Releasing the woman but keeping her within striking distance, Skye responded to the paka with a half-minded request for silence. Taking no chances, he scowled, balancing on the balls of his feet while he carefully studied her face in the dim moonlight. Although her eyes were haunted from the recent events, he guessed her age near his.
He asked, “How did you know who I was? I’ve never met you.”
The woman trembled, lifting a dirt-encrusted hand to hide her mouth that did nothing to hide the dainty fingertips. Before she could answer, Skye jumped forward and pushed her down flat. He didn’t bother belly crawling to the edge of the roof to watch the five Malirrans march down the street, instead he filtered through the details his second sight provided. He made a mental note that the constant barrage was taxing his energy quicker than Eiren and he had anticipated.
Skye turned back to the woman beneath him. The way she curled into herself made him grimace. In a few short months, he’d forgotten the strictures keeping women and men separate in Pyran, disallowing intimate touch of any kind. She was holding herself together, but barely.
He lifted his weight off the woman but kept her pinned down. Putting his mouth by her ear, he demanded again, “How do you know me?”
She quivered once, then stilled. Rounding her shoulders, her voice quavered when she responded, “W-We’ve been watching for you. Your return was foreseen. I’ve kept s-sentry on top of the buildings for days.”
Thrown by her answer, Skye shook his head once. He breathed in her ear, “Who?”
She took a shuddered breath. “Dane, Timosy. Um, Th-Thanel.”
Goddess save him, they were alive. Skye jumped off her like she was on fire. His first battlemates were searching for him? Why? How could he trust this woman?
As fast as he lifted his weight off the woman, he grabbed her by the shoulders, swinging her around to face him. “Why look for me now? I was cast out of Pyran,” he growled.
She cowered, leaning her head away from him, though her hands gripped his forearms. “Please don’t hurt me. Please,” she whimpered. “The Goddess gave us warning of your return. As a priestess of the Goddess, I had no choice but to help them in their search. Please.”
Near as he could tell, the woman was too frightened of him to lie. As much as he’d like to see his old battlemates, Skye’s task to find Lara took priority. He shared what he’d learned with Eiren.
Do you trust your old friends? Eiren asked.
He paused, staring off into the distance for a moment. Did he? In a flash, all the years they spent together ran through his mind. They may not follow the same agenda, but he did trust them with his life. With his new companions?
No, absolutely not.
At last he said, To a point.
Eiren’s mental shrug traveled through their bond. My Lord, we’re at the mercy of the Goddess’s plan. If the Goddess forewarned them of your return, perhaps she is helping us where she can. Go with the woman, speak with your old battlemates. They may have knowledge where the Malirrans hold Lara captive. The strength of her resolve grew the longer the paka spoke. Skye, she hesitated, Chion and Lara don’t have much time left.
Skye focused back on the woman, releasing her with slow precision, careful not to startle her. After funneling through the information yielded by his Tal’Ai power, he motioned her up.
The woman scrambled to her feet, rearranging her clothes. She looked at him for a long moment, silently asking him what to do next. Skye stretched his magic out as far as it reached and cocked his head to listen. A horn blew in the distance, floating to them on the breeze. The wind was stronger than usual. He looked up at the cloud coverage. A storm brewed out at sea.
In a low voice, he said, “Where are they hiding?”
She pointed toward the east side of Gharra. “There is an old bakery. Behind it is a cellar hidden in the alley.”
He nodded once. Skye knew the place. They’d frequented the bakery as young trainees. He frowned down at her, taking a step closer to ensure she heard every word. “Stay on my heels. When I say hide, you do exactly as I tell you. No argument. I will protect you from harm if you let me. However, I won’t hesitate to kill you if you seek to give our position away.”
She searched his face for something, perhaps a gentler emotion. With Lara and Chion in danger, though, Skye had no comfort to give this nameless Pyranni woman. As much as he might regret it, she wasn’t his overriding concern.
With grave dignity, she nodded her assent after dropping her eyes to look at his boots. She whispered, “I’ll follow your every command if you can save me from the Malirrans’ idea of mercy.”
