Prophecy's Quest

by A. S. Hamilton

  'So let us reach an accord. You release them, you do not risk yourself, and you still get me. They were only a means to get me, so they have served their purpose.'

  Nathan considered the elvan. This was the Sal-Cirus thief! Curtin's idea had worked. What he had to decide was whether to risk his prize against keeping the slaves. The only reason he hadn't agreed to release them, so far, was simply because it was what his opponent wanted. But practicality needed to rule here and despite the fool's over-confidence, he was still dangerous. The warrior, though... She had been with him at Sal-Cirus. In fact, he'd had the slaves for several days with no sign of him, but barely a day after they caught the warrior, he turned himself over. And, he had ridden in on a grey and white horse! That was a significant connection. One linking him to the prophecised saviour. His presence in Sal-Cirus was also connected to extracting the harem, Nathan was certain of that. And this female companion could well be the weakness that broke the rebel before him.

  'The warrior, too, must be freed,' Brynn stipulated, perceiving the Thane's reasoning.

  Nathan did well not to look startled. As far as he could tell, the thief was not able to listen to his thoughts. He glanced at Akileena, the mage had to protect him, his little girl's life depended on it. 'No. The others I will release. Not her.' He knew it was a risk, but in any bargain you pushed the limit up. Even if you thought you would not get it, you asked for it anyway.

  'Ah, come now, I was led to believe you were an expert interrogator, yet you are depending on a female, and elvan at that, instead of your reputed skill?' Brynn goaded.

  Akileena's frown deepened, the rebel mage was good, better than he anticipated. The Thane need have no fear of talented manipulation, the young cub was using psychology. No, Akileena reconsidered, the psychology was not completely independent of talent, but Nathan's mental shields were untouched. He could almost admire the young mage.

  Nathan's face twisted with feigned reluctance. 'I'll release her after you're secure.'

  'You mean in Denas? No, she must go free... now.'

  The Thane stood his ground. 'There is no must. If you want any of those slaves freed, you will do well to remember that.'

  The elvan's eyes narrowed as he weighed up the Thane's resolve.

  Nathan decided it was time to call the elvan's bluff and see how hard he was willing to fight for the warrior. 'Captain, kill the child.'

  'Freeze,' Brynn commanded.

  Nathan's captain jolted to a halt, mid-movement, conscious, but not in control.

  'Now, now, there is no need to escalate this. We are at an impasse,' Brynn purred. His will was filtered by the Thane's shields, but it was still influencing. Akileena's reinforcement of Nathan's shields had dropped significantly due to his exhausted state and because he also had to monitor and shield all the soldiers on his own — a task formerly shared with three other mages. It made controlling the Captain possible. Still, if Akileena really wanted to stop Brynn, he could attack him directly. Mayhap the Debanikay mage saw no harm in allowing Brynn to succeed in freeing the slaves and saving the elvan child. Such an act was not a direct impediment to Nathan's will and Akileena could defend his actions if questioned by his masters. But how far would Akileena let him go?

  Nathan scowled, he could feel the influence the thief was trying to exert, but he knew his shields still protected him, else he would have immediately agreed to the elvan's terms. 'There is no impasse,' Nathan asserted, 'not if you settle for the slaves alone.'

  Brynn sighed softly, as if yielding, and then his gaze hardened. 'You will not kill her.'

  Nathan let his smile show, he had won. He was about to reply that the elvan would soon not be in a position to stop him from killing anyone, and then he realised — the elvan was not bargaining — he was commanding! The elvan had changed his will! The Thane shot Akileena a wrathful look.

  'With Rochester recovering, I am on my own, my lord. Thus, my protection is spread across the ranks,' Akileena defended. 'Would you have him use one of the soldiers to assassinate you?'

  Nathan grunted. 'Find the gods-cursed plane he's using and seal it,' he barked tersely. So, the thief's words had some creditability, Akileena alone might not be enough to keep him prisoner. He turned towards his captain, who was still unmoving, and then looked to the sergeant beside him. 'Release the slaves, but not the warrior.' Nathan turned back to Brynn. 'She stays...'

