Knoxx was rather worried as he raced across the field, leaving Flynn behind with the horses and the pegasus. It was not Flynn he was particularly concerned with, however, but more Tishan and himself. Having already spent hours in an invisible state this evening, it was an effort now to simply retake this form, not a good sign at all considering what still lay ahead. If he actually managed to get them out of this alive and un-apprehended, he vowed to let himself sleep for at least a week. Chances were, he was going to need it.
Once fully across the field, he hurtled the fence and set his sights on the estate house. The shrill blast of an alarm just minutes later informed him that Flynn had now been spotted. This was not unexpected.
Closing in upon his destination, he raced around the side of the house, seeking the expansive, bricked patio that lay behind. He hoped to find Tishan lurking somewhere between, but caught no sight of her. He could already hear the uproar going on inside the ballroom, and hoped she had at least by now used the confusion and excitement to successfully snatch the Tulans’ prized diamond. If not, he could easily now do so himself, a circumstance that would also allow him the chance to later gloat that this time, she had needed his help. But all such gleeful considerations could wait until they were safely away.
He saw the first Justice officer as he drew upon the patio. The man had freed his sword and was leading four more of his counterparts from the estate house with a determined stride. Knoxx ignored them and dashed headlong into the ballroom just in time to hear Tishan’s cry alerting everyone to the fact of Beran Tulan’s missing diamond. Knoxx instantly understood why she had done this, where it would lead, and how much she’d been depending on the fact that he was now somewhere in this room.
Lord Beran began screaming in rage, demanding of the remaining officers that all his guests be held and searched before being allowed a step outside the ballroom. His face was red and quickly turning purple, scanning all those around him with an accusing glare. “I demand blood for this!” he bellowed.
Tishan was only steps from the patio doors, and Knoxx sidled up next to her soundlessly. To alert her that he was there, he gently gave her arm a squeeze, and then carefully reached into the secret pocket of her dress and pulled forth the diamond. It vanished from sight at his touch, not causing him much more strain that what he was already feeling. Because it was not a large object—well, large for a diamond perhaps, but not so much in the grand scheme of things—the extra effort this action cost him was minimal.
He had evidently done this just in time.
“Her!” Lord Beran suddenly screamed, his arm outstretched and pointing toward Tishan. “Besides my own wife, only she was near enough to me to have taken it!”
Tishan’s face became the expected mask of horror and astonishment. “My lord, I would never!” she exclaimed.
“Search her!” Beran raged to the Justice officers. “Search her now!”
Myron Tulan had by this time pushed his way through the crowd to stand defiantly before Tishan. “Don’t be ridiculous, father! Of course she would never have done such a thing! It is an embarrassment to me that you would even think it possible, much less accuse her here in this public fashion!”
“You fool!” Lord Beran returned venomously. “No doubt she’s been after the diamond this entire time! Only to have you hand her the perfect opportunity to take it!”
Knoxx silently applauded Beran’s deductive skills, even while wishing he would be around to see the man’s reaction when he discovered that it was Flynn who’d been pulling the strings behind it all.
“Not another step!” Myron was now shouting to the Justice officers who were closing in upon Tishan.
“Search her!” Beran screamed again.
Tishan pushed past Myron and said, “There is no need for such arguing, my lords. Of course, I would be happy to allow a search of my person.”
“Will that satisfy you, father?” Myron spat. “She is perfectly willing to prove her innocence.”
Beran said nothing, glaring intensely.
Knoxx jumped back from Tishan just as the Justice officers closed in on her. He imagined her temper spiking as they proceeded to pat her down, giving little thought to her modesty. She held her tongue, however, her expression blank throughout the treatment. One of the officers discovered the secret pocket to her dress, but at finding it empty he, rather amazingly, said nothing of it. Seeing this, Knoxx was forced to determine that Flynn’s earlier assessment of these men was accurate; these officers were clearly not the brightest the Legion had to offer.
The noise of panic and confusion had by this time faded to silence within the ballroom, with most having formed a curious crowd about the scene now playing out. Knoxx was forced to stay vigilant to avoid contact with any of the guests, although he still received and delivered a few inadvertent nudges.
“Nothing, my lord,” one of the officers said now, as he and his counterparts stepped away from Tishan and turned to look back at Lord Beran.
“Did I not tell you?” Myron demanded. “I think an apology is in order, father.”