True to her word, she jumped at his single-worded commands, and they arrived at the alley without any mishap. When she rushed forward, Skye clamped down on her shoulder, halting her before she took a second step. The woman glanced back at him with terror.
He brought his other hand up, telling her to wait. Something wasn’t right. Tweaking the mirrors around him until only the area immediately around the alley was visualized, Skye searched every inch. A man slept on the cellar floor with his foot propped up. From the physique, Skye thought it was Thanel. The other two sat on the floor nearby.
He released the woman, allowing her to approach the dead end. To Eiren, he said, I am here. I’m close to where Cai and Neal wait for word.
Because of the distance between them, it took a long moment before he heard the paka respond. Be careful. Chion becomes more frustrated as the night continues. His Ai will not or cannot speak to him.
Skye grunted aloud. Half the night was already gone, and he had yet to find Lara.
Following the woman to the cellar, he took the stairs down first. With his magic, he saw a knife slice through the air toward him. He ducked and caught it in his left hand. Without looking behind him, Skye kicked out at the arm swinging toward his back, sending the dagger into a wooden shelf. The woman gasped in fear. Dane slid forward in a protective stance, putting himself between Skye and the woman.
The cloak hiding his face, Skye bowed his head, concentrating on their every shift of weight. Skye blinked a few times to adjust to the sudden light from the lantern. He started to raise his hands to drop the hood when Timosy moved on silent feet to tackle him from the right.
Skye smiled a second before he made his countermove. He grabbed the arm, set his foot back, and flipped the man to the ground where the warrior landed on his back. Skye was fully aware that the entire fight took place in near silence.
Before the others could attack, he tossed the hood back, giving them a view of his face for the first time. All three of his old friends stared at him with varying emotions. Timosy was the first to break the standoff by sitting up with a fierce scowl.
“You could have announced yourself,” Thanel barked after watching Skye drop his throwing knife beside him on the ground.
Skye shrugged but kept his mouth shut. He should have, and he had no idea why he didn’t. Perhaps he still feared their negative reaction despite learning they watched for his return. He returned his own blade back to its sheath. Shedding the magic to rest his head, Skye took the time to examine his old battlemates.
They were leaner than before but more muscular, as if they’d spent their time training or fighting. All three, but Timosy especially, shared the same haunted look as the woman. All Pyrannis, man and woman alike, had been affected by the Malirrans’ invasion.
Dane offered his forearm, and Skye took it. His friend murmured with a slight grin, “It is good to see you.”
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Skye grunted, feeling out of sync. He’d spent years with these three men, but now he felt awkward, not knowing how to act or what to say. A glance at the other two gave him the sense that Timosy and Thanel were less welcoming and more suspicious of him than Dane.
Lara first, Skye reminded himself. Shaking his head to return to the more pressing issue, he tossed his chin toward the woman, “She found me as soon as I came through the trapdoor.”
“Y-You knew I followed you from the start?” In the small room, the woman’s soft words were clear. The three warriors exchanged looks when Skye stared at the haggard woman.
“Of course. I thought you were a pickpocket after you didn’t raise the alarm.” He turned to regard the others for a long moment, careful to choose the right words. “How did you know I’d return at that section of the wall? I had no plans to return until circumstances gave me no other choice.”
Dane crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. “We didn’t. I expected you to come in through the western gate, so I took up watch there.” He sighed, motioning toward the rucksack on the floor. “Normally, no one is here until just before dawn. I scrounged for food.”
Skye’s eyes wandered over the four Pyrannis with new eyes. Their leanness was a direct result of hunger. Pulling his cloak over his head and dropping it to the floor, he untied the small bag hanging on his belt. “Here. Take this.” He tossed the bag to Dane.
It wasn’t much, but Skye had more in his pack in the tunnel. He waited while they scarfed down the paltry rations. Timosy and Thanel kept their eyes trained on him, but Skye ignored them. Their suspicion and doubt hurt, but not as much as he’d expected.
Dane gulped down some water before placing both elbows on his knees. Staring at Skye with steady eyes, he asked, “Why did you return home? You mentioned a situation. Was it King Ragnar’s death?”