  Hagen, a human male who had been travelling with Sentary, looked over at Brynn as his slave bracelet was removed.

  'Do not worry,' Brynn sent. 'Help the others. My horse, Sershja will lead you to a safe place to shelter until I can rejoin you.'

  Nathan was snarling at Akileena, 'Make sure he is secure. No more mistakes.'

  Akileena met Brynn's eyes.

  'Do not mistake my letting you get in your command as weakness. Only because she is one of our people, did I allow it.'

  'Why then did you not prove a greater worth and allow me to influence him to release her?' Brynn retorted bitterly, frustrated because Akileena had managed to out-manoeuvre him. Not getting Sariah free would mean a serious and swift re-calculating of his plans.

  'You arrogant child, how dare you sneer at me! You know nothing of the edge I must tread, nor how difficult it is to avoid any misstep. If I falter it is more than my life at stake. You were the one reckless enough to present yourself here, do not blame my competence for your failure.'

  Huffing out his growing anger and any further retorts that might intensify it, Brynn pushed his shoulders back and lowered his gaze. Akileena was right, but his scathing words stung and a part of him wanted to argue. Brynn repressed that voice. Instead, he let his rational, unemotional side take over. He should not be aggravating Akileena, for he needed the mage to make the realisation that Brynn had injured his brother through sincere accident and through that realisation reach forgiveness. It was on this path that Brynn would be able to convince Akileena to trust him. Without that trust, Brynn's plans would not succeed. That Sariah would not get away was a complication, but it was not failure, not yet.

  Brynn made himself look up, meet Akileena's enraged blue-green eyes again and then give him a respectful nod. The Debanikay mage looked a little surprised by the move, but beyond that Brynn could not judge as Thane Kennelm's soldiers closed him in.

  'He is the one, is he not?' Nathan hissed below his breath. 'The thief who attacked the smith.'

  Akileena nodded just once in response to the Thane's questions, lost in thought.

  'You are sure?' Nathan persisted.

  The mage scowled. 'Yes, he is the elvan I saw outside Sal-Cirus.'

  Nathan smiled, regaining his good humour. He was so close to having the Saviour, he could almost feel his throat beneath his hands. 'Good... Very good. Your effort just might save you the punishment for your insolent mood,' he murmured.

  Akileena repressed an outraged retort. Insolence! Nathan spoke to him as if he were a disobedient dog. He thought of his daughter and stifled his fury.

  'Have you sent for new mages?' Nathan asked, oblivious to Akileena's indignation.

  'They are on the way.'

  'How long on their way? Why did they not assist you just now? Can you contain him? '

  Again, Akileena resisted snapping. 'Because, my lord, you said planes-bound assistance was not sufficient and stipulated that they make themselves physically present. I can, however, alert them to be prepared to assist from their current locations and emphasise the urgency of the situation.'

  'Do that! And in the meantime check that I am safe from him.'

  Akileena paused, more to humour Nathan than anything else. Yes, there was a possibility that the elvan thief might find a way to slip around Nathan's barriers, but then the Thane would start acting unnaturally. Nathan started to tap his foot impatiently. Akileena reflected that had the elvan thief not attacked Dematica and Andarin, none of them would be here right now. It was the young fool's fault for so arrogantly pitting himself up against mages of greater ski
ll and experience. That fact did not make him feel a whole lot better. There was nothing for this situation but to salvage what they could. In Akileena's case, that meant his daughter's continued safety. He could not let Nathan find any reason to focus on his daughter. The Thane did not outwardly say he knew how Malithorn Abbarane was keeping not one, but two Debanikay mages obedient, but he hinted at it often enough.

  'He accessed a little-used plane to change your will, one that is usually used to view planes of the past,' Akileena explained. 'I have—'

  Nathan had no patience for the details. 'Can you handle him until the others arrive?'

  By Fate's mercy, Akileena prayed this whole catastrophe was over soon. Almost every word out of Nathan's mouth was offensive, not to mention his condescending manner. 'Yes, my lord.'

  Nathan huffed again. 'See that you do,' he admonished before turning away.

  'You will start questioning now, my lord?' Akileena queried hesitantly.

