by Kya Lind
Hal’s eyebrow went up at the name of their destination. “Agreed.”
Suddenly the feeling of dread that he had felt all day burst into full fledge panic. The hair on Traven’s neck warned of the danger. He stood up abruptly and dragged Reya still chewing a mouth full of pie toward the back door. Hal stood up and followed them. They ducked through the kitchen door and Traven yanked Reya toward the backdoor.
The front door of the inn opened, and four men stepped into the room. Traven, Reya and Hal caught a glimpse of them as they passed the serving window to the common room. Reya gasped. Traven still dragging her by the arm pulled her into the alley behind the inn. The river was on one side making only one exit from the alleyway. It ran down the side of the building and emptied into the street near the front door. Traven swore under his breath. He recognized the four men from the night he had been arrested; they were the same four from the mountains.
“I take it they be the reason you are in such an all fire hurry to leave immediately?” Hal questioned; his voice ringing loudly in the empty alleyway.
Traven’s quick thinking had him pulling a heavy wooden cart forward and block the kitchen door just as someone from the inside pushed against it. They heard the front door bang against its frame as it was thrown open.
Traven unsheathed his sword, but Hal tapped on his shoulder and pointed toward the river. “Come on.”
Traven grabbed Reya’s hand again quickly followed the stranger out onto the ice of the river. Hal walked with purpose across the ice moving in a zigzagging line. She skidded behind Traven as she tried to keep up with the men’s long strides on the slick ice path.
The four men appeared dark forms moving against the lights from the city windows. Two of the forms moved out onto the ice following them.
Reya gasped for air to fill her aching lungs. The cold air she sucked in hurt even worse than not having any.
Hal cut in a big arc coming back to shore in the shadow of a large dark building. They quickly climbed the slippery bank and skirted the alleyway back into the city’s marketplace. Hal crossed the street and entered a saloon. He waved to a large, red-headed lady before taking the stairs two at a time to the second floor. He picked the second to the last door on the end and ushered them inside. The room contained several dark shapes of furniture.
Hal moved to the window. “What you know about them fellas?” Hal demanded, checking out the narrow window.
“They have been tracking us for over a fortnight,” supplied Traven.
“Are they Magic?”
Reya nodded, “Yes." Traven glanced at her in surprise. “One of them is a weak Minder.”
“How do you know that?” Traven whispered.
“In the mountain, when we were hiding and they rode by, one of them thought he could hear us when you were looking right at him, so I distracted you.”
“You tried to yank me bald,” Traven accused. They glared at each other in the dark.
Hal cut in, “Well, they are lookin’ high and low for ya, now. Probably waiting for the Minder to catch up. Stay here. Avoid that there Minder. I’m gonna’ find us a big distraction,” Hal instructed as he slipped out of the room.
“Can we trust him?” Reya asked softly.
“Yes,” Traven knew it was a gamble, but he didn’t feel like Hal was a danger to them.
Traven moved to the window and stood scanning the shadows of the street.
“Are you trying to advertise our location, Captain?” asked Reya.
Traven looked at her questioningly,
“He said not to attract the Minder.” Reya sighed. “Captain, to avoid a Minder, you must first avoid thinking directly at them, and second you must think about something else entirely.”
She picked up his hand that was still linked with hers and tugged him away from the window.
“What do you mean, think about something else?”
“Well, like not thinking about white elephants.” Reya could tell by his silence that he was confused. “If I told you told you to not think about white elephants, you would spend several minutes thinking about why I would want you to not think about white elephants,”
Traven said puzzled, “I still don’t understand.”
Reya sighed again, “All right, you must think about something totally different from those men out there. They are listening for someone thinking about them.”
So, I need to think about white elephants, instead of the fact that four men are trying to kill us?”
Reya shook her head. “Not think about white elephants,” she explained again.
“So, I am just supposed to pretend that those riders don’t exist?”
