Chased by Fire (The Cloud Warrior Saga Book 1)

by D. K. Holmberg

  “Lins Alles, son of Lord Lind. Manor Lord of Nor.” Tan eyed the Athan, waiting for his response.

  “I see.” The stranger’s frown deepened. “But that’s not all.”

  Tan shook his head and laughed softly, glancing over to where Lins had disappeared. “Lins thought to impress an Aeta girl by insulting me last night.”

  “Did it work?” The man’s tone indicated he knew it wouldn’t.

  “She insulted him in kind. He didn’t care for it. I think he blames me.”

  The stranger’s silver eyebrows raised and he chuckled. “That young man needs to learn a few lessons about impressing women. Particularly one of the Aeta.”

  “Don’t we all,” Tan said.

  The stranger’s laugh deepened and he clapped Tan on the shoulder.

  Tan pushed open the door and led the man through the hall. From his frequent visits to see his mother, he knew the way toward Lord Lind’s office. At this time of day, he was likely there.

  “I’m fortunate you know the house so well.”

  “My mother works for Lord Lind. Came here after my father died. Called by the king to fight an Incendin insurgence to the south. He didn’t return.” Tan made a point of looking at the stranger.

  “What was his name?”

  Tan frowned. Why did this man care? “Grethan Minden.”

  The stranger didn’t have the opportunity to question any further and Tan was more than relieved to let the topic drop. As they reached the door to Lord Lind’s room, he knocked firmly, uncertain if the lord would even be in his office at this time of day. Then he’d have to go to his mother to find him. He didn’t look forward to that.

  “Enter.”

  The door muffled the words. Tan swung it open to reveal Lord Lind’s office, intending to leave the Athan and depart; there was still the matter of the hounds and Cobin might take Heller and leave without him. When he turned to leave, the stranger placed a hand upon his back, pressing him forward.

  “Introduce me,” he whispered.

  Tan tried to turn but could not. “Lord Lind,” he said as he entered, nodding carefully. Tan had never presented himself to Lind without his mother present and he was uncertain how Lind would react. Lord Lind’s feelings for his mother might not extend to her son.

  Lind looked up from his desk and stared at Tan for a long moment. Then he looked at the Athan, eyeing his odd clothing and the sword at his hip. “What is this?”

  A nervous sweat beaded upon his back. “This is…” he trailed off, realizing he didn’t even know the man’s name.

  “Roine,” the Athan whispered.

  Tan licked suddenly dry lips. “Roine,” he continued. “He requested an audience with you.”

  Lind sniffed, motioning toward the door. “I don’t have time for this, son.” He spoke with a stern sort of annoyance and waved him away.

  The statement bothered Tan more than it should. “My lord—”

  Lind shook him off. “If you think my relationship with your mother grants you privilege—”

  Tan interrupted, feeling a surge of irritation mixed with anger. Relationship? Tan didn’t think they had more than a passable working rapport, but what if it was more than that? “Lord Lind. He comes from King Althem.”

  Lind glared briefly at Tan before turning his attention to the stranger, seeming to consider his dress once more before dismissing him. “And you believed him? Any simpleton could claim the king sent him. You may go.” He turned back to look at his desk.

  The stranger set a hand upon his shoulder, pressing him back. “Thank you,” he whispered. There was an unexpected mirth to his tone. Tan suspected the stranger had just learned all he needed to know about Lord Lind.

  With a flourish, he pulled a rolled parchment from a hidden pocket, presenting it forward while leaning toward Lind. He cleared his throat to get Lind’s attention. A gold seal was obvious from where Tan stood and from Lind’s expression, he recognized it as well. But it was the ring his eyes lingered on the longest, the mark of the Athan. “I assure you I am sent by Althem,” he said. “He sends his greetings to his loyal manor lord and requests your assistance in this matter.”

  Lind stood and took the parchment. Shaking his head as he unsealed it, he quickly read the words within before looking up and eyeing Roine strangely. Finally, he rolled the parchment back up and returned it to Roine. “I don’t have what you seek.”

