The thought trailed away unfinished as she watched Steve and Haldorum vanish into the spectral depths of the portal. Standing alone, she remained there for a long time afterward, praying with all of her heart, and hoping God was listening.
They all emerged in a back alley of what was once truly the imperial city of Rajasthan. But things had changed over the last eighteen years. Now the air in this once coveted part of the city reeked of rotting garbage and urine, and the shuttered windows on the second story dwellings rarely opened save to add to the spillage below. No one was about at this early morning hour, the residents of this part of the city likely not to rise for a few hours yet.
“Come on,” Haldorum said without hesitation.
“Where are we going?” Steve asked.
“We are going to find the innkeeper, Thubin, at the Gray Lady. We will put up there until nightfall.”
Haze frowned at that. “Are you sure that is altogether wise?” he asked. “That little man’s loyalties only run as deep as his client’s purse, you know.”
“Not to mention we have several key personnel of the Resistance among us,” Lurin added. “I am sure Thubin could collect a handsome profit for our skins, if given the chance.”
“You need not worry about our portly little friend,” Haldorum assured them. “He can be trusted—for as long as we will need him, anyway.”
The discussion resolved, the old wizard led them through a maze of obscure alleys and narrow back streets, little known and even less used by all but the most local of residents, as they avoided the cobbled byways where they were most likely to run into members of Azinon’s elite guard. The clip-clop of their horses hooves were the most prevalent sounds as they picked their way among the indigent and destitute, many of which claiming only a small section of wall as their home, making their day-to-day living by begging or stealing. It seemed as though the penniless, living in a city ruled by evil, didn’t stand a chance. Steve was beginning to understand why Haze and Lurin were so wary of everyone within Rajasthan; in such a place greed and treachery was as commonplace as bread and water, as they were essential to survive.
Much to Steve’s surprise, Haldorum finally led them out of the alleys and onto one of the main cobbled streets. Directly across the street stood the inn of the Gray Lady.
The old wizard drew up and tied his horse to a nearby post, and all but Steve did likewise. To Lojur and Rabal the old wizard said, “Remain here with the horses and dissuade any interested citizens from stealing them.” The two half-brothers only nodded and Haldorum went inside.
Steve dismounted from Kayliss, feeling certain the two grim-looking brothers would have no problem enforcing their edict. He followed Haldorum into the inn with Kayliss only a step behind. Old smoke and sour ale hung heavy in the air of a large central room supported by four square oak pillars and dominated by a dozen round wooden tables. There were but a few windows in this place, small in size and situated in the walls so that the sun never shined directly through them. The ceiling was high set and lanterns hung from the rafters in twos, most of which presently extinguished, but would burn later in the evening when the crowd returned. The floor of the inn buckled in a few places and squeaked loudly with passing weight; and tables and chairs lay scattered about in one corner, evidence of a brawl the previous night.
“Nothing like showing a little pride in your establishment,” Steve remarked sardonically.
“Believe me,” Kamarine said as he righted an overturned chair and took a seat. He then propped his feet up on a nearby table, “I have stayed in worse.”
“I will vouch for that,” Lurin grinned.
Kamarine laughed and nodded his agreement. “Yes, you can at that! Remember, woodsman, the time we—”
“Gentleman, we do not have time for anecdotes or sea stories,” General Corbett interrupted. To Haldorum he said, “See if you can find the innkeeper and secure a few rooms. And remember, all of you, no names or titles while we are here. The less we are seen or heard the better.”
The general’s eyes moved to Steve but the young man quickly cut in with, “I know, keep Kayliss in the room and out of sight so he doesn’t draw any attention.”
Satisfied, General Corbett only nodded.
It appeared as though everything was ready. All they could do now was wait.
It did not take Haldorum long to strike up the arrangements with the innkeeper, Thubin, his bonhomie personality seemingly at odds with his duplicitous reputation. Lojur and Rabal led the horses to a stable behind the inn with a convenient second exit that emptied into the back alley. The bald little innkeeper put them in rooms on the second of his establishment’s three floors—at insistence of the old wizard in case any of them should need a swift exit through the window. With all these cautious preparations, Steve couldn’t help but start to feel a little paranoid himself.
They split up into three rooms with Steve, Kayliss and Haldorum in one; Haze, Lurin, and Kamarine in the second; and Lojur, Rabal, and General Corbett in the last. Haldorum suggested they all try to get some rest until sunset, rotating the watch in the tavern below every three hours.
Steve went straight to one of the beds as Haldorum closed the door to their room. After so much time on his feet, he was beginning to feel the symptoms of exhaustion. Kayliss took a place beside the bed and Steve let one of his arms drape over the side to rest across the great tiger’s neck. In a few seconds he was fast asleep.
He woke sometime near midday to the sounds of raucous voices filtering up through the floorboards from the tavern below. Sunlight streamed in from the window, and along the opposite wall Haldorum sat on his bed cross-legged, back propped against the wall and meditating. Steve came to his feet and Kayliss rose expectantly, but the young wizard put a finger to his lips and motioned him to stay put. The tiger growled his displeasure but returned to his place beside the bed. Steve then wrapped his cloak about his shoulders and left the room, closing the door quietly behind as he went.
