The way of courage, p.31
The Way of Courage, page 31
Understanding that Bess had probably just saved Efren’s life, Stone acknowledged why they’d stopped by glancing briefly at Efren. Then, ignoring what had happened, he turned and continued to lead them eastward.
CHAPTER 4
As she ran, Bess wove aether into cords that searched ahead for anything that might hinder their progress. While she and Stone wanted to reach the turn to the mines undetected, Bess had insisted that they, at least, consider dealing with any force that the Kish might send toward Fort Karlton from the east. They covered ten leagues before they encountered someone alive. While Bess wanted to set free the dozen or so women and children being herded eastward by a small group of frightened men, she knew Stone was right when he moved off the trail and led the way through the wilderness until they’d passed the group.
There was a small garrison on the north side of the trail thirty leagues from Fort Karlton. It was just after dawn the next day, when, as they approached, Bess motioned for Stone to pause further back than he’d intended. She said, “There are several hundred men camped outside the garrison; soldiers are watching them. All along the trail, there are men impaled on stakes.”
“It’s how the Kish treat cowards. It’s probably men who ran from Fort Karlton. We’ll have to go around.”
“They have sentries scattered on both sides of the trail looking for people trying to do just that. If we go around those, it’ll mean four or five hours with the difficulty of the terrain.”
“Could you get us through without being seen?”
“Yes.”
“You hesitated for a moment. Why?”
“I can sense a couple of mages in the garrison. Usually, I’d be confident they couldn’t see my use of aether; it’s just that at the moment, some free aether is still escaping. I’m confident they can’t sense it at this distance, but I’m not so confident when we get closer. Still, it’s probably worth the risk as most mages don’t develop the ability until they’re more senior than what I suspect someone out here would be, and none of them feels that strong.”
“Let’s keep moving then.”
“Agreed. There’s no need to change the pace; I can hide us while we run.”
Stone turned and, after checking that Efren was ready, continued at the steady pace they’d be using. Bess changed her breathing slightly as she changed the weaves, increasing her use of aether and wrapping the three of them in what amounted to three separate cocoons of light and air. As they approached the camp, Stone slowed to a walk to choose the best way through the mix of tents, lean-tos and fire-pits. Bess breathed a sigh of relief as they passed the last of the sentries on the far side without being detected.
Inside the garrison, the senior of the two mages waited until the unseen mage had moved beyond his ability to sense before heading to the latrines, hoping that relieving the pressure in his bladder would somehow let him choose the best thing to do. He knew people would usually want to do the right thing, but he’d stopped thinking in terms of right and wrong decades ago. When he’d just graduated from the Academy, he’d been sent to work as a junior mage in one of the Tarlonin empire’s northern ports. He was tasked with looking for people trying to evade paying the legitimate amount of excise duty.
He’d discovered one of the other mages was earning additional golds working for one of the great houses by closing an eye to certain imports. Doing the right thing had almost got him killed. He’d had to flee to evade the imperial hands sent to kill him by the senior mage to whom he had reported the infraction. He’d foolishly not realised that the senior mage was also working for the same great house. He wasn’t a strong mage, which was why he was stationed at a minor garrison, but he’d been around long enough and learned more than he’d ever let on. He didn’t mind the posting, and it was safer not to be noticed.
It was the memory of the men he’d watched being forced onto the stakes which finally convinced him. It was better not to get on the wrong side of Lord Kish. It was better to be noticed by the Kish than to be questioned and found to have kept something from them. He wrote a brief message with hands that shook at the risk of putting himself under their scrutiny. Thankfully, he was able to order one of the soldiers who looked after the small roost to tie the message on the bird’s leg as he wasn’t sure he’d have been able to.
Restin Kestrel, Earl of Wild Duck Meadows and Captain of the imperial greatship Hammer, turned to the greatship’s Senior Battlemage and asked, “Anything?”
Senior Battlemage Helene Lightsabre cancelled her spell, which had gathered light from five hundred paces above the greatship and let her see the Kishmeld coastline where Stone and Bess had arranged to leave a message if they needed to communicate. “Nothing from either the hand or her Grace. I can see more Kish than usual along the stretch of coastline.”
The captain took a deep breath and said, “It’s the same at every point. If I had doubts about spies knowing the plans, I no longer have them.”
“What are your orders, Captain?”
“Keep looking. We know her Grace is formidable and able to think outside the box. I suspect she knew that this was not only likely but probable; otherwise, she would not have left early. I’ll ready the ship to move to the next position. It is west of here.”
The Kish wilderness was harsh on both sides of the Desolations; this, coupled with the constant need to resupply and restock, had seen the Kish security forces develop bird relays instead of making them travel the vast distances. The bird released by the mage had been raised eighty leagues east of the garrison in a fort city on the coastal road. Four hours after its journey began, the bird was gathered in by a handler, and after the small capsule on its leg had been removed, it was carefully placed in one of the marked roosts to rest. Once a scribe had transcribed the message onto a larger piece of paper in a font the fort commander would be able to decipher; the message was carried by one of the messenger slaves to the fort commander’s office.
