With hunger and thirst alleviated, the band of travelers pressed onward into a much larger city that Tina Davis called Ventura, California. With plenty of daylight ahead, they didn’t stop right away, but rather pressed on with the expectation of seeing the ocean by nightfall.
But kDira couldn’t shake a feeling she had… a feeling that they were being watched and followed. She turned and walked quickly back to Ari.
“I have this feeling that we are being followed,” she said to her friend. “It’s almost like when we were going to visit the Provitos.”
“I have the same feeling. I will make sure everyone keeps their eyes open.”
“Do not go on the offensive unless necessary. We might have to live with whomever it is following us for a long time. We don’t want to make enemies our first day here.”
“Understood.”
As they continued onward, making their way deeper and deeper into the city, the feeling of being followed grew stronger with every step. Ari looked closely at the buildings and alleyways but could not see anything that would justify the feelings. She could tell that others in the party were experiencing the same feelings as she and kDira were.
Threg, a Midlander-turned-Blackhorn, was walking just a few paces ahead of Ari, bow at the ready, when Ari made a decision.
“Threg, run to the front of the caravan and have kDira bring us to a halt. Hurry!”
“Yes, Ari!” he said, breaking into a sprint to get to the head of the group. kDira, not one to question Ari, brought the caravan to a halt as requested.
“Everyone, be at the ready!” kDira called out. As ordered, all warriors able to wield a weapon took a defensive posture. “I don’t know what’s following us, but if they are leading us into a trap, then we best stop here!”
Agis worked his way out of his cart, sword drawn, a crutch under his other armpit. Winter and Tuviast did the same, bows at the ready. It didn’t surprise Ari to see Charlomine standing nearby, also with bow and arrow ready to draw.
kDira, once again, made her way back to Ari. “Did you see something? Why did you stop us?”
“It’s just a gut feeling. If we keep going, we might be walking into a trap. I want to draw them out here if they intend to do us harm. Otherwise, we might find ourselves outnumbered.”
“Good call. What do you suggest now?”
“Well, I say we wait and see if they decide to show themselves,” Ari replied. “If not, we may have to go hunting for them. For now, I suggest we just watch and listen.”
The buildings in this area were more overgrown and deteriorated than the buildings they had passed by earlier. Vines and shrubbery were growing on and through the walls of most of the structures beside the road they were traveling. The sun was beginning to dip to the west, and the shadows were growing longer and darker.
“I don’t like this. I feel like we are being squeezed,” Agis said to Ari. “I would rather go looking for them than sit here and let them drop us with arrows from the shadows.”
“I think if they were going to do that, or if they could do that, they would have already.”
“I hope you’re right.”
They waited more than an hour before kDira made the decision to move onward. Ari didn’t protest, she too felt that they had waited long enough. The order was given to continue onward, when the roadway one hundred feet ahead became closed off by a wall of soldiers, all wearing shiny leather armor from head to toe, and holding long, wide swords in both hands.
Ari checked their rear and saw that they had been closed in from behind as well. Then she noticed all the streets on either side was blocked; there was no way out.
“I guess now we will find out what they want,” Ari said.
“I will get that answer right now,” replied kDira. “Come with me, Ari. Threg, Omiroe, Acetec, you come along as well.”
kDira and her small group made their way to the front and continued onward to the line of warriors blocking their path.
“Who is your leader?” kDira called out. There was one person with a red and gold cape standing in the middle of the line ahead, and she presumed that he was the leader.
“Who is your leader?” called a voice from the barricade of warriors ahead.
“I am kDira, leader of the Blackhorn!”
“Kah-deer-rah? What kind of name is that?”
“It is as good a name as any other. What name do you go by?”
The warrior with the cape stepped forward, sliding his massive sword into its scabbard. He lifted the leather helmet from his head and placed it under his arm.
“I am Ultral, General of the Ravengard Army. You are surrounded by the Queen’s finest. You are in the Ravengard territory. What brings you here?”
Tina Davis and engineer Lucas Brown listened closely to the conversations going on from the safety of the Blackhorn warriors surrounding them.
“They seem very organized,” Miss Davis said quietly. “A bit more advanced than the tribes from the east.”
“That occurred to me as well,” Lucas replied. “It is somewhat concerning.”
“We are fleeing the east,” kDira continued. “There was a tremendous catastrophe and the land there is no longer safe to live on.”
“What kind of catastrophe, Kah-deer-rah? What could have happened to drive you into our territory?”
“It is a bit difficult to explain. A great fireball erupted from the earth and contaminated the land. We had no choice but to move west.”
The General stepped closer to kDira. “What do you intend to do now that you are here, leader of the Blackhorn?”
“We hope to live in peace. To settle in and find a place to make our home.”
“Then you must get approval from Queen Lehentis. She doesn’t like outsiders coming in without meeting with her first.”
“Then I guess we will have to meet with her and get her approval.”
“kDira, do you think that is a good idea?” asked Ari.