  'Yes. I will start with the female,' Nathan replied with obvious relish.

  'In that case, I should return to my scouting duties, if that pleases you, my lord.'

  The Thane looked about to refuse.

  'In case,' Akileena added hastily, 'he has brought allies.'

  'As long as you make sure you stay aware of him at all times. I want to make no decisions that are not my own,' Nathan allowed, signalling for a soldier to bring his tool case.

  'Yes, my lord.'

  Nathan sneered at the mage's relief. 'It is but a little blood and a little noise, I cannot see why it bothers you,' he remarked dryly.

  Akileena ignored the inference that because he did not have the stomach for torture, he was weak. He did not want to witness Nathan's vicious nature. Daughter or no, it could prove too much. He could not risk her, or all their sacrifice would be wasted.

  Nathan's voice brought Akileena out of his thoughts. 'I may not be able to kill her, yet you will not spare her from interrogation,' he told the rebel thief.

  His captive stared stoically ahead.

  'All I want to know is where you are hiding this saviour. Surely if he is all your seers claim, telling me how to find him will do no harm.'

  Silence followed his remarks.

  Nathan smiled as he turned towards the warrior. 'I suspect you will answer more readily if it is not you who suffers for your obstinacy, but her.'

  Although his captive maintained his silence, Nathan saw his jaw twitch, as if he'd had to consciously stop himself from speaking. That gave him a sense of satisfaction. They all claimed they did not care, but they always betrayed their concern. It was going to be interesting to see just how long this particular prisoner held out when the screams of his companion filled the void left by his silence.

  Brynn watched Akileena melt into the forest, both free and captive in the same moment. The time away from the camp would give Akileena the chance to explore the paths surrounding his brother's injury. With Fate's favour, Akileena would come to realisation that although Brynn was at fault, it had not been deliberate.

  The sound of metal on metal drew Brynn's attention to Nathan. He was extracting a long metal instrument from a case containing other instruments that would not have looked out of place in a surgery. Brynn suspected the Thane's preference for surgical interrogation methods was due to the pride he associated with inflicting the maximum amount of pain possible without killing his victim.

  This was going to be excruciating...

  It was one of the first things he had learned. Not just how to heal, but how to use his empath talent to intervene and ease the discomfort of patients. It was easy, really, the nerves received the sensation, sent a message to the brain, and the brain interpreted that sensation either as pain or cold, pressure or a ticklish feeling. Brynn intercepted those messages before they reached the brain. Sometimes it was very strange for the patient because they could still be aware of their injuries, but feel nothing. Healing in these situations had to be subtle. He also needed to slow the bleeding and monitor Sariah's pulse, as well as ensuring the brain sent signals to release chemicals to help her deal with the injuries. So much to coordinate! Belon had trained him, though, and there were ample opportunities to practice amongst the rebels.

  He also needed to be careful of Akileena's scrutiny, although he had a feeling that as long as he did not directly interfere with Nathan, the Debanikay mage would not intercede, especially if Brynn's only goal was relieve Sariah's pain. Nathan might feign no interest in Brynn, but he was, actually, quite eager to test Brynn's will. Brynn hoped this meant he neglected his usual thoroughness with Sariah.

  Sariah exhibited no fear when Nathan tossed a metal instrument back into his case and approached. The guards had stripped her armour and left her in her torn sleeveless tunic and undergarments, and even then, only because she had broken two arms and several ribs after she had killed the first outright with a blow to his throat.

  The Thane considered the dead and the injured. Scowling at the men still surrounding her, he calmly said, 'Leave it. Have your fun when she's too weak to repel you. Untie the rope from the tree and give it to me.' Then he added in a scornful mutter, 'Thoroughly incompetent.'

  Two soldiers warily circled around to carry out his command. Nathan used the rope to yank Sariah forward by her wrists to bring her off balance and then delivered a hard blow to her chin with his boot, knocking her to the ground.

  'Bind her ankles,' Nathan directed.

  Sariah surged up, head-butting the man in front of her and then breaking his jaw with her shoulder.

