“You’ve heard of it?” Maya continued. “The purple army? Slick, sly, stealers of men, women, children, babies… They kill the weakest first—that’s their greeting—and then they kill the rest, except those they decide to carry off, usually the strong men, kids, and young women. No place is safe from those Frakkers—Frakkers, that’s what we call ‘em. Most folks call ‘em Arrans, ‘cause of the lies, but we Shadow Children know the truth.”
“That they aren’t Arrans,” Tori said.
Maya nodded. “Sadly, they’re all Destaurians. Sometimes the same captives from the last raid, leading the next raid. But their minds are darkened. They’re nobody’s family and friends anymore.”
“How did you find out the truth?” asked General Valeriy.
“Our leader, Mascarin, tells only the truth, and he’s known the longest. It’s plain, if you follow their tracks like we do, that these purple warriors have never crossed into Arra. Until recently.”
“Until recently?” Jaimin asked.
“Yes, Your Royal Highness. That’s why I’ve come—to warn you. The purple army has been here a couple of times: in and out, and they’ll be back. They’re set on attacking your kingdom. I’m here to offer my knowledge, my skills, and my life should it come to that.”
Jaimin was amazed at Maya’s courage. This young girl was offering her life in service to a foreign kingdom. And from the confidence in her voice, the steadfast look in her eyes, and his own gut feeling, Jaimin knew she was completely sincere. “Why would you do that for us?” he asked her.
“I want no more innocent blood spilled,” Maya said. “And you’ll have no chance if the Frakkers catch you unprepared.”
Nastasha spoke up: “When does this purple army plan to attack?”
“They’ll arrive in a few days and surround you, but they’ll wait to strike, I suspect, until the moon is closer to new.”
“What about Princess Eleonora?” asked Nastasha.
“I’m sorry. What do you mean?” Maya asked.
“Does Princess Eleonora have a hand in the purple army’s actions? Is she being controlled too?” Nastasha asked.
“We don’t think so,” Maya said. “Our princess has proven to be gracious and generous to the common people, even if it means disobeying her father. I like her and I trust her. I hope I’m not wrong.”
“Where is your Princess Eleonora now?” Jaimin asked.
“Here, I thought, in Arra. Among our captives, isn’t she? Healing their wounds? That’s the talk. They also say she heals your wounded. Boy, if that’s true she’d better watch her back.”
Elaina had been in the hall the whole time, seated in the shadows in a gallery along the eastern wall. She arose and approached. Maya’s eyes grew with awe when she saw Elaina, and she collapsed into a curtsey. “Your Highness.”
“I’m the healer they speak about,” said Elaina. “But I’m not your Princess Eleonora. I’m her sister.” Maya’s jaw dropped.
“Please, Maya, sit with us.” Jaimin said. “You’re welcome here. Rest from your journey and tell us more.”
They had Maya sit at the far end of the table, opposite Jaimin. Servants set out food and water for her, which she would not touch until much later. Her mission was too important for her to waste time eating.
Alethea summoned the Audician generals and the Celmarean exiles. The Celmarean exile Makias, Princess Alessa’s boyfriend, was the first to arrive, as he’d been waiting in the corridor just outside. The others arrived a few at a time, and soon the hall ran out of seats as Maya proceeded with her story.
“The purple army is based in southeast Destauria—out in the desert,” Maya explained. “They launch their raids from there. They always stay just out of view of the army—you know, the regular army. And that view, of course, is set by Radovan and his masters.”
“What sort of weapons does the purple army have?” asked General Valeriy.
“Single-fire crossbows, throwing knives, stars, rockets, grenades… But they also use an exploding gel with residue that burns for hours afterward. They enjoy watching people burn. Their technology won’t surprise you, but their skill with it, and their sneakiness will.”
“How do they move about?”
“Horses, wagons sometimes—but mostly on foot. They are unstoppable and almost undetectable on foot. Like ghosts.”
“And their communications?” asked the general.