“You are still thinking about them.” Reya worried her bottom lip. This wasn’t working. Captain Traven needed to be thinking about something else. Making a decision, she leaned forward and kissed him. He stiffened in surprise and then accepted her kiss. His mouth moved over hers, deepening the kiss. Reya sighed - thinking about white elephants had never tasted so good.
Traven thought to himself as his lips moved under the collar of her coat against her neck. This was definitely distracting. Now, instead of worrying about bad guys, he was worried about the fact that he shouldn’t be doing this. He pushed the thought about the four guys away and breathed in Lady Beth’s scent. Oh, Gloryland, she still smelled like roses.
He reached up and unbuttoned the square buttons down the front of her coat and wrapped his arm around her waist. “How long do you think we need to be distracted?” he whispered in her ear.
“I don’t know,” Reya whispered back, kissing him again. Traven felt the world tilt. He pulled his mouth away and leaned his forehead against hers. “All right, siren, that is enough. . . . distraction for a few minutes.” He breathed in deeply.
They just stood for a long time in each other’s arms, enjoying the closeness.
There was a noise in the hall that drew Traven’s full attention. He tensed his hand going to his sword. Reya in response slid her hands up under his shirt and coat, causing his attention to immediate revert back to her.
He stepped back to move away from her, and she followed him. He stumbled against the edge of the bed, Reya’s forward motion landed her against his chest and they tumbled backwards onto the bed.
He rolled over and tried to right himself. Reya slid her hands around his middle to his back and held him still. He stopped and looked down at her. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to avoid Minders.”
“Trying to get us killed.”
The door opened and Hal slipped in and closed the door. He looked at their two shapes entangled on the bed. “Okay, you two lovebirds, let’s go?”
Traven and Reya scrambled to their feet, their embarrassment cloaked by the shadows of the room.
Hal moved to the window and waved. Suddenly, people were screaming and yelling. Fire shot from several of the windows, lighting up patches of the street below.
“This way,” ordered Hal exiting the room. Traven grabbed Reya’s hand as he quickly followed Hal. They went down the hall and out a wide set window onto a wooden deck. Hal crossed the deck and climbed onto the roof of the saloon and crawled up the shallow incline and down the other side. Traven changed hand position so that now their fingers weren’t entwined, but he had a firm grip on her wrist and pulled her after him up the roof and down into the darkness of the other side. Dropping down a ladder, they reached the alleyway behind the saloon.
“Where‘s your horses?” questioned Hal. Traven got his bearings and pointed in Barn’s direction. They were only about five minutes from his position.
After they had retrieved Barn, Traven swung Reya up onto the big horse’s back. Hal darted off in the direction that led them deeper into the heart of the city, away from the riverfront. As they escaped the sound and chaos of Hal’s distraction, they dodged between buildings and down back alleys.
By the time they reached the stone gate, the only sounds that they could hear were their own h
eavy breathing and the clop of Barn’s hooves on the frozen ground. Hal had led them to the entrance of a large fort. Traven recognized the stone structure as one of the forts used for soldiers of the crown. He had noted its existence when they had ridden into town today.
Traven stopped short. Hal after several strides realized that they weren’t following him anymore and jogged back.
“Come on,” he commanded sternly.
“Are there guards present?” barked Traven
“Yea, two gallans, a Royal and a Kingdom. They showed up yesterday in the storm.”
Traven started away from the gate.
“You have got to be joshing me,” hissed Hal in the darkness. “Is everyone in the whole ‘tire country after ya?”
“Yes,” hissed Traven back.
Hal threw up his hands, just as Reya squeaked a warning. In the near distance, they could make out four big shaped moving toward them up the hill.
“Shit,” hissed Hal, “how’d they find us?”
Reya suspected that someone had forgotten they were supposed to be thinking about white elephants.
Hal grabbed Traven by the coat sleeve, and hissed “This is the only place they won’t come. Don’t ya worry, them gallans won’t even know we’re here.”
Traven felt like a noose was tightening around his neck. He nodded and led Barn through the gate and into the garrison. Reya slid down from her perch and running up squeezed between Hal and the Captain.
