Basiyr: Chronicles of Nahtan: Book 6 (The Herridon Chronicles)

by Kramer, D. L.

  Valry smiled, reaching over to put one hand on Hun-Ki's head. She seemed to have forgotten about the food she was holding. Hun-Ki stretched his nose towards it, licking at it and managing to get the last of the meat from her. When Inacia snapped her fingers at him, he glanced at her, then laid his head down next to Valry's leg.

  "Her face was thin, but not gaunt, she was healthy looking," Rial continued after a minute. He paused, trying to remember any other details. "Her nose turned up just a tiny bit, and her chin was rounded a bit, it was definitely a lady's chin, there was a soft elegance to it. You do have her eyes," he agreed. "She had very blue eyes, that was her most striking feature."

  "How old was she?" Inacia asked.

  "About sixteen summers," Rial said. "The same age as Nahtan at the time." He looked back at Valry. "Your mother was very brave," he told her. "I don't know how many times I heard Lord Olorun lecturing her about wandering around without anyone watching her, and she never backed down to him once. I'd seen him make fully cloaked Mo'ani squirm when he started yelling at them, but never your mother."

  Valry giggled again as Tion leaned over and handed Rial the piece of parchment. Rial took it, studying it for a minute, then nodded his head and handed it back. Tion took it, then handed it to Valry.

  "Valry, meet Rena," Rial said.

  Valry wiped her hands on her dress before taking the piece of parchment. She stared at the picture for a long time, then smiled.

  "She was pretty," she said.

  "You doubted me?" Rial asked. He nodded his thanks to Tion, who nodded in return as he put his things back in the pack.

  "No," Valry shook her head, still studying the picture. "What else was she and papa like then?"

  Rial settled back against the wall of the cave again. He told her what he could remember of Rena, then how Kile had begun Nahtan's training there at Valin as they worked to rebuild the hold.

  It was a short time after dark when their conversation was interrupted. Hun-Ki turned his head toward the opening to the cave, growling deeply in his throat. Inacia immediately reached for her bow and quiver while Rial put one hand on his long dagger. Valry crawled back between them, watching the darkened opening. They waited, each one listening for any sounds outside.

  It was only a few seconds later that they heard the first rock hit, then a pause before the second rock hit, a second, shorter pause, then the third and final rock.

  Valry gasped and looked at Rial, her eyes wide.

  "Papa?!" she called, standing up. She put one hand on Hun-Ki to steady herself, trying to balance on her sore feet. Rial and Inacia stood up as well, as did Tion.

  It was just a moment later when Valry broke into a run as Nahtan came around the rocks leading into the crevice.

  "Papa!" Valry jumped into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and nearly knocking him over.

  Nahtan crouched down both to catch her and to brace himself from falling over, holding her tightly and burying his face in her shoulder and hair.

  "Are you okay?" Nahtan asked when she finally let go of his neck. His voice was heavy with emotion and Rial could see what had to be months of anguish fade from his face. "Let me look at you." He touched her hair and face, as if making sure she was there.

  "I'm okay," Valry nodded, crying. "Lord Valin kept me safe. He didn't let anyone hurt me." She wrapped her arms around his neck again, burying her face in his neck.

  Nahtan stood up, holding Valry tightly as she clung to him. He looked over at Rial.

  "Thank you," he told him, his tone sincere and heavy with relief.

  Rial nodded his head, keeping his own emotions from his expression. "I'd say it was my pleasure, but, well," he shrugged. "The next time you want me to tend your brat, let's find somewhere other than a church guard army and Zared's temple to do it."

  Valry picked her head up and giggled at him. She pulled her arms forward and tapped her first three fingers on the inside of her wrist, then turned her left hand, her first finger making a casual outward circle.

  Rial smiled at her and repeated the gesture.

  "What's that?" Nahtan asked.

  "That," Rial explained. "Is how we managed to carry on entire conversations right under Thorvald's nose without him knowing it. She just told me we're all safe now and everything is fine."