“Communicators on their collars, though it’s no frequency we can figure out. They have mobile relays set up on wagons. They’re experts at finding the best places to set their transmitters up. And they also hide antennas in the trunks and branches of trees. We break ‘em when we find ‘em.”
“What about your Shadow Children?” Jaimin asked. “How many fighters are with you?”
Maya seemed tickled by the question. “We can fight well enough, but we’re no army. Many are younger than me. What we’re best at is spying and sneaking around—beating Frakkers at their own game, we say. For some it’s a secret second life. Others are orphans, or they’re runaways, like me, working full time for the cause. Mascarin’s our leader, our founder, and the only person ever to escape the Frakkers’ grip. Today he’s aiming to sneak into the southernmost Frakker camp, where the soldiers are bred. Bless his soul, he’ll have to escape again, but I believe in him.”
“Did you say the soldiers are bred?” Nastasha asked.
“Destaurian women captured in the raids are gotten pregnant—we think in this camp where Mascarin’s headed. Their children are trained from birth to be killers. We’ve seen ranks of children training—all diff’rent ages. It’s awful sad. Anyway, if—when—Mascarin makes it out of that baby mill, he’ll have information we can use.”
“My sister, Eleonora, is being held captive in the desert,” Elaina told Maya.
“Oh, my…I’m sorry,” Maya said. “She’s about to birth, you know.”
“We know,” said Elaina. “She’s in a square cell beneath the ground, with a single opening in the ceiling for light and air. Do you know any place like that?”
“Oh yes. That’s not a camp—it’s just a tiny outpost. And it’s far. To get there from here could take days. And then there’s the trick of avoiding the patrols. Gosh, how’d she wind up there? Someone wants her out of the way. She can’t birth there. We’ve got to rescue her.”
“We will,” Jaimin said. “And you can lead us there.”
It was quite late when the allies paused in their questioning of Maya, and Queen Alethea ordered everyone to get a few hours of sleep. Maya was shown to a guest room, where she fell asleep in her dirt-stained white cloak on top of the covers.
The sun came up, casting an orange glow upon the lip of the opening in the ceiling that was Eleonora’s only window to the world. Her heart was pounding. She’d been awake for an hour already. The funk of her husband’s rotting corpse still pervaded the room.
But it wasn’t her husband’s murder that had her agitated now, nor was it her father’s betrayal.
Her contractions had begun.
CHAPTER THREE
Maya answered the door. It was Alessa, delivering a fresh outfit. Maya curtseyed. “Your Royal Highness.”
“Good morning, patriot,” Alessa said. “We need to get going soon. Why don’t you give me your cloak and armor? I’ll have them cleaned over breakfast.”
“I would never ask…” Maya said.
“No need to ask. Here. I’ve brought you an outfit.” Alessa handed her a pair of black leather pants decorated with thick embroidery, a white blouse, a belt, fresh underclothes, stockings and shoes. As Maya looked the new garb over, Alessa strode in to the bathing chamber and started the bath for her.
Maya followed her. “The clothes are real nice. Thank you.”
“Keep them. They are yours now.”
“What? Oh, gosh. Thank you.”
“Anything else you need, just let me know. I was caught up in a war when I wasn’t much older than you. I know how much easier it
is when you have someone looking out for you.”
“Who was looking out for you?” Maya asked.
“My sister.”
Alessa handed Maya’s armor and cloak off to a servant, and sat just outside the open door of Maya’s bathing room. While Maya bathed, Alessa filled her in on all the important events of the past few weeks in Arra.
“Thanks for trusting me,” Maya said, emerging wrapped in a white towel.
“I’m pretty good at telling when people are trustworthy,” Alessa said. “And you, my friend, are honest and loyal.”
“I wasn’t when I was smaller,” Maya said. “But I learned. War changes you.” She dropped her towel, sat on the bed, and started putting on her underclothes, without a hint of shyness.
“You’ve killed before,” Alessa said. “One or two people, I would say.”
“Is it that obvious?” Maya said.
“Frakkers?”
