Into the Fray: Volume 1 of The Sorcerers of Jhanvia Series

by Aderyn Lonigan

  “Do you think she is well enough to travel?”

  “No, but I don’t think we have any choice. She will be a significant burden if we take a stand here. I think the best plan is to take a wide arc through the trees north to Triami. It’s not very far and we could find shelter there until Kaitra is well enough to travel to Tyrkamani.”

  Dikaylia nodded her agreement, “I’ll get the Katrion ready.”

  “Good. I’ll let Kidreyli know what’s happening.”

  Nidreyka quickly made her way over to the hut where Kidreyli and Kaitra were sleeping. She was surprised to see Kidreyli lying on the floor away from Kaitra, but events were upon them. She shook her friend’s shoulder. “Kidreyli, wake up.”

  The warrior’s eyes jumped wide open having been awakened so unexpectedly.

  She explained, “We must leave now. The soldier’s are sending reinforcements.”

  Kidreyli was on her feet in an instant. “We can’t leave. Kaitra is in no condition to travel.”

  Nidreyka took hold of both her shoulders. “We have no choice. Dikaylia is preparing the Katrion. If we head north to Triami, we can stop there. It’s not far. She should be able to make it.”

  Kidreyli knelt down next to the sorceress and caressed her face. “Kaitra, I need you to wake.” There was only a grumbling of a response. Kidreyli spoke louder, “Kaitra, wake up.”

  Her eyes popped open, “Kidreyli?”

  “Yes, my love.”

  “Where are we?” Kaitra’s mind had been reclaimed.

  “We are in a village a short distance from Triami.”

  She started to sit up and the pain from her wounds laid her flat out on the bed. “Oy! What did I do?”

  “You were hit by an arrow,” Kidreyli explained. “Satreka’s men are coming. We need to leave now.”

  “You can’t be serious?”

  “Completely. Let me help you up.” Kidreyli put her lover’s feet on the floor and pulled her up by the hands.

  “My entire body feels like its on fire,” Kaitra said with her eyes closed as she stood up straight. “This pain is indescribable. I don’t think I can do this.”

  “You must. We don’t have time to debate this. If they find us here, I will not be able to defend you. We need to leave before we are spotted by them.”

  She nodded her acknowledgement, “All right, go. I’m right behind you.” The sorceress walked gingerly into the sunlight, holding her side and limping a bit.

  “What are you doing?” the village healer had spied Kaitra walking on her own.

  Kidreyli turned back and responded, “Kaitra, this is Dubhni. She treated your wounds. Dubhni, we are leaving.”

  “She will not make it far,” the healer noted.

  “We have no choice,” Kidreyli explained.

  Dubhni realized that her arguments would not sway the moment. “Just give me a minute,” she said, and she hurriedly walked toward her hut.

  Kaitra stepped over to her horse and patted her nose, “My Sestru, it’s so good to see you. Tyral, it’s good to see you again, my friend.”

  “And you, dear girl,” Tyral responded to her mind. “I am glad to see you walking again.”

  Kaitra smiled a painful smile and replied, “Just barely.”

  Dubhni made her way over to Kaitra and explained, “I wish to strengthen your bandages. All that bouncing on horseback will tear you up. Kidreyli, please help me. I need you to hold this here,” she said as she placed a wide cloth against Kaitra’s uninjured side under her shirt.

  Dubhni continued, “This will be painful, but if I wrap your wounds tightly, you will have a better chance surviving your travels.”

  Kaitra nodded her understanding and held up her arms so as to make it easy for Dubhni to do her work. Four times around tightly, then five. The pain was intense as the healer tied off the wrapping.

  Her work done, Dubhni said, “Good journey.”

  “Thank you,” Kaitra responded.

  “Thank you for everything you have done,” Kidreyli said.

  Dubhni smiled and walked away as the two Valtyr rode up on their great black Katrion, primed and ready for battle. The image was a bit intimidating for Kaitra, causing her to take a step back.

  “Are we ready?” Nidreyka asked.