“What?” barked Hal as she linked her arm with his and Traven’s. Hal stopped short; they were standing under a lamppost. Hal looked at her and Traven and then down at himself. “Right –e-o,” he said as his clothes appeared to be those’s of a lieutenant Royal guardsman.
The three marched unnoted by the soldiers in the watchtower, across the parade yard and into the stables. In an empty stall, they left Barn. Reya smiled ruefully, they were hiding a warhorse in a crown stable. That just seemed so ironic. They crept down the hallway to the entrance of the stables. “We be needing’ to get up there.” Hal pointed at the second floor end room. “ They never check that tower.”
A shout went up from the guard tower as the four men were spotted in the parade yard. Guards came running from all directions. Traven pulled Reya closer and grabbed Hal by the neck as several soldiers rushed in their direction. Hal stiffened and prepared to fight, but the guards rushed right past them without stopping. The last Royal guardsman barked at them, “Get moving soldiers.” Hal blinked and then saluted.
The three moved through the confusion to the staircase. But the way up the stairs was blocked. Hal motioned for them to try to go around the other way.
The sounds of fighting, steel on steel rang across the courtyard. The three moved to the covered walkway. Soldiers rushed past them as they steadily made their way along the walkway. Reya looked back at the chaos behind them. Traven stopped abruptly causing Reya to stumble into him. She looked up quickly and met the gaze of the man walking toward them.
Reya felt the ground open up and suck all the life from her body. She was alone and defenseless, no silver, no Sir or Lady Talone to protect her, just herself facing the man she feared most, not the man who impersonated her father but his Persuader.
Chapter 23
“Stop,” man demanded, and immediately the courtyard fell silent.
The man moved to stand in front of her and smiled down at her and bowed in the most courteous fashion. “Princess Reya, it has been too long,” he said in a pleasant voice, as though they were at court. “You have led me on the merriest chase,” he tisked. “I have had soldiers scouring the countryside for you, and you surprise me with a visit tonight. So thoughtful of you to be so accommodating, dear.”
Reya’s mind scrambled for defenses and escapes. Her eyes flew to Traven’s. He looked at her in confusion. Traven was quickly attentive to the overwhelming fear he saw in her eyes. She was terrified of this man, whoever he was. She knew this man, and she was begging her champion to save her. He tried to draw his sword, but his hand would not move. He knew this feeling, his fuzzy brain screamed. This man was a Persuader. Traven wrestled with his mind. Reya gripped his hand in hers. Traven struggled with the push against his thoughts. Someone pounded on a door in his head. He could see Lady Beth’s door. The pounding continued, A small distant voice from the other side yelled “You can’t leave me, you can’t leave me here alone with him” He didn’t understand. He hadn’t left. He wouldn’t leave her.
The man was still talking. No one in the courtyard moved or made a sound. “Princess Reya, we really should move inside out of this night air. I believe I can have a light tea served shortly.” The man motioned for the others to go. The guards quickly rounded up the four men who had followed them into the fort. Reya watched as Hal trotted away as though he was going home to dinner for the night. She could tell that he remembered not the commitment he had made to them. His mind was on other things.
“Come, Princess Reya, we have much to talk about.”
Traven stepped as if to follow the Persuader, but Reya refused to move. She gripped his hand so tightly that her fingers were white. Traven looked down at her again, concerned. The fear in her face alerted him once more. They were in danger. He knew this, panic surged through his limbs. She was in danger. Traven froze and stared into her eyes. He watched as her eyes were becoming unfocused and hazy, the fear in them receding.
“Come, Princess,” commanded the man again.
Traven felt her slipping away. “No,” his mind screamed. Traven crossed his mind to Lady Beth’s door and stomped inside. There was confusion everywhere. He saw her. She was standing in a maelstrom trying to get away from that man. Rage boiled in Traven. He would kill him. With a war cry, Traven rushed forward and shoved the man backwards completely away from His Lady.