  Valry nodded her head. She looked back at Nahtan. "I can teach you," she said. "We can tell each other when it's safe, or when it's dangerous, or which one of us will be around somewhere, or if we need to stay put, or go or anything."

  "You can show me later," Nahtan told Valry, holding her close again. He looked at Rial, then Inacia. "I don't believe we've met," he told her. "Aside from when you were holding a drawn bow on me. I'm going to assume you're the one who walks lightly and knew not to walk through mud or grass."

  "I did that deliberately in case you crossed paths with any of our camps," Rial told him.

  "Inacia," she introduced herself. "I--already know who you are, Your Majesty."

  Nahtan bowed his head to her, then looked at Rial. "I owe both of you more than I can ever repay," he told them.

  Rial watched him for a moment. "You saved my life once," he told him. "We'll consider us even."

  Nahtan nodded. "Gladly," he said. He looked at Inacia. "I'll give you anything within my power."

  Inacia shook her head. "I don't need anything, Your Majesty," she said. "I'm just a hunt trainer who happened upon a little girl that didn't want to be where she was, then stumbled on an arrogant bastard trying to catch up to her."

  Nahtan looked from Inacia to Rial. "I see she's gotten to know you," he said to Rial.

  "Let's make things really interesting and head back to your camp," Rial suggested. "I can't wait for her to meet Lady Takis."

  Nahtan nodded, then paused. "She's...going to insist on paying you back for her arm."

  "She's going to try," Rial said, taking his pack when Tion handed it to him.

  "You were actually able to follow the trail he left, Your Majesty?" Inacia asked. She leaned over to pick up her own pack while Tion gathered Valry's things together.

  "He might as well have posted banners pointing the way," Nahtan told her. Valry had buried her face in his neck and shoulder again, hugging him tightly. "For someone who managed to lose me so fast outside the camp when I let you go, that was glaringly obvious," he added to Rial.

  "She was concerned I was being too subtle," Rial shrugged.

  "I can track pretty well," Inacia said. "But that trail was not obvious."

  "Yes it was," Nahtan assured her. "Especially when you know what his boot prints look like and how he walks."

  "I told you he could follow it," Rial nodded to her.

  Tion sighed and clucked his tongue at them.

  Nahtan glanced at Tion. "Whichever god sent you," he told the boy. "Thank you."

  Tion bowed his head to him, then smiled deliberately at Rial.

  Rial glanced at Tion, then looked at Nahtan. "Don't thank him," he said. "I can, in all honesty, say that boy makes you and I look like complete amateurs when it comes to killing people."

  "Oh?" Nahtan raised an eyebrow, looking from Rial to Tion.

  "You saw the temple?"

  Nahtan nodded.

  Rial pointed at Tion, then went back to gathering the last of their things and putting them in the horses' packs. "I slit a dozen or so throats but all the rest of that was entirely his doing."

  Nahtan raised his eyebrows at Tion, who only shrugged and swung his small pack onto his back then walked over to take Ayita's lead. They'd found some bodies with cut throats, but they'd also found several who looked like their heads had been bashed in or their eyes or throats were clawed out. A number had been burned so badly they'd been unable to tell what had killed them.

  Rial extinguished the fire as Nahtan led them from the cave. Outside with only the moon for light, he could make out Renato's silhouette down the hill. They led their horses down, taking care over the rocks not to lose their foo
ting. He could see the fires from the army's camp not even a league further back the narrow valley.

  "I need you to let go so I can get on Renato," Nahtan told Valry, stroking her hair. "But you can ride back with me." She muttered something against his neck and he tried to get her to lift her head.

  "Let me take her," Rial said, walking over. "Her feet aren't in very good shape, standing and walking are very painful for her." He pulled Valry away and she hesitantly let go. "I'm surprised she managed to run to you, honestly." Once Nahtan was on Renato's back and situated in his saddle, he handed Valry up to him. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder again.

  "This is not going to make riding very easy," Nahtan sighed. He gathered Renato's reins and turned him back toward camp as Rial, Inacia and Tion all swung up onto their horses' backs and followed him.

