In a flurry of blows, she pushed Kael back, meeting little resistance. A hint of what almost looked to be concern crossed his sharp features now fully visible without the cover of the shadows, lost in his distraction, the blackened surface of his eyes narrowed at her menacingly. “Someone learned how to fight –”
Leyna gritted her teeth as her knuckles collided with his temple. “I used to care if you got hurt.” Another blow to the other side of his face. “But now you can rot with the rest of those corpses, for all I care. You are dead to me.”
Her knee rose up to meet his stomach, caught in his hands before it could reach its target. Pushing down, he lunged at her, meeting nothing but empty air as she stepped out of the way, his own momentum carrying him forward, down to the ground. “Well done,” he spat, climbing to his feet with a smirk. “You should know better than to think you can beat me though, Leyna. If you give up, this could be a lot less painful.”
“And you should know that you can’t kill me,” she evaded another lunge, her heart racing.
“I’m not here to kill you.” Kael’s laughter cut through the night air again, louder than before. “Arcastus wants you. Alive. I’m just here to escort you. It’s your choice whether you go willingly. Either way suits me just fine.”
From the camp, Leyna heard the din of jovial conversation fall silent. It wouldn’t be long now. If she could only hold out for a few more seconds, Kael would be outnumbered, forced to surrender. “Do you really think I’d let you win that easily?” she snapped.
Suddenly the ground slid out from under her feet. The impact of the fall knocked the wind out of her lungs, an attempted scream caught in her throat. Pressure around her ankles bound them together. Something was dragging her. Pulling her along the grass, away from Zander.
She’d let him distract her. How could she have missed the attack? She should’ve known he would try something. The grip on her ankles felt like hands, but cold. Like ice against her skin. Kael moved along in front of her, the tendrils of shadow leading from his fingers to the ground. The same magic he’d used in attempts to go after Zander. If she could get a clear shot at them, it would be easy enough to break free of their hold.
She flattened her palms against the grass, clearing the scattered thoughts from her mind. She needed to focus. There was plenty of time to devise a plan before he could get her far enough away to present any real danger. If she could concentrate, she could manipulate her own force against him.
A thrum of energy tingled down the length of her arms and into the rich Tanispan soil. She felt the grass pulse, responding to the urgency of her command. Infused with new vigor, the blades of grass began to grow, gradually at first, then twisting into thick tendrils of green. They found purchase, pulling taught, Kael’s upper body pitched forward under the sudden tension, breaking his own connection on the shadowy shackles binding Leyna’s legs.
She rose to one knee and drew her sword. “I won’t be taken without a fight,” she stated, her voice calm despite the pounding heart in her chest. “You’ll find me a better match than before.”
Angrily Kael swept his hands across the vines holding him captive, splitting them under the force. Uncertainty remained on his face, no longer confident in his ability to defeat her with the same ease as before. “Maybe I should seek out your beloved Consul to use as leverage against you. I imagine you would give yourself up if you thought it would save him.”
“He would defeat you just as easily now as he did the last time. You couldn’t catch him if you wanted.”
The sound of his sword sliding from its sheath was less threatening than Leyna remembered. She was more prepared now. More skilled in her technique, thanks to Cadell’s training. This time would be different. And she hoped quicker.
He came at her with a frenzy of swings in an attempt to dazzle her and open her guard. They were easy to parry, none aimed toward any vital targets. He was afraid of landing a blow that might end her life. His hesitance was her advantage. He couldn’t kill her, but she was all too eager to end his life. And he was aware of it.
His guard was solid. There was no doubt he was a clever fighter. But even the most talented swordsmen were bound to make mistakes. Fatigue would be her best weapon against him, if her own endurance could hold. She needed to wear him out.
Holding the sword over her head, Leyna blocked another strike as it descended, Kael’s strength forcing Leyna to her knees, arms trembling under the strain. He wasn’t getting any weaker. There was no sign of him even being winded from the exertion.