  “Yes,” Kidreyli answered. “Kaitra, this is my best friend, Nidreyka and her anamhra Dikaylia. They defeated the soldiers and saved both of us.”

  “It is good to finally meet you,” Nidreyka said.

  “And you. So you’re Kidreyli’s best friend?”

  Nidreyka laughed a little, “Well, I’ve put up with her longer than anyone else could, so I guess I’ve earned that title.”

  “We need to go,” Dikaylia interjected.

  “She’s right,” Kidreyli said. “Let me help you up.”

  “I’m going to have to do this backwards,” Kaitra stated. Being a left-handed person, she would normally start with the right foot in the stirrup, but not this time. As she started to step up, Kidreyli pushed up on her bum and lifted her onto Sestru. Kaitra sat down very gingerly on the saddle, wincing a bit from the pain.

  “Are you all right?” Kidreyli asked.

  “As good as I’m going to be.”

  Dikaylia took the point position, leading them at an ever-increasing speed into the depths of the forest while Nidreyka lagged just behind to protect their departure.

  An hour or so later, Zakrell’s men were rummaging through the empty village for anything of value. The sorceress he needed to find was long departed. He stole away from his troops and rode his horse to the top of the ridge on the eastern side of the village, deep in the trees where his men could not see.

  “I was wondering when you would get here, my lord,” Dubhni said as she stepped out from behind a large tree.

  “It took me a little longer than expected. Some of these new men are still a bit slow,” Zakrell replied as he dismounted. “What of the sorceress?”

  “She was here. Your soldiers wounded her, but she will survive,” Dubhni explained.

  “Where have they gone?”

  “I overheard them talking about going to Triami for a short time to allow the girl’s wounds to set. Then they were to travel to Tyrkamani.”

  “Tyrkamani? I’ll never get close to there,” Zakrell was frustrated by the news.

  “Not to worry. They do not intend to stay long before they return. They seem to think they can take on Satreka.”

  Zakrell laughed. “Then they will deliver themselves to us. That’s really making it too easy for me.”

  Dubhni walked over and ran her fingers across his arm, “And what’s in this for me?”

  Zakrell was reviled and pulled away.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot you have an aversion to my alternate self.” She raised up her arms cast them downward, removing the glamour that had been set to depict her as middle-aged and revealing her sumptuous slender frame of no more than twenty years, attired in a rather revealing slimming purple dress, her deep red hair flowing down with gentle curls to her waist.

  He grabbed her by the shoulders and said with a smile, “That’s much better.” He gave her a rather protracted kiss.

  She took a moment to gather herself. “So, where will all this lead us?”

  “If all goes well, soon Satreka will realize his vision. In exchange for my loyalty and service, he will grant me lordship over a large portion of the realm. When that happens, you will be by my side as my lady.”

  Dubhni smiled, “I like the sound of that, Lord Zakrell.”

  He laughed and kissed her passionately.

  he Katrion of the Valtyr were big and strong, normally measuring twenty-five hands or more. The powerful black creatures gracefully covered ground with great speed and agility, flying over obstacles that would challenge their less evolved cousins. Their lungs exhaled huge hot breaths into the cool evening air, each time creating a foggy mist that might have be mistaken for dragon’s breath by someone not paying attention. Their lo
ng black manes and tails were floated by the air giving their moving image an ethereal feel.

  And then there was poor Sestru. Try as she may, she always seemed to lag behind, causing her traveling companions to slow up and wait for her. It wasn’t her fault. Her breeding and history were not compatible with the task now asked of her. Having tried her best all afternoon, she had reached a peak of exhaustion as they approached a small stream in the forest.

  Kaitra let her horse slow to a stop. Kidreyli tapped Tyral’s neck and looked back over her shoulder.

  “We must give Sestru a rest,” Kaitra called out. “Keeping up with you is really too hard for her.”

  Nidreyka called out to her lover with her mind, “Kay, we need to stop.”

  Dikaylia turned around and came back to them from across the stream. “What’s wrong?” she asked as her love slipped off her Katrion.