  Their arrival back in camp was met with excitement and relief. There were a number of new faces that Rial didn't recognize, no doubt alliances made along the way. He had no problem guessing which of the new nobleman was Lord Olorun, however, his similarities in appearance to Kile's too close to be mistaken for anyone else. He also noted Lady Takis standing to one side next to a wild-eyed old man and another man who was rather plainly dressed. She watched him ride by, and he could only guess what she was thinking. He also noted that Sewati was conspicuously absent.

  Nahtan led them toward a large enclosed wagon, and as soon as they drew near, Yenene appeared from the back, then rushed over to meet them, calling Valry's name. With some coaxing from Nahtan, he was able to get her to let go of him and be handed down to Yenene, who carried her inside the wagon while they all dismounted and followed. Tion stayed at the rear, watching and staying out of the way. A woman with dark hair wearing the white and yellow robes of Halona’s priesthood cleared an area around one of the benches for them while an older man holding a crossbow over his shoulder stood further inside the wagon.

  Inside, Nahtan sat on one of the benches near the rear, taking Valry back onto his lap. Rial glanced at the priestess, but she seemed too concerned with Valry to notice the rest of them. A quick look over the man with the crossbow told him he was no immediate threat. Rial leaned against the wall, watching Yenene carefully unwrap Valry's feet. Inacia came up behind him and he looked back at her. He saw her biting at her lower lip again, and had to work to keep from smiling. Reaching back, he found her hand and squeezed it to reassure her. He had come in with them in case Yenene had any questions about Valry's wounds or how he'd treated them. Using a clean cloth, Yenene wiped the dried paste from them, then held the lantern up so she could see. She frowned as she ran her fingers over them.

  "What is it?" Nahtan asked.

  "Valry, I'm so sorry," Yenene looked up at her, then at Nahtan. "She has puncture marks all over her feet," she said. "It's like she was stabbed repeatedly with the point of a stiletto."

  Nahtan frowned and looked at Rial for an explanation.

  "It happened in the temple," he said. "She was like that when we finally found her. I did what I could for them."

  "They're very clean and there's no infection at all," Yenene said, glancing at him. "For one who deals death so casually, Lord Valin, you may have missed your calling as a healer." She rinsed out the cloth and went back to wiping gently at Valry's feet, trying to get an idea of how deep some of the wounds were.

  Valry flinched but tried not to pull her feet away. "Lord Valin's blue medicine helps a lot," she said to Yenene. "After he puts it on, they stop hurting for a while."

  "Blue medicine?" Yenene turned to look at Rial again.

  "Blue stalk fern," Rial replied, then waited for her reaction, knowing what it was going to be. He was even more curious what Nahtan's reaction was going to be.

  Yenene stared at him. "Blue fern is toxic!" she said. "You've been poisoning her."

  Rial glanced at Nahtan when he frowned, noting the tensing of his jaw and narrowing of his eyes.

  "Not at all," Rial replied. He turned to Inacia. "Could you please get her the pouch from my saddle bag?" he asked her. Inacia nodded and turned to go retrieve it. "There's a rather arduous way to prepare it that removes the toxins," he continued. "Unfortunately, you get very little return that's usable, so four or five large fronds will only provide a couple of spoonfuls once it's completed and ground into powder form. It is, however, the best thing I've found to prevent infection and speed healing." He turned when Inacia brought him the bag, and he handed it to Yenene. "That's also how I kept Lady Takis' stiletto wound she gave me from becoming infected and slowing me down from reaching Valry."

  Yenene took the bag and opened it, examining the powder inside. "How did you even think this might work?" she asked. "There's no part of blue fern that isn't poisonous."

  Rial only gave a slight shrug, not replying. He glanced at Nahtan when he cleared his throat at him. "If the occasion ever arises where she needs to know, Your Majesty," he stated. "Then I'll tell her. But for now, it's one of my few advantages, so I intend to keep it to myself." He looked at Valry. "You should take your father's ring," he told her, changing the subject.

  Valry turned and looked at Nahtan's hand as Yenene closed the pouch and handed it back to Rial, then stood to get her own herbs. She pulled at his glove, trying to work it off.