The Kish were proud of the fact that no woman died of natural causes in their society and touted this to the world. What wasn’t as well known was their pride that very few of the men died of natural causes either. When a man became too infirm to hold a sword or abuse a woman, they were considered a drain on society and were used to train soldiers in the art of killing. If the man lived outside of the main centres, then, if they were true Kish, when they knew they were no longer capable of being Kish, they would walk away from their homes and allow the environment to recycle their bodies prematurely.
The fort commander had been a sentinel in his younger years, and the accumulation of injuries had been weighing on his mind for several years. He knew he was beginning to decline into frailty and had lost his morning sparring training for the last three days in a row; each time to one of the newest batch of soldiers assigned to the fort. His usefulness was coming to an end, and he knew he would need to appoint a successor in the next eightday, or his second in command would make the decision for him. He just needed to find a way to end his service with glory.
When the message was handed to him, he smiled for the first time since Quarter-year. He called for the fort’s most senior mage, and while he waited for the mage to arrive, he took out his whetting stone and began sharpening the edge of his sword. Mage Kash had been expecting the old soldier to make some demand for death through combat and was surprised he was the one chosen. As he entered the room, he was surprised at Commander Keag’s seeming vigour.
“Mage Kash, what can you tell me of Mage Kylo who serves Kish at Garrison 217?”
Not giving any evidence of his surprise, Kash said, “He is from Tarlonin and serves faithfully. He is weak, but over the years he has developed many skills usually only seen in much stronger mages. I suspect he serves from fear, but he has been faithful. If I may be bold, why do you ask?”
“He says he sensed a mage pass by the garrison heading east. The mage was hidden from sight, and he only had a faint awareness of their passing. He asks for instructions. Is his claim possible?”
Kash looked at the paper in the commander’s hands and considered his options. The message, once read, should have been given directly to him, and the commander ought to have stepped away. As Kash wasn’t in the commander’s line of authority, he would be within his rights not to answer, take the message and act on it as he wished. However, he understood the commander’s actions and question. They had served together for several years and were almost friends; true Kish had no friends.
He said, “It wouldn’t surprise me. I am surprised that he would reveal such a skill, it puts him in the spotlight, and those like him prefer to hide their lives away. The most likely explanation is he did sense the aether and fears Lord Kish’s response should he discover the matter was known and not reported. Everything says his message is true.”
“Five centuries of Lord Kish’s sentinels approach. They would be best redirected at the north-south trail to the east. I will take two fists to inform them of the news. Perhaps they will let me join them.”
“I will accompany you.”
Commander Keag nodded and then smiled as the mage left the room. He looked around the room at what he’d collected over the years and was content. He was Kish. He had been born in the breeding pens and had no connection with the past. If he had children, he did not know who they were. He did not have friends, no brothers, no loyal followers; true Kish did not need such things. Kish were the true men of the world. They moved through it alone, doing as they wished, ultimately answerable to none except Lord Kish. They left it alone, unmourned, forgotten. It was the Kish way.
Half an hour later, a small force headed east, riding at a canter.
Stone came awake instantly as Bess used a touch of aether to tap his shoulder. Just near his ear, her voice said, “It’s an hour before dawn. Efren is awake and thrilled he was able to get up without waking you. I’ve had to change his breathing pattern. I don’t know what men do in this situation, but a small encouragement wouldn’t go astray.”
Knowing she would cancel the sound of his words, he said, “Men don’t acknowledge something done well with all the words you women like. A simple nod says everything. It’s a sign we accept their actions as normal, nothing special. They are men. They did as expected.”
“I’ll know from his aether if you’re right or not.”
“Watch and learn. Just don’t try this yourself. Men don’t expect women to understand, and we try and interpret what you do. If you just nod, it means we failed, but you expected nothing better, and we should keep working on it.”
“People say women are complicated.”
“We only say that to women as a joke. We say it to each other in frustration.”
Bess didn’t bother answering. Instead, she focused several more weaves on Efren to gauge his reaction. Stone slowly came to his feet and looked around. First, he looked toward Bess, who, in the moonlight, he could just make out sitting on a rock, watching the clearing where they’d stopped for a two-hour rest and the trail she could see just through the trees. He then looked to where Efren had been. When he didn’t see Efren, he turned until he saw him at the far edge of the small glade, packing his bag even as he watched to see if his father knew he had come awake silently. As Stone’s eyes passed over Efren, he paused momentarily, gave Efren the smallest of nods, and then moved on.
Efren’s love for his father and the need for Stone’s validation caused Efren to lose control of his breathing pattern; his aether surged, pushing against his barrier, all of it focused on his lips as he desperately tried not to smile. Bess knew she needed to do something, or Efren was going to have his breakthrough. While she was almost confident he would live, the amount of aether he was pulling from the aether dimension was at least as much as Michael used. Regardless of his intent, the aether from his breakthrough wouldn’t be hidden; it would alert any mages in the area.