“An apology?” Beran sneered incredulously. “To this little harlot? Never! Besides, this proves nothing! She’s likely just hidden it somewhere, with hopes to return and collect it after our suspicion of her has passed!”
It appeared Myron’s temper had reached its limit. Taking three lunging steps forward, he sent a furious punch into his father’s face.
The crowd about them gasped almost as one as Beran teetered back on his heels, struggling to regain his balance. Finding it, he loosed a snarl and then sprang back at his son, taking him to the ground in an outraged tackle. The two men rolled over the floor, shouting and struggling as their fists flew.
The guests now appeared stunned. The Justice officers looked uncertain of the behavior, and seemed to be debating the merits of interfering. Knoxx was doing his best to keep his amusement harnessed, his lips clamped together to keep his laughter from escaping; it was hardly the first time Tishan had been the cause of a fist-fight, but so far as he knew never before had one involved a father and son. Continuing to watch the brawling Tulans, he was then hit with sudden inspiration.
Without hesitation, he threw his invisible self into a crush of nearby guests, using all of his weight for maximum damage and effectively knocking into numerous bodies before crashing to the floor. Several women shrieked or squealed. Several men gave angry outbursts. And some, as Knoxx had hoped, instantly retaliated in kind, pushing, shoving, or even punching back at anyone they suspected may have been responsible.
Knoxx managed to scurry to his feet and back out of the fray just moments before it erupted into a full-scale riot. In addition to fists, food was soon sailing through the air as well, adding a somewhat disgusting element to the fight. Looking about, he observed that the ballroom was now complete pandemonium.
He turned and began making his way back to Tishan. She appeared to be trying to stay clear of the fighting, which meant she was remaining in character; Tishan was tall and thin, her frame a deceptive truth to any who’d taken a blow from her. Knoxx knew from personal experience that she could deliver serious hurt when she wanted to.
She took a slice of custard pie in the shoulder just as Knoxx reached her. “Time for us to go,” he shouted, unworried at being overheard through the din of the riot. She gave no reply but to hold her arm out slightly, and he quickly took it. They made it only a few steps toward the patio doors before he suddenly felt Tishan halt, her arm pulling free from his grasp. Whipping back, he saw two Justice officers converging upon her.
“I’m afraid we can’t allow you to leave, miss,” one was saying. “No one is going anywhere until we locate that diamond. Particularly you.”
Knoxx was somewhat astounded over the fact that the officers were still concerned with the diamond in the face of the brawl that was now going on all about them and only growing fiercer by the moment. And what of the racehorses? This single-mindedness was
good news for Flynn, but bad news for Tishan.
She was now wearing a terrified look. “But I must be permitted to leave!” she was insisting hysterically. “This violence is frightening me!”
“Just stay here! We’ll have everything under control in a few minutes,” one of the officers insisted.
Knoxx doubted it. People appeared to now be breaking the chairs and tables apart and using them for weapons. He was rather amazed at this behavior, never having considered that his idea to incite a cover of chaos would have worked so well.
“I’ll remain with her to ensure she stays put,” one of the officers was saying now to his counterpart. “You go and help subdue the crowd.”
The officer given this instruction nodded curtly and then spun on his heel, stepping straight into the flying punch of a man who’d apparently anticipated his movements perfectly. The officer took the hit to his jaw and fell to the floor, knocked completely senseless.
The remaining officer’s mouth fell open in shock. “How dare you?” he screamed at the one who’d assaulted his comrade. “We are officers of Justice!”
Knoxx didn’t recognize the man who’d thrown the punch, and judging by his look he most likely hailed from the country of Jennen. His Birth medallion was Chaos, his Secondary hidden. And he responded to the officer’s outburst by sending his fist into the side of his head.
Knoxx barely recalled the fact that he was currently invisible, and not to be noticed at any costs, before blurting out an exclamation of surprise. Tishan, however, simply glanced down at the prone, unconscious bodies of both officers, before looking back to the Jennite.
“My thanks,” she said calmly.
He nodded at her once, then spun and vanished back into the melee without a word.
“Now that was just completely and utterly bizarre,” she murmured, watching him go.
“Maybe not,” Knoxx replied. “He was wearing a Chaos medallion.”
She shrugged. “A consideration for another time, perhaps.”