  Roine cocked his head and smiled, more teeth than not. “No, I did not think you would.”

  Lind muttered something quietly under his breath.

  “What was that, my lord?” Roine asked.

  “I said I did not think our king has seen this part of Galen in years.”

  Roine shrugged. “Perhaps not. I don’t often know the mind of Althem, but speak as his Voice. He has asked for your service and assistance as I travel through your land.”

  Lind stared at Roine, his eyes darting again down to the ring before answering. “Of course I serve the king.”

  “That wasn’t the question.”

  Lind blinked. “You will not be impeded in your search.”

  Roine frowned. “And that wasn’t the request.”

  Lord Lind took a slight step back at the admonishment. “You will have what you need.” Lord Lind motioned toward Tan. “Take him to Ephra. She can help him with what he needs.”

  It was a dismissal.

  The Athan considered Lord Lind with a mixture of amusement and irritation, before following Tan away from the office. “That was unfortunate,” he said as they made their way down the hall.

  Tan said nothing. It didn’t pay to get involved in the king’s business.

  The Athan looked over at him and chuckled. “You don’t need to fear me. Though your Lord Lind should remember he serves at the king’s leisure.” As they neared his mother’s door, he turned to Tan. “Whom did he send me to? Who’s Ephra?”

  Tan knocked and, hearing his mother’s voice inside, paused before entering. “My mother.”

  The Athan chuckled again.

  His mother sat behind her desk, her pen scratching quickly along a parchment, looking strangely like Lord Lind sitting at his desk. She looked up, glancing at Tan before looking back to her parchment. “A moment, Tan,” she started, then caught herself and looked up again, seeing the Athan as if for the first time. Her eyes skimmed over him, catching on his ring. She raised her brow ever so slightly, such that Tan was not sure he saw it. Had that been recognition in her eyes?

  “What is it?” She set her pen down upon the desk and looked at Tan, ignoring the stranger.

  “Mother.” Tan glanced at Roine. The Athan wore a blank look, completely unreadable. “This is Roine, Athan to the king.”

  “Lord Lind should meet with the Athan, not I.”

  “He did. He requested your help.”

  His mother frowned. “You have already been to Lind,” she said softly, dropping the formality of the title. “How is it you present him, Tannen?” She looked past Tan and at the Athan as she spoke.

  Tan decided to answer quickly. Anything he said now risked angering his mother more. “I met Roine in the forest.” She frowned deeply at him. “I finished my chores this morning and followed the Aeta as they left town. It was along the road to Velminth that I encountered Roine.”

  “The Aeta have already left?”

  It was not the question Tan expected. “Early this morning.”

  “Toward Velminth?”

  Tan nodded again.

  “And you met Roine along the road?” She said his name with a strange inflection. The stranger smiled.

  “My lady,” Roine said, bowing his head slightly. “You son was kind enough to lead me to Nor. I have learned much from him.”

  His mother sniffed and then lightly shook her head before finally laughing quietly. “I am sure you have, Roine.” She made a point of pushing his name with the odd inflection. She leaned forward. “What is it you need?”

  Roine laughed and stepped ins
ide the door. He tilted his head. “Ephra.” He said her name with the same odd inflection. “Your son has been most helpful. He even secured me an audience with the manor lord.”

  “I think as Athan you would have no trouble on your own.”

  Roine shrugged. “I didn’t refuse his assistance.”

  She snorted. “And what assistance do you require?”

  Tan was taken aback by their banter. Like his father, his mother had studied in Ethea. That’s where they’d met. She was a senser, though claimed to have lost much of her ability and never spoke of it. Neither of his parents ever really spoke of their time in the capital, other than to encourage him to go to the university.

  Roine smiled at the question. “I came looking for a shaper, one of great power.”

  His mother blinked and waited.

  “But seeing the Aeta raised a new concern. So it seems I need help.”

  “What kind of help?” his mother asked.