“No,” Maya said. “Drunken idiots from the dirty quarter. It was night. I was out alone on surveillance. There were two of them, and before they could get a taste of me, I gave them a taste of my dagger. I’ll never forget how that felt. On one end of my dagger: my hand, and on the other, someone’s beating heart.”
Alessa and Maya stared at each other for a moment, sizing each other up. Each knew the other was a survivor who had seen and done things no good human should have. “You’re good, y’know,” Maya said, breaking the silence. “I never even told Mascarin about what happened. And you can tell I’ve killed people just by watching me get dressed?”
“Yes, I can,” Alessa said. “Where did you put the bodies?”
“Just left ‘em there. Someone found ‘em in the morning.”
“Well, my dear,” Alessa said, “you’ll have to judge for yourself whether you can trust me. You’ll find that you can.” She helped Maya put on her outer clothes, and then handed her a brush to use on her wet hair.
Maya and Alessa met up with Jaimin and Elaina in the corridor, and they all went in to breakfast. Nastasha, General Valeriy, Queen Alethea, and Princess Tori were already in the dining hall, where they had been discussing the country’s quandary for quite some time.
“If anyone has not heard,” the queen announced after all were seated, “Princess Eleonora is in labor. I would implore you to pray for her protection. As long as the child is within her, Eleonora is an asset to Radovan and he will keep her alive to use as bait. But once the child is born, she may become expendable to him. The contingent to rescue her must depart this afternoon.”
“Who will go?” Jaimin asked.
“We shall send two groups,” said Alethea. “A scout group of seven of our best fighters, who will ensure the path is secure, followed by Elaina and her protectors. Rescuing Eleonora, of course, is only the first step. Eleonora and Elaina will then travel together to the Destaurian capital, where Nastasha will meet them with the poison she is preparing. Elaina and Eleonora will then carry out their plan to poison, and then to heal, Radovan.”
“Nastasha will go separately?” Jaimin asked.
“Yes,” said Alethea. “She needs more time to prepare the poison. Don’t worry, she will not travel unguarded.”
“She’ll need the Shadow Children’s help to avoid the Frakkers in the forest,” Maya said. “I can point her to one of our posts. And if you send two groups east, both of ‘em need to be well armed. The Frakkers have many patrols, and there ain’t much to hide behind out in the open desert. Their patrols will find you. You just need to hope it’s a small patrol and you can beat ‘em.”
“I’ll go in the rear group with Elaina,” Jaimin said.
“You’re needed here,” Nastasha said. “If Arra comes under attack, the people must see you standing in their defense.”
“Jaimin must go on this treacherous journey,” Alethea told Nastasha. Nastasha looked puzzled—clearly this was a change in plan from what she and the queen had just discussed. “Elaina will need him by her side. The Audician forces and the Celmareans have agreed to stay here in Arra to help defend us, and your father and I shall lead them against this purple army.”
“Understood, Your Majesty,” said Nastasha.
“Jaimin will be Elaina’s escort, along with Princess Alessa, Marco, Captain Rosner and two fighters, Makias, Maya, and Watnik the Falconer. Ten will be in the rear group—no more,” the queen said.
Over the first course of the meal, they discussed what route the rescuers would take, where they might camp, and how they might free Eleonora.
Just after the main course, Queen Alethea took Elaina away on an errand. They rode in a coach from the castle to the hastily constructed camp where most of the Destaurian prisoners were being held. The camp was in the “tall forest,” near the western post, downslope from the city.
“My mother told me I should not seek out the tutor—that others would seek him out,” Elaina told Queen Alethea as the coach bumped along.
“She’s right,” Alethea said. “Your task should be healing your father. Once Radovan is healed, he can help us purge the evil from the tutor.”
Hundreds of bruised and ragged prisoners of war had been made to assemble for an announcement. Above them, the forest’s bare branches gyrated in the persistent breeze, casting bold shadows onto the crowd. The queen and Elaina, under heavy guard, stepped up onto a platform. Both wore weighty armored cloaks down to their feet.