She was right. Knoxx took hold of her arm and again steered them toward the patio. They actually made it clear of the ballroom this time, and out into the warm summer air, but there still remained far too many witnesses about. Apparently some of the men were attempting to pull the women from the fray and out onto the lawns, while others trying to escape the carnage bolted here for safety.
Glancing about, Knoxx failed to notice in time the near-hysterical young woman who appeared to be fighting to make her way back inside the ballroom. She slammed into his unseen form at full-force, bouncing off him and crashing to the ground. Knoxx almost fell himself, releasing his hold on Tishan and barely regaining his balance. The woman who’d hit him was now climbing back to her feet slowly, looking somewhat dazed as well as confused. He found her vaguely familiar, but could not immediately place her.
And then a man of about Knoxx’s own age was suddenly pulling her up, a turquoise slave-band fixed about his left arm. “You can’t go back in there, Madi,” he was insisting.
Madi? It took him a moment, but he quickly put together why that name sounded familiar. The bungled messages, of course. The note he’d received had been addressed to one named Madi, a woman who apparently enjoyed throwing rubbish at Justice officers. He was marveling over the coincidence of this when the exchange of their next words nearly stupefied him.
“Oliveah’s still in there, Taleb! She could get hurt!”
“Oliveah will be fine. Nathon is with her, and he will bring her out safely, I promise you.”
Knoxx froze, barely seeing as the two retreated back onto the lawns.
Taleb? Nathon?
Had he truly heard those two names correctly? Could these actually be the men his brother had charged him to seek out? It seemed more than likely, given Taleb’s slave-band. Quickly he reasoned out that at least one Oslund must be present here tonight, and evidently one named Oliveah. A woman who appeared to be friends with Madi, the very person who’d mistakenly received his message, a message containing information about this very night. He also now recalled that it had been one named Oliveah who’d sent Madi’s message to her in the first place.
His mind spun as it attempted to make all these connections. Finally, he recalled where he was and gave a start as he came back to his senses. Tishan!
Frantically he looked about, fighting off panic.
Finally he saw her. Unable to locate him visually, she had started walking slowly away from the building onto the lawns, to where there was far less people. Clearly she was hoping he would spot her. Doing so, he lunged forward, berating himself for the wasted time.
But could he really dismiss all those seemingly random connections he’d just made? No, he could not, no more than any other self-respecting Dhan’Marian would be able to. But he’d do best to wait until they’d reached safety before thinking on them any further.
He reached Tishan and clamped a hand down onto her shoulder. “Sorry. Got caught up.”
Relief touched her features at the sound of his voice. “I know. I saw the diviner hit you, but lost you after that. Are you all right?”
Knoxx didn’t answer. The diviner, she’d said. Madi. And then he realized why the woman had looked familiar to him.
“We’ve crossed paths with her before, haven’t we?” he murmured.
“At The Rejoicing Rooster, when we first arrived in Tyrell, yes,” Tishan replied, looking curious. “It took me awhile to remember, not placing her until just now when I saw her hit you. Why?”
Knoxx would now have been willing to bet that the tall young woman with Madi during that particular encounter had been Oliveah Oslund. He was also quite certain that if he had asked, his brother would have told him that the diviner he’d sought for advice here in Tyrell had in fact been one Madi Savannon.
Destiny was clearly at work here. The question was why.
“Knoxx?” Tishan was now hissing at his silence.
Again he had to strive to clear his thoughts. “We’ll make it as far as we can like this,” he said, leading her around the side of the estate house. It was their plan to walk straight out the gates, but for this to be successful he would need to affect his power over Tishan, rendering her just as unseen as he was. Exuding this power over another person was not an easy task, and typically Knoxx could not keep it up for long; and with his power already so depleted, he was beginning to have serious doubts that he would be able to affect her at all.
Tishan appeared concerned. “Are you certain you’ll have the strength?” she asked as they rounded from the side of the building. They could now see the gateway ahead, and what appeared to be a mighty ruckus happening all about it; undoubtedly the aftermath of Flynn’s successful escape.
“Of course,” Knoxx assured her smoothly. “However, it may not be a bad idea, once we are both invisible, to run.”
Tishan knew him well, and so clearly took his answer for what it was. They would have a minute, maybe two, before his power drained completely and left them both completely vulnerable to sight. But it would have to be enough.
There remained several Justice officers as well as many Tulan guards and stable-hands swarming all about the gateway. It would only be logical to presume that many others had followed after Flynn, pursuing him and the racehorses into the woods beyond. Knoxx was not concerned they would find what they sought, but he and Tishan would have to be extremely careful once his magic faded from their forms.