  Roine pulled the rolled parchment he’d shown Lord Lind and set it on the desk. “I have searched for an item. I thought this shaper I knew could help.” He shrugged. “Perhaps not. But to find it, I need to get through the mountains quickly.”

  His mother stared at Roine for a long moment, the silence between them growing slowly palpable. Finally, she took a deep breath. “Why?”

  “I was sent by Althem.”

  His mother shook her head. “Why?”

  “My lady,” Roine began, more to silence her than anything else. His eyes darted briefly to Tan and his mother slowly nodded. Roine shrugged. “There is…an item…that must be found. Everything I can find tells me it will be within Galen.”

  His mother unrolled the parchment and smoothed it out. She studied it and then flipped the page over, giving it more attention than Lord Lind had bothered. “This…”

  Roine nodded. “You understand the urgency. I need to get through the passes quickly.”

  “Why?” She let the parchment roll back up and set it to the side.

  “I don’t think I’m the only one searching.”

  “The hounds.”

  Roine frowned. “Hounds?”

  His mother looked to Tan. “He saw them yesterday. Chased the Aeta.”

  The Athan studied Tan for a long moment. “Then it is even more urgent than I feared.”

  “If Incendin seeks this item and you need to travel quickly, you need someone who knows the mountains well.”

  “Better than me, at least.”

  His mother nodded, a resolute expression coming across her face. “You will take Tan. He’s the best tracker in Nor and knows the mountains better than any.”

  “That’s all?”

  “He has some skill with earth sensing,” she added.

  Roine smiled. “You didn’t send him to the university? Most go for the chance they may be shapers.”

  “I’m not going to the university,” Tan said.

  The smile left Roine’s face. “Your father?”

  Roine couldn’t understand. More than just losing his father. He knew the terms of study at the university. And he had no interest serving the king after what happened. How he’d simply been summoned. Taken from them.

  “Tannen—” His mother met his eyes, pleading with him. “If you won’t go to Ethea, at least do this for your king. You know these mountains better than any and if Incendin searches…”

  “Father knew them better,” Tan said.

  His mother nodded. “Perhaps. But he is gone. And he went willingly. He understood the need to serve.”

  Tan considered refusing but what she asked meant he’d be free to wander the forest. If he could serve the king doing that, would there be any reason not to? At least this way he got away from the city for a while, away from an already-annoyed Lins. Maybe he could stop disappointing his mother, if only briefly.

  He sighed. “I’ll go.”

  She watched him before finally nodding. Turning to Roine, she asked, “How long?”

  Roine shook his head. “I don’t know. A week. Maybe longer.”

  “Prepare for longer, Tannen. You will leave in the morning?”

  Roine nodded.

  His mother stood at her desk. “Then take tonight to gather what you need, Tannen. And be safe.”

  He nodded, uncertain how to react.

  “Roine, a word?” she asked.

  Tan turned and left his mother’s office, pulling the door closed behind him. As he did, a snippet of unexpected conversation wafted through the door. He paused to listen and what he heard left his heart hammering in his chest.

  “I know this must be important if you were sent.” The door muffled her voice.

  “It is.”

  “Your name…Roine?”

  Roine said nothing.

  “Reminds me of the ancient language. Roinay.”

  “Not many know Ishthin.”

  She snorted. “It’s no secret I studied at the university. But roinay? Tainted?”

  “Your point?”

  His mother paused before answering. “No point, then. But with Grethan gone, Tan is the best we have. If what he told me yesterday is true, you face a danger like we’ve not seen in the kingdoms in years.” There was a pause. “Theondar…” She paused again and Tan frowned, wondering why his mother would mention the name of that warrior. “You must protect him.”

  “I will do my best, Zephra.”

  9

  Service and Roots

  Tan sat in his small room, staring at the wall. A small lantern sputtered, the oil already burning out. Had he not planned on leaving, he would have collected more lard oil. The stuff smelled foul and burned with a thick, pungent smoke. Nothing like the clean lamp oil Lord Lind used. Probably Lins, too.