He continued down the hall and the closer to the stairway he got the louder the voices became. He moved down the stairs with a slow steady walk, remembering the advice given about any sudden, tense or unusual movement serving to draw undue attention. Before he had even reached the last step he spotted Kamarine amidst the crowd of drinkers and brawlers, sitting at a table with his back to the west wall. To Steve’s left a couple of men were arguing loudly, and looked ready to come to blows, so he gave them a wide berth on the way to the assassin’s table.
Serving wenches moved around Steve as they went from table to table with fresh tankards of ale and other stranger smelling brews, dodging the probing fingers of the drunken men and stepping over those passed out on the floor.
“Come to join the party?” Kamarine asked as Steve seated himself.
“I hear it’s the place to be.” Two men near their table jumped up suddenly with their mugs in hand and crashed together before wrestling each other to the floor. Their ale splashed Steve as they went down and the young man wiped a hand down his face saying, “At least the drinks are free.”
Kamarine laughed and handed the youth a bar towel he snatched off the arm of a passing serving wench. “That happens now and again,” he said. “We had better get you a drink.” He gestured with two fingers high in the air and after a moment a woman in her late twenties with long, dark hair and perky breasts appeared at their table. “Get my friend here whatever he wants.”
She looked to Steve in question and he said, “Water is fine.”
“He means ale!” Kamarine interjected loudly. “The stuff here is so watered down that it might as well be water. Now be quick, woman!”
She looked to Steve for a moment longer but scampered off at a trot when Kamarine spanked her bottom. When she was gone the assassin leaned close, “The idea is to fit in, Commander. If it is water you want there is a side door across the tavern with a pump just outside.”
The serving maid returned not long after with a mug of ale and Kamarine tosse
d her a single copper coin in payment. Again she hesitated; however, she scampered away when Kamarine moved to spank her again.
“A rather unhealthy interest in you,” the assassin pondered aloud as he watched her go.
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous,” Steve said.
Kamarine shrugged and sipped once from his tankard, though he feigned a larger gulp to blend with the rest of the rowdy drinking crowd. “Our enemies do not always where the black uniforms of Azinon’s guard.”
“And they are rarely as pretty.”
“That is true,” Kamarine replied with a wry grin and a twinkle in his eye. “That is very true.” The assassin then wiped his mouth on the edge of his sleeve and leaned back on two legs of his chair. “You know,” he said, “you are very fortunate. You are in a very unique position that could put you well ahead if you play your cards right.”
“Sure,” Steve said with a sardonic nod. “All I have to do is help the Resistance defeat an army of men and monsters, then survive a battle with a more powerful, more experienced sorcerer.”
“But think of it!” Kamarine said coming forward in his seat abruptly. “Look what is to be had if you succeed! All of Mithal will hail you as the greatest hero in the history of the world. Your victory will be legendary! Your spoils a beautiful Jisetrian bride, and the Emperor will surely grant you a kingdom to rule as your own.”
Again, Kamarine leaned back in his seat and smiled knowingly. “Aye, Commander. You have much to look forward to.”
“I suppose so,” he admitted. In his heart, however, he knew that outcome was only one of many—and it would be far more difficult to achieve it than the assassin made it sound. Presently he had yet to fulfill a single prediction laid out by the prophecy, and Steve balled his fist at the thought of his current failure to stop the plague.
“You know what I wanted to do before all this?” Steve asked him. “I mean, back on Earth – before I came here.” Without waiting for an answer he said, “I wanted to become an astronaut. Maybe even the first man to set foot on Mars.” Steve smiled at the thought of seeing himself actually accomplish something most people stopped dreaming about as children.
Kamarine waved a hand in front of the young man’s starry-eyed face.
“Hello? Are you still with us? What is an astro… whatever?”
Steve laughed. “An astronaut; it’s Greek for star sailor.” He pointed a finger toward the sky. “Out there are other planets revolving around the sun. On Earth we have the technology to travel beyond our world to those places.”
“Whatever for?” Kamarine said outlandishly.
Steve shrugged. “Lots of reasons. To know how the solar system came about; whether or not there is other life; maybe even to learn a little bit about ourselves.” He leaned forward and let his chin fall in the palm of his hand as he contemplated what could have been. “I had always thought I might just make it someday. You know, become a great explorer and retire to live in a house on the coast with…”
Kamarine slowly came forward in his seat. “I see,” he said. “So now we get to the real heart of the matter. You have affections for someone other than your betrothed.”
Steve tried to look surprised by the suggestion, but then smiled helplessly when his companion didn’t buy it.
“Is there any way you would believe a lie?” Steve asked.
“Hardly,” the assassin replied.
“All right, fine, yes,” he admitted reluctantly. Then quickly added, “It isn’t that I don’t like Princess Vessla. God knows she is a very beautiful woman, but—”
“But,” Kamarine cut in, “she does not hold a candle to other such lovely ladies like…Sonya, perhaps?”