She needed to be patient. Wait for an error. Once it came, timing would be essential to her victory. He was sure to notice any hole in his defense and correct it quickly. Leyna realized her best chance would be deception. If Kael thought he was winning, his overconfidence might cause him to get sloppy. Make him think he is stronger.
Sinking lower, she embellished the struggle. An arrogant smile spread over his lips.
Her conscience attacked at the most inopportune moment. The opening was there. Waiting for her to strike. Kael’s defense was failing, focused more on maintaining his strength in pushing Leyna down. But why couldn’t she move? Guilt? For the man he used to be? There was no use in mourning the fate of the monster that stood over her now. Any semblance of the old Kael had died alongside Enaes in Siscal.
As if moving of their own volition, her arms took advantage of Kael’s distraction in his seeming victory. She redirected Kael’s sword to the ground, side stepping, thrusting the tip of her blade deep into his abdomen. She felt the pain. Though only in her mind, she cried out from it, driving the sword deeper still.
There was no pain in Kael’s eyes. Despite not wanting to face him in that moment, she couldn’t look away, her insides clenching. “You actually did it,” he wheezed. He sounded impressed. Almost relieved at the cool metal piercing through his body under her hands. Slouching forward, he inhaled, the gurgling noise wretched to Leyna’s ears, her only distraction being the sound of his whispered voice. “I was afraid you wouldn’t do it.”
Afraid she wouldn’t do it? He wanted to die? No. She refused to accept what she was hearing. “I won’t let you put that guilt on me, Kael,” she breathed.
“Finish it,” he hissed. A dull thud at her side signaled Kael’s sword falling in defeat. Shaky and pained, his fingers wrapped over Leyna’s hands on the hilt of her weapon, trying to push it in further. “Set me free.” His voice was a desperate pleading gasp. “Do it!”
The sound of movement came from behind Kael. Too quiet to be the troops coming from the tents. In her mind, she was transported back to the chapel garden in Siscal, cradling Enaes in her arms. It was a horrible sensation. Her imagination was in control, seeing an armor-clad figure rise up from over Kael’s shoulder. It held something in its hand. A dagger. The same dagger which dealt the final blow to Enaes under Kael’s control. This isn’t happening…
Kael’s body lurched forward in a solid jerk from the impact. She saw his face, then Enaes’s, unable to focus on reality. The life was fading from the eyes of the man now lying, deadweight, in her arms, sinking down on top of her. “Kael,” she shook him desperately. “Kael!”
The figure behind him wasn’t fading. But it wasn’t Kael’s foggy shape in her head. The armor of the Prince glistened a brilliant silver in the moonlight, his hands sliding away from the dagger protruding out of Kael’s upper back.
It wasn’t in her mind. Oh, god, it was real!
Through the surreal images playing before her eyes, the sound of footsteps grew closer from the distance. A few at first, rapidly growing to a louder, collective clatter of armored men racing to pull Kael’s body off of her.
She wasn’t thinking clearly. There was some detail – one of great importance – that eluded her. Think! Her eyes darted over the area, straining her memory for what it was. They were carrying Kael away. No! They had to stop! “Put him down!” she shouted. She tore free of the hands holding her, checking her for injuries, oblivious
to their presence.
Doing as commanded, the soldiers paused in confusion. She was in front of them instantly, clawing at Kael’s neck. The amulet. She needed to find the amulet. If it was allowed to be lost, then Kael would’ve died for nothing. It didn’t have to be in vain. Providing them with the amulet would be a great help to his people. In death, he could find some form of redemption. Her fingers closed around the chain there against his skin. She had it! The key to unlocking Arcastus’s weakness.
The round medallion slid out from under Kael’s bloodied collar, landing heavily against her hand. There was no flash of light or swirling shadows the way she’d witnessed in Siscal when she’d seen the amulet for the first time. It was thick. Gaudy. The gems were larger, the surface dim and unreflective in the light. “No,” she exhaled, clutching it tightly in her hand until the edges cut into her palm. “It’s fake! Damn you, Kael, why did you do this? Where is the real one?” she shouted, fists pounding against Kael’s chest.