  'Such fury,' Nathan tisked as he wrenched the rope again, this time, with enough force for Sariah hit her knees and elbows hard. Before she could get up and pull back on the rope, Nathan wound the rope about his elbow and hand, then, turning to the side, yanked again. Sariah felt the bones in one wrist pop and knew it had not been accidental. Sariah knew that Nathan was being careful not to let her achieve a position where she was able to plant her feet, because, once she did, she would have a chance to pull him off balance and use his cursed rope against him.

  Nathan tossed the rope over a tree branch above her. 'Lift her until she's just off her knees.'

  Sariah did not continue her resistance. It would debase her in its futility. Now was the time to steel her jaw and wait for an opening to get free.

  Nathan returned to his case, this time retrieving a number of instruments. He moved behind her, but for a long time, nothing happened. Sariah refused to anticipate the pain. Instead, she cleared her mind and began to meditate, just as Riqu had taught her to do if she found herself in a situation like this — although this was her first time putting that training into practice. Eventually, she felt something metal bite into her back. Looking through Kaydyr's eyes allowed her to distance herself from the physicality of the pain. It was not as horrendous as it could have been, but Sariah knew Nathan was not putting a lot of effort into it yet. He would stop soon and question her. When she refused to cooperate, he would bring it all up a level.

  Sentary was free. That was worth all the pain in the realm, even her death, if need be. Although there would be at least one more fight before it came to that. With Brynn to deal with the elvan mage, she would either be out of here before dawn or she would die making sure Brynn was.

  Nathan applied the instrument again, and then a third time. It was only then that Sariah realised he was not piercing her skin and then withdrawing the instrument, each one had been left in place. Surely, if that were the case it should hurt more, shouldn't it?

  Nathan leaned in close to her ear. 'Who is your friend?' he murmured, running the sharp point of the needle-like instrument, feather-light, down her back, making her shiver involuntarily.

  Sariah closed her eyes. She would not give him the satisfaction. She would never grant him the pleasure of her pain. It was her pain. And she would keep it.

  Akileena felt regret that he had not allowed the warrior to go free, but it was too risky with either Colnba or one of his mages m
onitoring the planes. The senior mage was very skilled in setting alerts on paths that would bring breaches to his attention. If Akileena thought about rescuing his daughter, those thoughts changed the paths of his daughter's future and those changes set off Colnba's alarms. This prevented the need for Colnba to continually breach the personal barriers of mages. It was also why Akileena could not allow the elvan thief to directly infiltrate Nathan's barriers.

  The mage turned his mind to his brother. He had been angry, enraged, actually, about the attack on Andarin. Now that he had calmed, he realised that there was truth in the elvan thief's words. Dematica had probably asked for it, fought on regardless of the odds. Dematica hated the rebels enough to fight that fiercely and recklessly. Andarin had tried to protect their unwilling ally, not realising the danger he placed himself in.

  Akileena could still feel the tearing, wrenching horror that had consumed his brother in his last moments of consciousness. He thought of the elvan thief's advice to look to the paths of the past to discover what had happened to Andarin. He had only sought the paths of his brother's essence in his search for him on the planes, it had not occurred to him to seek past paths. Would it hurt to travel those paths? He knew where Andarin's physical body was, knew him to still be in a coma, but it would give him great peace of mind to locate his brother's spirit and see if he could start to heal him.

  As he walked, Akileena gave over part of his attention to those planes. At the same time, he moved to a plane where he could perceive the warrior and the thief. He became aware of her suffering and he winced. Nathan had started. Then he thought he sensed another presence sending a feeling of comfort — an empath. Being the daughter of Riqumorgia, Akileena was not surprised that an empath had interceded to ease the blind warrior's suffering. Any parent who had such resources would use them. This empath was using their talent very subtly in order not to be noticed and something about their technique reminded him of the lessons once given to him by the may-en-ghi many turns ago, before his enslavement. He missed it, being one with them. When you trained with may-en-ghi you linked into the entire community. At any time you could tap into the communal mind and know what everyone was doing, how they were, where they were, and yet be free to have your private thoughts if you willed it. The entire community could offer comfort, or encouragement, or, at times, reprimand if it was needed.