  Nidreyka replied, “I think we’ve driven Kaitra’s horse too hard today. We should stop and rest for a while.”

  Kidreyli dismounted and went to Kaitra, who was stroking Sestru’s nose, and asked, “How is she?”

  “She’s very tired. It’s too hard on her to travel at this pace for long periods.”

  Nidreyka suggested, “Why don’t we stop for the night here? It’ll be dark in a few hours. I think we all could use a good night’s rest.”

  Kaitra said as she winced in pain, “That would be most welcome.”

  “How are you holding up?” Nidreyka asked.

  “I’ll be all right.”

  “Let me look,” Kidreyli said as she lifted Kaitra’s shirt. Blood had oozed through and was visible on the wrappings where the arrow had found its mark. “You’re still bleeding. We need to clean and re-wrap your wounds.”

  Nidreyka offered, “Dikaylia and I will get a fire going.” She motioned with her head for her lover to follow as they headed off into the forest. They probably were not just going to gather firewood.

  Kaitra held up her arms so that Kidreyli could unwrap the bandaging. The Valtyr gently wiped the wounds with a wet cloth. She repacked them with her herbal mixture and wrapped the cloth back around Kaitra’s waist. Hardly a word passed between them as Kidreyli put her supplies back on Tyral’s saddle and Kaitra sat on a flat stone.

  The sorceress was a bit put off, “So, are you going to tell me what’s bothering you or do I need to beat it out of you?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “We’ve been riding all day and it seems very clear to me that you’ve shut me out of your mind. Not once today have I been able to hear your thoughts or feel what you are feeling. Have I done something to offend or otherwise make you unhappy with me?”

  “No,” was the abrupt answer from Kidreyli.

  “Then what is it? Talk to me, please,” Kaitra begged.

  Kidreyli released the spell blocking their mind links, allowing her thoughts to flow freely.

  A mix of messages fell into Kaitra’s mind, “Oh, Drey, your mother. Why didn’t you tell me about her?”

  “I’ll see her before she crosses,” Kidreyli expressed little concern.

  “We should continue so you will have more time with her.”

  “No. We need you well first. There will be plenty of time to see her.”

  “Well if that’s not bothering you, then what….” She didn’t get the words out before the images Kidreyli saw of her torture at the hands of Klur coalesced and became coherent. She stood up abruptly, put her hand over her mouth and turned away from her love. She saw the brutality and could feel the unbearable pain, realizing all the while that this was of her construct. The image of her observing intently from the dark recesses in the back of the room caused her heart to wither.

  Kidreyli smiled painfully, “You demanded that I always tell you everything.”

  Kaitra was aghast. “Where did you see this?”

  “In the deepest part of your mind.”

  The sorceress turned and faced the warrior with tears welling in her eyes, “This will never happen, you realize that?”

  “Are you sure? You have seen this before, but do you notice anything different this time?”

  Kaitra pondered for a moment, and then realized, “Nidreyka and Dikaylia are in it now.”

  “Precisely.”

  “And…?”

  “You don’t see it, do you?” the warrior’s frustration was evident.

  “See what?” she defensively demanded.

  “The sorcerers are already in your head, preparing you for what is to come. The visions within your mind are evolving to fit the current circumstance.”

  “That can’t be true,” Kaitra blurted out.

  “Really?” she responded firmly. “You weren’t consciously aware of Nidreyka until after I saw these images.”

  Kaitra put her hands on the side of her head, “This can’t be happening.”

  Kidreyli asked, “Tyral, you want to step in here?”

  The Katrion’s mind spoke to both of them, “My dear, I’m afraid I must concur. It does seem that they have inserted themselves into your subconscious being and are honing their plans within you.”

  “Tyral’s insight was accurate,” Kidreyli conjectured, “the sorcerers took notice of you back in that village when you used your magics.”

  The wise Katrion continued with that thought, “Yes, and the black magics you used to kill that soldier most certainly provided the opening they needed to seal you to them.”

  “You used black magic?” Kidreyli was surprised.