They crossed approximately half the distance to the gates before Knoxx deemed it a danger to get any closer without Tishan being seen.
“Ready?” he asked, gathering himself.
She nodded simply in reply. This would not be the first time Knoxx’s magic had manipulated her into invisibility.
Still with a hold on her shoulder, he drew deep from his reserves and began sending his power into her. Her experience of the sensation would be like that of an invading and spreading tingling, much like
a limb that had fallen asleep but without the pesky disruption of function. Knoxx strained, sending the magic slowly out into each of her limbs, and seeing her begin to fade before him.
He hit the end of his reserves a minute later, his exhaustion nearly sending him to his knees. Fighting it, he focused on Tishan and saw her as but a shadow. He then looked down at himself, seeing his own body in the same form. It was the best he could do, and it wouldn’t last long. Every moment would now see them growing ever more solid until he was drained completely.
“We have to hurry,” he managed. Careful to keep contact, he ran his hand down her arm and laced his fingers through hers for added security. If she were to fall from his touch now, she would reappear instantly.
“Let’s go,” she replied, taking the lead and tugging him forward.
Foregoing silence for the sake of expediency, they ran for the gates with all the speed Knoxx could muster, their footfalls sounding out at every step. Thankfully, there was so much commotion going on about the gates that any noise they made was quickly drowned out and remained unnoticed. Knoxx had to force every step, his body feeling on the very edge of collapse.
He guessed that they appeared as but a shadowy blur as they ran into the thick of officers, guards, and stable-hands. Side-stepping and weaving from the path of several, they cleared the gates and kept on straight for the woods. Knoxx knew he was in serious trouble when his body began shaking uncontrollably. Unfortunately, however, they had not yet reached cover, giving him no choice but to stubbornly hold on, leeching the final wisps of his magic as Tishan now practically dragged him forward.
Two steps into the trees, the well of his power ran dry. Fully visible, Knoxx pitched forward and collapsed to the ground, panting heavily and fighting unconsciousness. Tishan’s worried face appeared as she crouched down next to him.
“We can’t stop here, Knoxx,” she whispered furiously. “There are officers and guards all around us.”
Knoxx chose not to care, but only for a moment. “Help me up,” he said, holding out his arm.
She hauled him to his feet and steadied him when he swayed. Then she smacked him across the face.
“Pull yourself together! We’re nearly free of this!”
He managed a grin even while attempting to gather every bit of strength left in his body. “One day, Tishan,” he mumbled, focusing on her, “you are going to make some unlucky man extremely miserable.”
“Don’t count on it,” she snorted. “Now, are you ready?”
“Go,” he said, staying on his feet only by sheer force of will.
She again took his hand and began dragging him through the trees. He knew they were making too much noise, but it couldn’t be helped; he was tripping and swooning at every other step, with Tishan doing all she could just to keep him upright and moving.
Knoxx could not have said how long this went on, or how he was managing to keep on his feet as they thrashed their way through the forest. He was dizzy and his vision was blurring when he finally realized they were no longer moving. He blinked, seeing he remained upright, but only by leaning heavily upon Tishan. She was talking to someone, asking about Flynn. Knoxx forced himself to focus.
“Got away free and clear,” the man was telling them. “Flew over us on a winged horse, if you can believe it! He said nothing to us about any winged horse.”
Tishan was now frowning and looking to Knoxx. “Winged horse?”
“There were some…pegasi…in the barn,” he managed. “One kept with him.” He now recognized the man before them as one of the thieves from Beavihm.
“The mage will not make it any farther,” Tishan was now saying. “We need a horse.”
The thief whistled and another man emerged from the surrounding trees, leading a Tulan-bred prize racehorse by its reins. Knoxx hazily recognized it as the chestnut.
“Keep to the woods, and be sure to avoid going anywhere near Tyrell. We’ll remain here to stall any who might get it into their heads to follow after you,” this thief grinned as he handed over the reins.
Knoxx somehow managed to climb atop the horse, feeling many hands helping him. Tishan mounted up behind him, her arms keeping him in place as she dug in her heels and started them deeper into the darkened woods.
“Rest now, Knoxx,” she said.
“All right,” he mumbled, letting unconsciousness take him at last.
Chapter 12
Auguries of Dawn Page 12