white shirt. “What do you want, Prince Nolen?” That statement got a few titters out of some.
“Ah,” Nolen said and raised a finger. “If I said, I would not get it. So, will you come to Anatoly City with me like a good pet, or will I need to use force?” He reached into a coat pocket and pulled out a large copper band. “This is for you to wear.”
Robyn did not know what the object was, but by Gabriel’s reaction she knew it was something foul. Gabriel threw his hand up with a sliver of light between his fingers and hurled it at the Prince. Nolen jerked his hand back, and it clipped a smoldering hole in his sleeve. He clenched his jaw and bared his teeth.
Gabriel stopped and looked around at the tree line. Calsifer grabbed Robyn’s arm and pulled her up before she could think to react.
“I cannot leave him,” she hissed and realized they were not alone in the forest. From the darkness, men in red coats sifted from shadow to shadow. Some bore a white sash marking them an Officer, but all had blue-and-gray lariats hanging from their left shoulders to state Air Guard status.
Calsifer kicked Araybiatt and cut his way through the men who were not interested in him. Robyn grabbed his shoulders. “I cannot leave him! Take me somewhere I can see him. There,” she pointed to an outcropping of rock. “You must.”
She looked behind her and for a moment caught Gabriel’s gaze. ‘It was him they were after all along.’ The destrier cut to the right, and she lost his gaze to the trees.
Chapter 14
Gabriel studied enough battles to know the majority of them ended when the leader was killed. He wasted no time rushing through the flames of the campfire and hurling a handful Nolen’s way. The slow gather of Spirit energy around him told him there were thousands of men approached, and he focused only on the object clutched in Nolen’s hand.
Cordis once told Gabriel of all the Castrofax and the Mages known to be shackled by them. They were made in half a dozen materials and had different properties, but all damned a Mage to slavery and blocked their Elements. Gabriel had only seen sketches of a few in his books: a black one shaped in a wavy line, a marble one with a point in the front. This Castrofax looked as though it could be any of the other four with its straight continuous line. The fear seized up every muscle in his body. He knew he had to do everything in his power to escape the trap forming around him.
The Castrofax (Book 1) Page 12