“Ari, we don’t have a lot of choices. We are badly outnumbered—”
“If it is agreed,” the General interrupted, “then you will follow us to the Palace of the Crowne. I must insist that you put your weapons away. We do not need any accidents that we all might regret.”
“I also must insist your people put their weapons away as well,” kDira replied strongly. “Lead the way.”
kDira turned to address her people: “We will be following the General to speak with their Queen. Put your weapons away. We will go peacefully.”
As the Ravengard army closed in, the Blackhorn warriors were reluctant to stow their weapons but did as ordered. Slowly the caravan began moving ahead under the leadership of the General and his army.
Tina Davis made her way forward to stand next to kDira. Concern filled her eyes, evident to both kDira and Ari.
“It’s going to be all right, Tina,” kDira assured the Survivor, though she could not be too sure how effective her assurance was.
“These people seem to be more advanced than the Blackhorn,” Tina stated. “Their leather work is remarkable. They have not only created finely crafted armor but have repeated the process hundreds of times, almost like they have a manufacturing facility.”
“They will need every inch of that armor if they try anything,” Ari said, looking sideways at the director.
“I’m sure you are right about that, Ari,” Miss Davis agreed.
As the Blackhorn passed building after building, strangers could be seen staring out the windows at them, a look of wonder in the foreign eyes. As old as the streets and structures were, this particular area looked well kept up. If this is where the Ravengard tribe lived, it was far nicer than the huts kDira and her tribe were used to.
The streets looked more and more ominous as the sun continued to dip in the sky, and the temperature began to drop. The air changed as well. It gained a salty taste to it and a smell that kDira could not put her finger on. Large birds of breeds she had never seen before circled overhead; white bo
dies with grey wings and a squawk that pierced the evening air.
“We are near the ocean, I believe,” Tina Davis said.
“I’m guessing that is why the air is different?”
“That would be my guess, also. Look at all the faces in the windows. This tribe must be thousands strong.”
“Suddenly I am missing the Karn.”
“Let’s hope that this visit goes well, and we can go on about our business in peace.”
The Blackhorn were marched around a tight corner onto another street. Ahead of them, across a short bridge, lay a great wall of stone, unlike anything they had seen before. Even the construction of the Karn Keep that they were able to bring down years ago was primitive in comparison. A large, solid-metal gate stood closed, completely blocking the way until orders were issued to open it. kDira looked at Ari, neither could believe the workmanship they were witnessing.
“Welcome to Ravengard,” General Ultral announced. “There is no way in unless we let you in,” he said ominously.
“Walls that are designed to keep people out can also keep people in,” Ari said quietly.
“They sure know how to drive a point home, don’t they?” Miss Davis asked.
“That they do,” kDira said, staring up at the massive wall.
cHAPTER 7
The giant gate doors, brown with rust, creaked as they swung outward, opening to reveal a tall building silhouetted by the sunset over the water in the distance.
The Blackhorn were directed to continue onward, over the short bridge that spanned more roads below. They couldn’t help but notice guards lining the wall on both sides of the gate, watching them closely as they made their way through the gate and toward the tall building just off to the right.
“That is the Palace of the Crowne,” the General said, pointing to the building. “There you will meet with Queen Lehentis.”
“It is not as big as the Karn Palace, but I have to say they are organized,” Ari observed. “It would not be as easy to take them down as the Karn.”
“Hopefully it will not come to that.”
As they reached the far side of the bridge, kDira noticed a series of lower buildings, maybe two levels high each, on either side of the tall building the General had called the Palace of the Crowne.
“Crowne Plaza,” Tina Davis said, reading the faded sign at the base of the building. “From that, they got Palace of the Crowne.”
The Ravengard escorts stopped the Blackhorn caravan just outside the building. General Ultral approached kDira and gestured toward the door.
“You may go in with a few escorts, but the rest must wait out here.”
Agis struggled his way to the front, scrambling forward with his crutch. “I will go with you, kDira.”
“No, you won’t. As much as I would love to have you with me, you are in no shape to climb stairs.”
“I will go,” Ari said.
“And I should go too,” Miss Davis volunteered. “I might have some insight that could be helpful.”
“You would be no good in a fight, outsider,” Ari snorted.
“Outsider?” Tina questioned. This was the first time Miss Davis had heard that term used about her and wasn’t sure how to take it. She was put off by it but realized this was not the time nor place to argue about trivial insults. “Ari, maybe you don’t realize that if it does come down to a fight, we are all dead anyway, even if I could fight like the Great Ari.”
“Okay, stop!” kDira snapped. “You will both go. Elick, you too.”
“Yes, kDira.”
“We are ready,” kDira said to the General.
“This way,” he bade, moving off toward the main entrance of the Palace.
Two guards stood at attention outside the entrance, and there were two more inside, all clad in the same leather armor the other Ravengard soldiers wore. The General and several of his warriors escorted the four Blackhorn through a passage all the way to the back of the building and through a door that led to stairs.
“Too bad they don’t know how to make the elevators work,” Miss Davis said under her breath.