  The bed was shoved against the wall, but still there wasn’t much space in his room. The place his mother managed to secure for him was in the servant quarters. And even then most of the other rooms had more space. They were certainly warmer in the winter than his room. At least with the heat of the summer, his room finally had some benefit.

  A small trunk rested near the end of the bed. Inside was everything else he owned. Not much, really. A few changes of clothes. Some books his father had long ago given him. A necklace given to him when he’d turned sixteen that he never wore. A long hunting knife. His bow hung on a hook he’d worked into the stone, the quiver laying on the floor near it.

  Emotions rushed through him. He should be thrilled his mother asked him to lead Roine through the upper reaches, but he couldn’t help but feel hesitation. The only other time he’d traveled that far had been with his father. And he had nothing like his father’s skill. Besides, going with Roine—the Athan to the king—meant serving the king. Did he really want to serve?

  A light knock rattled the thin door. Tan jumped off his small bed. Other than his mother, he didn’t have any visitors. Well, Bal sometimes, but she usually got in enough trouble that she spent most evenings in the kitchen cleaning.

  Cobin waited for him on the other side. “Gonna let me in?”

  Tan pulled the door open and Cobin stepped in. Since he’d moved into the manor house, he didn’t think Cobin ever visited. Once, Cobin had visited often, but that had been before.

  “Were you gonna come to me?” he asked.

  “About what?”

  Cobin grunted and scrubbed a hand across his face. “About what. You think I haven’t heard?”

  Tan shook his head. He should have gone to Cobin to tell him about Roine. Might be that Cobin would be better to travel with him than Tan anyway, but a part of him really wanted to get away from Nor for a while, even if only for a week.

  “Yeah, I should have said something. When I saw—”

  Cobin grunted again. “When you saw them. After what happened yesterday, you’d think you’d know better. Your pa would have, and I don’t mean that to hurt you, but it’s the truth. Didn’t I warn you about the hounds?”

  “Hounds? What are you talking about?”

 
; Cobin jabbed him in the shoulder with a thick finger. Tan winced. “You went off on your own and killed three wolves. Thought you said it wasn’t wolves you tracked yesterday. You’re the one who got me fired up about the hounds, and then you leave the wolves. Not sure why you felt the need to burn them.”

  “Cobin,” Tan began, backing into the wall, “I didn’t kill any wolves.”

  Cobin’s hand froze in the air. “Not you? Then who?”

  Tan shrugged.

  “Then what were you talking about?”

  Tan slumped onto his bed. “I thought you knew.”

  Cobin leaned against one wall. As small as the room was, he practically filled it with his bulk. “Knew what?”

  “When I went after the Aeta, I met someone.”

  Cobin’s eyes narrowed. “Not sure I like the sound of that.”

  “One of the Athan. Here on behalf of the king.”

  Cobin snorted. “Definitely don’t like the sound of that. Last time we had a messenger from the king—”

  Tan nodded. “I know.” He’d tried not to think about the last time. A letter sent, sealed with the king’s own sigil, asking his father to return to service. And his father had gone, giving everything.

  Cobin’s face softened. “Of course you do, Tan. I don’t mean to keep throwing that at you. Great Mother knows how hard all this must be on you. Wounds still fresh and all.” He looked as if he wanted to either punch him or hug him. Either seemed awkward with Cobin. “Why did one of the Athan come to Nor?”

  Tan shrugged. “Don’t know. He met with Lord Lind and was sent to my mother.”

  Cobin coughed. “I’m sure that went over well.”

  “It was…strange. Almost like they knew each other.”

  “Well, your parents both spent time in Ethea back when they studied at the university. Could be they knew him there. What’s his name?”

  “Roine. Gray-haired. Older. Something dark about him, though.”

  Cobin frowned. “Can’t say I recognize the name, but not that I would. Darkness probably comes with the job, too.” He paused. “Wait—what did he need from your ma?”

  “He needs help getting through the passes quickly. He’s after something—he didn’t say what—and thinks Incendin is after it too.”