“My brothers, we did not want this war,” the queen proclaimed. “Nor do we have any quarrel with you.” Now she had the prisoners’ full attention, and there was total silence, apart from the wind.
Alethea went on: “You came here seeking the marauders in purple who descend on your neighborhoods with fire, killing those you love, reaping for their own that which you hold dear. But hear this: those you seek are not Arrans. They are our foes too.”
The prisoners listened, motionless. Some had their eyes fixed on Elaina, thinking that she was Princess Eleonora, and a prisoner herself.
“Surely you know this,” Queen Alethea continued. “The wise among you take heed. The few witnesses to these raids—have they not described the assailants? Over these days when you engaged us on the battlefield, in our forests and in our cities, have you found us to be as cruel as these legendary raiders? Do our bombs cover you with a fire that cannot be extinguished? Are any of our uniforms lined with purple? Have we not treated you well? Forgiven your blind error?”
“Again I say: this purple menace is real, but it is not Arra. The time is near when we, Arra, shall engage this very real purple army in battle. Any of you who will help us resist we shall provide a sword, bow and strong shield. And you may have your freedom. Let us join forces to rid our lands of these destroyers.”
She paused to let her proposal sink in. “Speak not now,” Alethea continued, “but when the time comes. I give you now your princess.”
Elaina rose to address them. She recognized some in the crowd at once. Many she had healed—bound with—and when she made eye contact with these there was a flood of understanding and friendship. “Many of you know in your hearts that I speak the truth,” Elaina said. “And what the Arran queen says is also true. Arra is not the enemy.” She kept it brief lest her accent give her away. She didn’t feel right having them think she was Eleonora, but the queen hadn’t lied: Elaina was technically a Destaurian princess.
“Why not release us now?” one of the prisoners shouted. “Let us return home.”
The queen answered: “I fear you will not make it that far. The purple army is close.”
The same man addressed Elaina: “Your Highness, you must intercede for us.”
“I have, my friend,” Elaina said. “That’s why you’re still alive.”
A steady westerly breeze, smelling of snow, whistled through the orange-lit royal stables. The desert nights were bound to be frigid, and those going on the journey hoped they had packed enough warm clothing. Elaina had requested to ride in a coach for the first leg of the trip, so that she could try to co
ntact Eleonora one more time before she switched to riding.
“What does it do?” Elaina asked. A charcoal grey pellet rolled and spun in her open hand. Jaimin held his pellet nearer to the light to get a closer look. It was dark flecked, with what looked like tiny tufts of hair breaching its hard-packed form in places.
“I’m truly sorry,” said Nastasha. “They are ugly, and I’ve not had time to test them, but I felt I had to send you off with them. The formula is from Nurse Isabel’s journal. The ingredients are from the thought-blocking potion, only I concentrated them and packed them into a pill. I can’t say for sure whether your bodies will reject them, how long they will last, or whether there are any side effects, but if you are captured these may help you shield your thoughts and intentions from a mind attack. There aren’t enough for your whole group, just three. Keep them in these cases.” She handed out tiny brass boxes to Elaina, Jaimin, and Alessa, to contain the pills.
“Do we chew it or swallow it?” Alessa asked.
“If you need it to work right away, chew it.”
Soon afterward, a servant arrived, carrying something long wrapped in a rich cloth striped in gold and azure. Jaimin called Nastasha over.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“A gift for your upcoming birthday, but I thought you might need it sooner,” Jaimin said. Elaina and Alessa stopped what they were doing and came to see.
“My birth…oh,” Nastasha said. The servant knelt before her and held out the long, wrapped item. “Oh, Jaimin, I certainly didn’t expect this. I’m honored, really, I mean.”
“Go ahead,” he said. Nastasha easily undid the three golden bows that bound the cloth and slid her hand beneath the folds of the fabric. Her fingers grasped leather and metal, cold…rough… The servant pulled back the cloth, and Nastasha quickly recognized what she was holding as an artifact of inestimable value.
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