“No,” Skye sighed and leaned back on his hands. “I’m looking for a woman. She was taken captive by Malirran scouts in Kureto.” He paused, debating whether he could trust them with the others’ presence. He decided to wait. “Reconnaissance determined the woman is here in Gharra but not her exact location.”
All three men shared confused looks, and Skye understood. An attempt to rescue a lone woman was foolhardy. Before his life was altered beyond his comprehension, he’d have dismissed the woman as a casualty of war.
Timosy’s deep voice filled the room, “This woman is important to Kureto?”
Skye weighed his answer against the Pyranni culture, but he finally stuck with honesty. They’d know whether he lied. “She is. Lara is not only important to Kureto but also to me and my two other companions.” His eyes narrowed, halting Dane from asking more questions. “Lara is running out of time. If there is time to explain later, I will.”
Dane scowled. “You returned for a woman? A Kurite woman? Why would your mother warn me of your return? It makes no sense.”
“My mother?” Skye sat forward, clenching his teeth together. He shook his head, cutting his right hand through the air. “No, tell me later. For now, I must find Lara.” With a thought, he straightened. “Dane, you said that all four of you have watched for me. Have you seen or heard anything that might tell me where to look? Do you have anyone left that imparts information?”
Thanel spoke up, “There are no Kurites in Gharra from what I’ve observed. All the slaves vanished during the final battle. I’ve never figured out how they disappeared without a trace. There is no one except Malirrans and Pyrannis within Gharra’s walls.”
Skye huffed and shook his head. “I never said Lara was a Kurite. The woman has curly brown hair.” He thought of her past reactions to the influx of emotions. “She might have caused an altercation when she disembarked the ship.”
“A fight?” Dane murmured with a perplexed look.
He grinned and murmured, “Lara won’t go with any Malirran without a fight. The woman is a warrior, just not one like you or me.”
Thanel glanced at the woman huddled in the corner of the room, who listened to every word they said. “Why should we help you find a woman for Kureto? She is nothing to us. A woman can’t help us take back Pyran from Lukar the Bloody. How you talk tells me you will not stay to fight with us.”
And there it was.
All three of his old battlemates now watched him with distrust. He felt his face harden into a mask, hiding all his thoughts. Skye surged to his feet, drawing a knife from his boot and slamming his magic back into place. They didn’t understand what was at stake, but then they would never understand what happened to him. All of the sudden, his magic warned him of people heading into the alley.
He twisted around until he faced the cellar door in the corner, tension radiating from every limb. Skye unsheathed a dagger from his belt. He ordered, “Extinguish the light. We’ve got company.”
Even as the light was extinguished, Dane hissed, “How do you know? I hear nothing.”
In the dark, no one saw him shrug. He followed the Malirrans’ progress to the end of the alley with his Tal’Ai magic.
Eiren burst into his brain, I feel your worry. What is it?
Not now. After I deal with the Malirran intruders, I’ll explain. His magic warned him when Thanel shifted his weight. He hissed, “Thanel,” in warning.
Skye flexed, bunching his muscles to mount the stairs in a single motion. On a breath of air, he relayed in a bare whisper, “They’ve located the cellar door. Wait here. I will take care of them.”
Before he could say anything else, a slight scuff of a boot bumped the door, and then the door swung open. Using surprise to his advantage, Skye took all four stairs in a single leap, thrusting his knife into the man’s throat to halt his shocked yell. With the hard heel of his boot, Skye kicked the second man in the chest, hoping that knocking the air out of the Malirran kept him silent long enough to kill the third warrior. Skye dodged a sword by swiveling sideways, and his move put him into the Malirran’s space. Continuing the turn, Skye drove the dagger in his other hand across and up, hitting the right lung with unerring accuracy.
As he turned his attention back to the second man, an arrow came out of nowhere and struck the Malirran between the eyes. Dane.
Skye first cleaned his knife and dagger on the dead man’s clothes, then leaned over and pilfered the other’s weapons. Dane confiscated the weapons from the other two.
Standing back up, Skye tossed the weapons to Timosy one at a time, getting a nod of thanks in return. Stretching his magic, he checked their surroundings, making certain the noise didn’t attract anyone else to the area. Satisfied, Skye turned back around and stared at the Malirrans. Dane already had the Malirran’s cloak and shirt in a pile and now was stripping the boots and breeches off.