Before Steve could reply a man slammed down on the edge of their table, overturning it as he reeled from the blow of his opponent. He tried to recover his feet as he went down, but the level of his drunkenness only served to increase the time it took him to fall. With a heavy thud, he finally came to rest with his back to the floor. Climbing unsteadily to his feet, the man got up as though nothing were amiss and staggered his way across the room and out the front door of the inn.
Kamarine righted their table with a muttered curse, though Steve was grateful for the distraction. He deftly changed the subject saying, “What do you make of our chances to actually pull this off?”
Kamarine reseated himself amid a muttered insult questioning the parentage of the oaf’s birth. “What? Oh, the mission.” He shrugged and slumped as though the full weight of their undertaking settled squarely on his shoulders. “It is hard to say, really. A turn after the sun sets fifty thousand soldiers are going to start making a whole lot of noise outside the city walls. Then we will have another five thousand within the walls– our citizen operatives—already stirring up trouble on this side. I just hope it is enough to take the heat off of us when we move in.”
“You would think our chances better than average,” he added thoughtfully. “After all, we have Haldorum with us, Azinon is going to have his hands full, and there is you. I also hear that big kitty of yours is handy in a fight.” Kamarine then laughed and raised his mug in toast. “Your guess is as good as mine. But here is to good luck!”
Chapter XVII
Steve watched from the window as the sun dipped below the horizon and cast the horizon in bright shades of orange and red, like a fiery crown against the darkening cityscape. The time to leave was drawing near and already his heart raced with his growing anxiety.
He inhaled slowly as a midsummer’s evening breeze blew in his face, clearing the air of the effluvium for just a moment and reminding him of home. Then Haldorum was there, the squeak of the door marking his entrance into the room.
“Everyone is just about ready,” he said. Gathering the folds of his cloak about himself, he crossed the room and then took a seat on the bed opposite Steve. He stroked his beard and asked. “Are you feeling well? You look a bit like you have just tried my cooking.”
Steve exhaled through his nose at the joke. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking is all.”
“About home?”
“Among other things,” Steve acknowledged. “One of them, the mission. I really can’t afford to screw this up, Haldorum, and I’m still worried I’m going to fail in this just like every attempt I’ve made at the plague.”
“Oh, come now,” Haldorum chided him. “You have not failed in anything. You are practically brand-new at being a wizard. You cannot expect to jump into the role and know how to do everything.”
“You have a point, but it doesn’t make me feel any better. Every day that passes that I can’t figure this out, how many hundreds are dying in agony? How many more become infected?”
“But look at what you have accomplished!” the old wizard challenged him. “You have brought us this far. You have discovered the Emperor is still alive, and now you’re about to free him from almost two decades of imprisonment!” He paused a moment, then smiled and shrugged helplessly, “You can only do so much at one time, Steven.”
The younger wizard did not answer at first, preferring the quiet as he considered. Finally, he looked up and managed a weak smile. “I guess you’re right.”
“Of course I am right!” Haldorum agreed with an overabundance of enthusiasm. “Now come on.” He crossed the room with an undaunted stride, but before he could reach the door—
“Wait,” Steve said. He narrowed his eyes as he focused on the doorknob with an outreaching hand. “Allow me.”
Haldorum looked dubious. “Are you sure you—”
The door exploded inward off its hinges as though struck by a bull in full charge. It flew across the room and then crashed into the opposite wall, cracking down the middle and falling to either side in two pieces.
Steve’s head rose cautiously over the side of the bed he had taken cover behind, his cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.
“Well done,” Haldorum said reassuringly. “I will call you when the next time a tree is barring my way.”
&nb
sp; The nine members of the Resistance spent the next hour making final preparations. Haze, Lojur, and Rabal, now fully armored in heavy plate, took advantage of what little time remained to sharpen the blades of their longswords to a perfect edge. Kamarine, with a ring of daggers belted around his waist, a saber across his back, and two more daggers alongside each calf, secured two pouches of throwing stars to either hip and a coil of rope over his shoulder. General Corbett flexed his fingers inside his leather fighting gloves, a bit stiff from use, and adjusted his belt for ease in drawing his weapon. Even Kayliss made ready in his own manner, sharpening his claws on the wooden floor.
Steve withdrew the crystal from inside his shirt and let it hang in full view. Somehow having it out in the open where he could see it helped to calm his nerves.
There was the sound of running footfalls in the hall outside and then Lurin burst in through the doorless entry. “There is a crowd of several thousand moving fast from the south end of the city,” he said quickly. “They are headed this way.”
“Then it has begun,” Haldorum nodded. “Everyone, it is time to go.”
With cloaks drawn tightly about their shoulders they followed the wizard out of the room in single file, and then down the staircase to the tavern below. Haze then stepped into the lead, shoving men into their seats and tossing drunks clear of the eight who filed in behind him. One of the would-be brawlers was even so bold as to try to salvage some of his dignity, but one warning hiss from the great tiger appeared to quickly change his mind.
They emerged onto the cobbled street and then sprinted north to beat the fleeing crowd closing fast on them from behind.
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