They walked up ten floors and entered a large room with a panorama of windows. There were comfortable-looking chairs and what kDira could only describe as padded benches.
Queen Lehentis, wearing a full-length flowing golden gown, stood looking out the center of the massive window at the far side of the room.
So amazed by the Queen’s hair was kDira that she almost forgot to breathe. It was such a dark blue at the top that it was almost black, but it blended to a light blue, then a magenta, at the tips in the middle of her back.
“My Queen,” the General announced, dropping down to one knee, “I have brought you visitors from the east.”
The guards followed the General’s lead, all taking a knee and motioning for kDira and her friends to do the same. The Blackhorn complied and waited for further instruction.
The Queen stood motionless, as though intentionally creating an uncomfortable moment among the Ravengard and the Blackhorn. Finally, she turned around, and it became evident why this female had such command over the male warriors. She was radiant, confident, and very beautiful. She walked over to the General, and he motioned for everyone to rise.
Her slender frame was accentuated by her large bosom and wide hips, shimmering in the golden dress, cut down the front to a spot somewhere below her breasts. Her waist was either naturally tiny or compressed by some sort of unseen belt or wrap. Her lips, such a bright cherry red, and her eyes, such a brilliant green, seemed unnatural. kDira found her stunning; Ari found her irresistible.
“Who are you?” the Queen asked, looking at kDira directly, as though she already knew who the leader was.
“I am kDira, leader of the Blackhorn tribe.”
“You are the leader? Are you the Queen?”
“I am called the Queen Mother.”
“What does that mean, Queen Mother, kDira of the Blackhorn?”
“I am the mother of several in the tribe, and I am the leader of the tribe, so they give me the title Queen Mother.”
“You have breeding males?” Queen Lehentis asked with interest.
“Yes, pretty much all of our males are capable of breeding.”
“How wonderful!” said the Queen, clapping her hands as she turned to the window again. “Please, sit. You must be tired. Would you like some spirits?”
“You have Spirits?” kDira said, looking around at her friends. “You know the Provits?”
“I do not know what you speak of, but if you are talking about bryne, then yes, we have Prov… Provits.”
“I am sorry,” replied kDira. “You said spirits; I thought you were referring to something else. We have never heard that word used for bryne before. We would be honored to share some spirits with you.”
“Wonderful! Please, sit down, make yourselves comfortable. We have much to discuss. Guard! See that the rest of our guests below are made comfortable. Prepare food and drink for them. We will make sleeping arrangements in a short while.”
One of the guards left the room as Ari sat in a chair that gave her a clear view of the Queen. She had never seen a woman dressed so ornately and move so gracefully. The light shimmered off the dress as though it were polished gold, and when needed, the Queen brushed her blue hair off her shoulders to hang down her back. The Queen was the opposite of a warrior, yet she commanded respect without saying a word.
Queen Lehentis poured a drink for each of the guests, and one for herself. She nodded to another guard, who took the glasses of dark-red bryne and presented them to kDira and the others.
kDira studied the glass she was handed; a wide, clear vessel with a long stem and a flattened base. kDira had never seen glass in such a fancy configuration before. She looked over at Elick, who was also studying the glass with great interest.
“This is a wine glass, kDira,” Miss Davis said. “These are very nice examples.”
“Wine glass? Hmm.” kDira lifted the
glass to her lips and tasted the bryne. It was not made from the mollyberries she was familiar with. It was very tart, and it tingled in her mouth. “May I ask what kind of bryne this is?”
“Do you like it?” the Queen asked, sitting in the largest chair in that part of the room. “It is made from some sort of red vine fruit, I believe. We have a warehouse of this stuff. It will probably last us one hundred seasons or more.”
“It is not as sweet as we are used to, but I could get used to this,” Ari said, looking at the Queen with a smile. The Queen smiled back, and for the first time Ari noticed that the Queen’s cheeks were a bit more rosy than normal, and her eyes… they stood out more than what was natural. When the Queen blinked, Ari could see a hint of blue and magenta to match the tips of the Queen’s hair.
“So, I see that you and this fine warrior,” the Queen said, pointing at Ari, “are ready for battle. That is understandable. But these two…” she said, wagging her finger between Miss Davis and Elick, “these two are not warriors at all.”
“They are what we call Interpreters. They can read the symbols on scrolls and tomes.”
“Fascinating! There is so much I have wondered about in all those old things. We have a vault full of scrolls and other such stuff that no one has been able to understand for as long as I have been alive.”
“I would be glad to share the knowledge within the old texts, Queen Lehentis,” Elick said. “It would be my honor.”
“Oh, this is wonderful, wonderful! So, tell me, is there any chance I could, oh… borrow… one or more of your males for breeding?”
Miss Davis chuckled at the request. She quickly stopped when she realized she was the only one that found it funny. “I’m sorry. I’m not used to hearing questions like that.”
“She is not one of you, is she?” asked the Queen.
“She comes from a completely different tribe,” replied kDira. “It is a rather long story.”
The kDira's World Anthology Page 48