Her need to move for Efren, Stone and Marina’s sake was compounded and infinitely overshadowed by the realisation that if they were found, she would almost certainly fail to see Spark and Flame grow up; she wouldn’t see Gentility or her father again. She reached out with everything she had. Her aether surged as she tried to hide what she was doing, to hide Efren, to twist time and space to get to him, to somehow push back on his barrier to stop it from bulging and to redirect his thoughts. She needed to stop him as she desperately needed to see the children and her family again.
Then, Bess wasn’t. An instant later, once again, she was.
Efren’s thrill at his father’s reaction disappeared as his master, Bess, suddenly appeared in front of him. He shifted his breathing automatically back to the pattern he’d been using as he stared at her. He noticed that her eyes were looking right at him, and then, she flickered. She was, she wasn’t, she was, she wasn’t, then she was. Her eyes focused briefly on his, and her mouth whispered, “Breathe,” before her body flashed almost like the sun, then seemed to fold on itself as she crumpled, breathless and unresponsive.
CHAPTER 5
Arabella loved her job with Bess, and her dream of one day of perhaps even being an Imperial Guard had been eclipsed by the reality of helping to keep Bess’ children safe. She grinned as she made her way into the main area of the suite, where the twins were playing with Kerrigan while their three keepers kept watch. She’d spent the last hour sparring with the Imperial House Guards of the Tarlonin Empire and not been beaten. Her grin widened slightly when she saw her charges. She was personally responsible for the twins’ safety; both were royalty and children of a queen. Life was good.
She’d just poured herself a cup of fruit juice and was walking toward the play area where the three were twirling in circles to make themselves dizzy when the twins stumbled and fell. They seemed to shimmer slightly a couple of times; then, they reached for each other as they called out, “Mama.”
As their hands touched, they turned and looked between the two keepers, and as Arabella’s eyes shifted to see what they were looking at, Bess appeared. She looked haggard and had huge dark rings under her eyes. She was skinny, almost malnourished, and wearing tight clothes covered with dirt. It was clear she could see the twins as her eyes went bright, and then she glanced at Arabella and Kerrigan before looking at the keepers. She whispered something before disappearing. The twins called her name again, this time almost as a scream. Arabella turned and saw them shimmer again and again, and then both children, their hands still intertwined, crumbled. Neither hit the floor as they were cushioned in the arms of their keepers, whose eyes tracked back to where Bess had been. Kerrigan looked terrified and stepped over to be held by her keeper, Eshe.
Gentility looked up as Patient placed a cup of herbal tea beside the plate of fruit she’d decided to begin her breakfast with. After thanking the head of their kitchen, she turned to say something to Impartial when there was a flicker at the edge of her vision. She turned and saw Resolute looking at her. Resolute looked exhausted. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail but looked greasy. Streaks of dirt ran down from the hairline where sweat had brought the dirt together and then dried. She had two katanas poking above her shoulders and what looked like a dozen knives in sheathes spread over her body. It was clear she could see Gentility as her face crinkled in a smile. Her eyes shifted, and Gentility knew Resolute could see Impartial. Resolute mouthed something, and then she winked out of existence.
Turning toward her father, she saw he had tears already forming in his eyes. Gentility stood and stepped toward him before dropping to her knees so she could hold on to him, or more to the point, so he could hold onto her. Nothing was said for several minutes as they tried to process what had happened.
Mage Kash was waiting at the crossroads with the fort commander. Several scouts from the sentinels had made contact, and the force was due to arrive in less than ten minutes. He was about to speak when he paused, stood, and turned to look westward. He slowly walked several paces from the others, just watching. After several minutes Commander Keag came and stood beside his almost friend and said, “What is it?”
“It is nothing.”
“What did you think was there?”
“No. The answer to your question is that in that direction is nothing.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I. It is like something has always been there, but now it is not. I have never noticed it before as it was always present. Now it is gone, and I recognise its absence. Come, we need to find out what caused this. The sentinels can catch up with us.”
Commander Keag smiled as he moved to his horse. He might yet be in the front line of the battle.
Senior Battlemage Helene Lightsabre was leaning against the rail, staring into the ocean. Nothing, yet again. They’d been moving up and down the coast for several eightdays and still nothing. News of the attempted coup had reached the ship, and Helene still struggled to understand how Prince Harun would warn the Kish. His betrayal had paradoxically both lowered the morale of the ship’s company and created an environment where they were more driven than ever to look to avenge, and here was the issue, she was not certain if they sought to avenge the Imperial Princess Marina or The Duchess. She chuckled as she realised that in all their minds, Bess wasn’t a duchess; she was The Duchess.
She sighed and was about to turn away and head to her cabin when she felt a change. Her eyes were drawn toward the northwest. She stood almost entranced for several minutes, then with her attention riveted to the same spot, she made her way to see the captain. The battlemage wondered as she walked how to convince the captain to head further west. As far as she was concerned, there was only one person she knew of that was capable of hiding their aether so effectively. Even so, why would she hide the aether of everything? A concept Helene had never considered. Perhaps more importantly, how did Bess do it?