A second later, Traven blinked in surprise as his thinking instantly cleared, and he gazed down at the man writhing on the ground holding his nose with both hands and screaming. Traven realized that he had punched the Persuader in the face. A second later, Traven sprang into action, dragging Reya by the arm as they raced toward the stables. Traven pulled Barn from the stall and hauled Reya up as the big horse shot forward knocking over the guards in the way of their flight.
The guards at the gate were working quickly to close it. Traven judged the distance, and realized that they were not going to make it in time.
Suddenly, a giant dragon unfurled its long, red wings and beat the night sky about their heads. Its mouth opened and fire shot out about twenty lengths in front of them. The startled guards at the gate dashed for shelter. The dragon turned its head and spit out more flames in a semi-circle. The guardsman scrambled in all directions.
Arrows started flying in their direction. Traven realized that the guards were aiming at the dragon, but they were in the way. An arrow struck the saddle next to Traven’s leg. Reya whimpered behind him. Traven watched in stunned amazement as the huge dragon lifted off and flew in a big circle around the courtyard, blowing fire as it went. The Dragon flickered in the sky disappearing several times as it flew around the edge of the wall.
Traven kicked Barn into a dead run and they shot through the unguarded gate. Down the road, the through the town they fled. Traven could hear orders being bellowed. Out the east gate and into the night, Traven pushed Barn.
Barn ran until his sides heaved; Traven slowed him to a canter. Lady Beth arms were clenched around his waist in a death grip. No, that wasn’t right, she wasn’t Lady Beth. She was Princess Reya. His heart dropped as more pieces fell into place. Reya’s father was the King, the one she said had been replaced by a Magic. Traven sucked in a breath. And that Allure had sent a king’s army to retrieve her. Traven shuddered and that was why everyone in the kingdom was trying to kill them.
That thought was quickly followed by another. Oh, Gloryland, Traven almost swallowed his tongue. He had been taking liberties with the Royal Princess. Traven moaned. When and if he got them out of this, her family and his wer
e going to string him up. Traven kicked the tired horse to keep going.
About dawn the next morning, Traven checked the progress of their pursuers. They had just crossed a wide flat prairie in the valley between the foothills of the mountains. Traven estimated that it had taken them about four hours on cross it. He could make out the movement of a gallan in the far distance. The soldiers were only about three hours behind them. That wasn’t enough distance.
Traven stopped Barn at a small pond to drink. Reya started to slide off, but he stopped her. His nerves were jiggling, his stomach felt tight. He had thought about leaving the road, but the land was so flat and open here. There was nowhere to hide; they could only continue to run.
Chapter 23
At Reya’s sharp intake of breath, Traven jerked his head up, at the same time Reya slid her hands up under his shirt and around his middle. A gallan of Royal guardsman moved toward them from the opposite direction. Traven frowned down at Barn’s Kingdom guard tracks that led to where they stood. He should have taken the time to have the horse shoed. He cursed under his breath, and urged Barn forward into the pond. By the time the gallan reached them, Barn was standing in a foot of water, drinking lazily. The Royal guards rode past where they stood. None of them seemed to be in a hurry, or looking for anyone in particular. They didn’t have the intensity of the manhunt that was following them. Reya stiffened. Traven had wondered how long it would take her to recognize this particular bunch of Royal guards.
“Good morn, Elder,” greeted the Royal Captain cheerfully, as the gallan moved lazily down the road. Traven and Reya sat in suspended silence and watched them walk away. It didn’t take the soldiers long to recognize the hoof prints in the dirt. They swung back and trotted around the pond where Barn stood.
“Did you see a big red warhorse this morn, Elder?” demanded the Captain. Traven shook his head. The Royal guards circled the small pond again. “Blast it, men find that trail.” The guards rode in wider circles, and searched off in the direction they had been heading. After several minutes, they had moved away frantically searching for their prey, Traven nudged Barn out of the pond and on down the road,