Leyna was distantly aware of someone pulling her back to her feet. She was in a panic. The feeling of frustration was overwhelming. Why did he have to say those things? It would’ve been so much easier to cope if he’d just continued to be his usual evil self. The one she’d come to expect over the years. And the amulet! Who had the real one?
Another pair of strong arms was pulling her in a different direction. “Your Highness, you need to get back to the tent.” It was Cadell’s voice coming from somewhere close by. They were his hands holding her yet she was vaguely aware of a pair of silver eyes watching her as she was being dragged away. The Prince. Cadell was taking her away from him. “Zander, Varik – see that the men clear this body out of here. His friends might come looking for him. Set up a perimeter. We need to be ready.”
Everything was slowing down again, her senses gradually returning. How could she have let her emotions run away like that? It was one of Cadell’s first lessons to her in their training. Emotions could be the fine line between life and death in combat. And why now, of all times, did those old feelings resurface in her mind? She hated Kael. It didn’t make sense not to hate him for all the pain he’d caused. He killed Enaes! He was a traitor. And she almost let him live.
“I can walk on my own, General,” she stated, her voice trembling slightly from the adrenaline still coursing through her system. Cadell traveled – rapidly – putting distance between them and the men. He was anxious, seemingly desperate to get her as far away from the Prince as possible.
“I will not release you until you are safely inside your tent,” he said firmly. “I failed to protect you once this evening. I refuse to make the same mistake again.”
He was rougher than normal as he pushed her through the flap of their tent, securing it as best he could behind him. She reached up to her helmet, pulling it off, the metal clanging to the ground at her feet. “He wasn’t trying to kill me.”
“No? Because it certainly looked that way when I arrived.”
“He was not allowed to kill me. Arcastus ordered him to bring me alive.”
“To kidnap you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Leyna’s mouth hung open, speechless. She had no answer. It sounded ridiculous, even to her, despite the fact that she was the one trying to argue it. “I don’t know,” she sighed in defeat. “Why did you let the Prince come there? The intention might not have been to kill me, but he could’ve been killed without Kael blinking an eye.”
“I think you are falsely under the assumption of my control over the Prince being greater than it is.”
“But are you not capable of being persuasive enough to convince him to remain safe?”
“He heard the name of the man attacking. There was no convincing him of anything.”
Unhooking the clasps on her armor, Leyna began to slide out of it, anxious to be free of the unnecessary weight upon her shoulders. “What difference does the name make when the Prince’s life is at stake?”
“Do you not think he knows the identity of the man who killed his brother?”
The words came like a punch in the stomach. It made sense. How could she blame him for wanting revenge? She harbored the same feelings toward Damir. Over the years, she’d risked her own life countless times on the off chance of striking him down, but she wasn’t the last remaining heir to the royal throne.
“How did he come into possession of the dagger which killed Prince Enaes?”
“It was found at the scene of Enaes’s murder,” Cadell frowned. “If we’re lucky, his insistence to fight will lessen now that he has avenged his brother. The death of one so close to the heart of our enemy will almost certainly guarantee a large scale attack, and soon.”
“Good,” she nodded. It was exactly what she wanted. To draw out the men working for Arcastus. And if they were lucky, it would draw the lich out as well. “I want Arcastus. I failed to prevent his resurrection, but I intend to be the reason his soul departs this world forever.”
Cadell looked prepared to argue at first, his features tensed, eyes narrowed. After a moment, they started to ease. “You remind me of the young Prince, you know that?” he said. The look on his face gave the impression of irritability while his tone masked a hint of pride at her determination. “You have the mind of a soldier, the heart of a queen for her subjects, and the stubbornness of a mule. May the gods have mercy on Arcastus’s soul when he realizes what he has gotten himself into by challenging you.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Leyna sat in a chair positioned near the front of the command tent, eyes directed down at the floor, concerned. Thoughtful. Zander and Cadell stood facing one another a few feet away, Varik’s slender figure perched at the door, guarding the entry in case anyone happened by. The same questions hung on everyone’s lips, but it was Cadell who chose to speak first.