  “It wasn’t intentional.”

  The Valtyr rolled her eyes.

  Kaitra was defensive. “I had an arrow in me. I reacted without thinking.”

  Tyral stepped in, “Kaitra, you must learn to discipline your mind. Even under extreme duress, you should never use the black. It provides your opponents with many options that would otherwise not be available to them. However, these events are now in the past and we must now focus our efforts forward. Most importantly, we should decide how best to deal with our current circumstance.”

  “That horse has already left the barn, I should think,” Kidreyli stated sarcastically.

  “What do you mean?” Kaitra asked.

  “They’re already connected to you, aren’t they? If we try to sever or interfere with that link, they will know we are on to them. I believe we would be better off to let them think that nothing has happened. They will continue as before, none the wiser that we are lurking, while we use the opportunity to try and ascertain exactly what they are planning. Then, in a moment of our choosing, we will jump in and break the connection they have with you.”

  “So you’re proposing we just let them rummage around in my head?”

  “Essentially, yes,” the Valtyr answered.

  “That approach has many merits,” Tyral noted.

  “I’m not comfortable with this,” Kaitra anxiously stated.

  Kidreyli walked over and put her hands on her lover’s shoulders, “Trust me. It will give us some much needed insight. We won’t let anything happen to you.”

  The sorceress pondered the idea for a few moments, and then capitulated, “As you wish.”

  Kidreyli smiled that sly smile of hers, “I’m going to bathe in the stream. Want to join me?”

  Satreka knocked gently on the door to Natilya’s chamber and opened it a few inches. “May I come in?”

  He heard back, “Of course.”

  He opened the door fully to see her standing by the south-facing window with her hand on her belly that was being warmed by the sunlight. “I just wanted to look in on you,” he said as he went over and kissed her. “You’re very beautiful today.”

  “I’m very pregnant, today, if that’s what you mean,” she replied in a grumpy voice as a wisp of fresh air came through the window and tossed her hair about.

  He smiled and put his hand on her belly, “Believe me when I say that that you are beautiful, today as every day.”

  “I don’t feel so. I just feel fat
and bloated,” she replied, even though she was actually neither.

  “Our child will be born soon. Just be tolerant a little longer,” he encouraged. Satreka felt the baby move in her womb and said with pleasant surprise in his eyes, “I felt a kick.”

  Natilya smiled and explained, “She’s been very busy in there. I have felt her all day moving about and kicking. I think she wants out.”

  “It could be a ‘he’,” Satreka posed.

  Natilya’s face quickly transformed to show her disgust over the idea, “I don’t believe that is possible.”

  “This child is also mine. Because it is half-human, it could be a boy.”

  Her face displayed her trepidation, “That is a something I had not considered.”

  “If you are concerned about the history of the males of your species, you should put your mind at rest. This child is not pure-bred Valtyr, so if it is a boy, it will not carry the overwhelming violent nature of those from so long ago. Besides, we will raise this child to honor and respect life. We will be loving and caring parents to this child, and she…or he, will be a positive force in our society.”

  “I trust in your judgment.”

  “All will be well, my love,” he said as he kissed her on the forehead. “I have a few things to tend to. I’ll look in on you later.” He headed for the door and said, “I love you.”

  “I love you,” she responded as he closed the door behind him.

  She looked out the window and put her hand on her belly. She closed her eyes and asked herself, “What have I done?”

  Satreka bounced off the last stair and stood silently for several minutes at the doorway to Dulica’s chamber. He watched intently through the haphazard opening in the far wall, as the three sorcerers processed and chanted around the strange orange fire that emitted no smoke in the center of their room. He took notice of the overwhelming musty smell of this place, but never let his eyes stray from those strange men in the other room.

  Dulica had noticed Satreka’s arrival, but he remained silent, waiting for the warlord to take the initiative. But it never seemed to come. He kept working on the task before him, glancing up regularly to see him staring intently through the opening in the wall. After several minutes, Dulica decided to step forward. “May I help you, my lord?”