  "What are you doing?" Nahtan asked her.

  "I need your ring," she said. "And Lady Takis' and Mo'ani's too."

  "Valry, those rings signify the ruler of a hold or in my case, the entire kingdom," Nahtan told her. "You can't just take them."

  "I'll leave you to convince them, brat," Rial winked at her. He tapped three fingers to the back of his wrist.

  Valry smiled at him and held her thumb and first index finger together.

  Nahtan watched the exchange of signals and looked at Valry as she finally pulled his glove off then tried working his signet ring off his finger. "I'm really not sure I like you two having your own way to talk," he said as Rial led Inacia from the wagon. A small crowd had gathered outside, waiting for either a look at the princess or word about how she was doing for those who knew her.

  Once they cleared the wagon, Hun-Ki stood up and trotted over to Inacia's side. Rial paused, looking around for Lady Takis. He might as well get this over with, too. He spotted her still standing by the old man, talking to him. He turned to Inacia.

  "This one may get violent, too," he said. "Lady Takis and I do not have a very amicable history."

  "Do you have any friends here?" Inacia asked him.

  Rial considered her question for a moment. "The mutt likes me," he shrugged, reaching down to scratch Hun-Ki's head.

  "Too bad he's my dog," she pointed out.

  "I've never really tried to be friends with anyone here," he confessed. "I have little in common with any of them and my hold is too far removed from any of theirs for social visits."

  "So is there anything I should know about this history between you two?" Inacia asked.

  "She sent several hundred of her Mo'ani to help me secure Valin," he said. "I took them south with me instead of sending them back to Takis when Nahtan ordered a few of us to go clear out the garrison near the villages. Near fifty of them died, and now she seems intent on carving replacements for them out of my skin."

  "I can't imagine why she'd be upset over that," Inacia rolled her eyes.

  "I'm glad someone sees my side," Rial said, walking over toward Brijade and ignoring Inacia's sigh. "Lady Takis," he greeted, bowing his head to her. "I trust you're doing well?" He paused, noting her new armor and the new sword on her hip. Even the stiletto sheathed in her sash was a different hilt. His eyes moved over her, noting other differences as well.

  "I was starting to wonder if we were going to see you again, swamprat," Brijade told him.

  "I was planning on taking Her Highness to Herridon so I could put her on the throne before her father got back, unfortunately her recovery time let him catch up to us." He met her gaze, noting more subtle changes the
re. Out of the corner of her eye, he caught the way the old man rested one hand on his sword, his eyes watching Rial intently. The plainly dressed man seemed to have disappeared. "I notice Sewati is missing."

  "Sewati's gone on ahead," Brijade replied. He caught the muscles tensing around her eyes and mouth, gone as fast as they'd been there. Whatever had happened, there had been a lot of conflict and tension surrounding it. She was also harboring a fair amount of anger over it.

  "That's not quite the story, but I suppose we can leave it at that," he nodded to her. "Can I trust you won't try to stab me in the back?" he finally asked her. "It's been a very long last few months of tending the brat, and I'd really like to get at least a few nights' sleep without having to worry about anything more than the mutt's snoring."

  "I make no promises where you're concerned," Brijade told him. "We still have issues to settle."

  "Yes, fifty Mo'ani, I know," he nodded.

  "I beat the Mo'ani out of you before," she said. "I owe you for my arm."

  Rial paused, debating whether or not to press her on that issue. "I don't suppose I could see it?" he asked after a moment. "I usually kill anyone I've done that to, so I've never actually gotten to see how it heals."

  "Rial!" Inacia's tone was shocked.

  "The Lady's right," the old man next to Brijade said. "Ye are an arrogant son of a bitch."

  Rial looked at him. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure of making your acquaintance," he bowed his head to him.

  "And ye ain't goin' to, either," the man spat at him.

  Everything about the man told Rial he was dangerous. From the way he watched every move Rial made to the way he rested his hand on his sword and position he stood in. The wary alertness in his eyes was almost disturbing, and Rial knew it would be a deadly mistake to underestimate him.