Skye couldn’t help but grin. Dane was up to his old tricks. His old battlemate left the man killed by the burst lung alone and stripped the other Malirran’s boots, pants, and cloak, leaving the bloody shirt behind.
The dead bodies complicated matters. Skye said in a low voice, “Either we move the bodies to another location, or we dump them in the cellar and find another hiding place for you. It’s up to you.”
Timosy grunted, “Thanel still doesn’t have full use of his leg; nevertheless, carrying these three Malirrans around will cause more problems for us.”
“Do you know of another place?”
“It is where Thanel and I holed up before finding Dane and the girl.”
Skye turned away, only to stiffen and glance down at the hand gripping his forearm. Timosy glared at him. “I don’t trust you. You are not the same battlemate we once knew. You are changed, different. There is something about you…” He trailed off while scanning Skye from head to foot again. “You didn’t return to Gharra to help overturn the Malirran regime. You came for a woman. A woman,” he spat, a sneer twisting his face.
Skye twisted his arm and shoved the man back, then leaned into Timosy—nose to nose. “That woman, who you so despise, will save both Pyran and Kureto from the Malirrans. You don’t trust me, sure. I can even understand how it must look. You cannot comprehend what I’ve seen and done to survive.” He put his lips against Timosy’s ear. “But Pyranni, I don’t trust you either. However, we have a common enemy; one both of us would sacrifice our lives for to kill.”
He stepped back and gazed at each of the three men in turn, holding them fast by his glare alone. “For the sake of the bond we once shared, I ask for your help. Soon, I hope to explain why Lara is crucial to the war against Malirra, but she will die if I don’t find her first. On faith alone, will you help me?”
He’d forgotten the woman in the shadows of the cellar until she stepped out. She trembled with terror and walked clear around the bodies, stopping only when a mere hairsbreadth separated her from Dane. Her eyes stayed on the ground, but her voice was strong. “The Goddess sent him here for a reason.”
Without meaning to, Skye admitted, “The Goddess has come up in conversation more than usual since I’ve been in Kureto.”
Dane cocked his head and crossed his arms in thought. “Timosy is right. Your reason for returning is not what I expected to hear.” He glanced over to Thanel. “If there’s any chance for Pyran to become a kingdom once more, I will do everything in my power to make it happen. Thanel, tell him what you saw last night.” He pointed to the man a couple strides away. “Timosy, grab his legs. We don’t have much time before dawn.”
The more Thanel described the incident the night before in the street, the more certain Skye was that Lara was the culprit.
“Is she the one you look for? By all accounts, she is insane,” Thanel asked, his words laced with curiosity and a little fear.
Skye nodded at the same time as he eyed the sky.
“The castle is impregnable. How will you rescue her?”
Skye knew his eyes showed a glimmer of wicked amusement. Thanel didn’t even question whether he was going into the enemy’s stronghold. “I’m going to rejoin the others that await my return. And we’ll need the Malirran clothing.”
Thanel frowned and took a long look around. “You are not alone?”
Chuckling, Skye shook his head. “I am never alone, Thanel. Something to remember for later. Perhaps soon you’ll learn why. I must go. Your other place is where the fight took place?”
“Yes, it is the burned building. I assume we’ll see you soon?”
“Time is running out for the woman. The storm off the coast will provide cover for my movements. As soon as it hits land, I’ll come to you. I ask that one of you join me as I rescue Lara. I will need someone capable of fighting.” Skye nodded but didn’t extend his forearm in farewell. Thanel studied his face, looking as if he wanted to ask more questions.
Skye murmured, “Soon,” as an oath. He’d explain everything if they let him. The ultimate mystery was whether they’d believe him.
Eiren? I’ve located Lara. She is in the castle’s dungeon.
The castle… The dungeon? What did she do?
I see you know our companion well. Relay the news to the others. I’m on my way back to you now. I’ll explain in detail when I return. I have the makings of a plan. I’ll need your help in finalizing it. We do not have much time.