“Kidnapping is an odd war strategy. There has to be a reason why Arcastus would want the Captain brought to him alive.”
“Maybe he is starting to suspect something,” Zander shrugged. “After Leyna’s first confrontation with him, even the most confident of warriors would start to second-guess whether they had all their plans in order. Given Kael’s history with her, it seems foolish to me that they would send him to bring her back – unless it was done as a punishment. Maybe he admitted the truth and was sent to correct his error.”
Cadell stroked his chin, contemplating Zander’s suggestion. It made sense, though Leyna found it hard to believe it was so simple. If there was a concern of Leyna somehow getting in the way, it seemed more likely that Arcastus would demand her brought before him dead. A live prisoner was too much of a risk.
“Maybe,” she stated quietly, lifting her eyes from the floor without meeting the curious stares of the others. “But why alive? Why not dead? I would be less troublesome to his plans if I was simply – removed.”
“Not if he fears what your death at this point would do to him.” Zander came to stand at Leyna’s side. “The ritual was intended to use the blood of a slain Vor’shai. Arcastus is a skilled sorcerer, but what if he wasn’t prepared for something like this? Have we considered the possibility that even Arcastus has no idea what this blunder means to his magic? He would want to investigate more thoroughly before doing anything drastic. For all we know, Leyna’s death could weaken him. Maybe even kill him. There is no way to be certain what the connection involves.”
Cadell’s eyes were fixed on Leyna, curious. Intrigued by the possibility. “Or do you think his intention was to remove her from the fight altogether? To keep her hostage. If she is a threat, it would make sense for him to find some way of eliminating her from the battlefield without striking her down.”
“There is no way to guess their intentions. These are madmen we are dealing with. Our rational minds could never sink to their level,” Leyna leaned back in her seat. It was frustrating. She wanted the answers as much as the others, but she realized how impossible it would be to obtain them. Without someone who under
stood the ways of Arcastus, they would accomplish nothing but guesswork, and assumptions would never get them anywhere. “The bottom line is that this changes nothing for us. I will not be removed from the fight simply because of a failed attempt at abduction. I need to be out there alongside the troops. If you take me off the field, then Arcastus wins either way.”
Cadell folded his arms across his chest. He made no excuse for argument. Leyna knew he understood her point. They couldn’t afford to lose their captain at a time like this. Not with the possibility of increased attacks. One of the enemy generals was dead. They had the upper-hand. “We need to be more careful then,” he nodded. “If they tried once, they are bound to try again. Our goal is to be ready for them the next time. We will keep more men near you. Try not to stray far when we charge.”
“That is not a promise I can make, General. You know how hectic things get on the field,” Leyna clucked her tongue, discouraged. She was supposed to help the Tanispan soldiers, not hinder them more than they already were with their falling numbers and weakness against the growing army of undead.
“At least assure me you will try. I will attempt to keep close to you as well. Our number one priority should be to keep you out of their grasp. We still don’t know what usefulness your association will be, but if there is any chance that it will benefit us, we need to be attentive. Beyond that, we don’t want to risk losing one of our best fighters.”
“You know I will try,” she said calmly, forcing a smile of reassurance for the sake of Zander and Cadell. They were worried about her. And with good reason. She was worried about herself. There was no way to know what Arcastus would do if given the chance. Kael’s oversight had left her in a very sticky position. One that she wished could be avoided. “I will be prepared if they come for me again. If I notice anything out of the ordinary, I will find my way back to the rest of the troops and take cover among their numbers. For now, that is all I can offer.”
The Myatheira Chronicles: The Vor'shai: From the Ashes (Volume 1) Page 88