Anaya tensed as the Brugo read the letter. His face changed as his eyes scanned down the page, and she wasn’t sure whether it was good or bad news. But it was the men who gathered around them that really put her on edge.
They were surrounded, and there was nothing they could do about it. She supposed that Brugo was making the best of a bad situation, allowing the Sarizians to escort them to Yaal. But she didn’t like it one bit.
For one thing, the sword had not stopped spitting and sputtering inside its cloak, and she feared it would catch fire at any moment. Harpyn could barely keep hold of the thing, jumping every time it popped or sizzled in his hands. She had serious doubts that these men would take them to Yaal. More likely, they would wait until they were far from town, and then steal the blade for themselves. If they succeeded, she didn’t want to think of the possibilities.
And then there was the matter of her divining rods. With the sword riled up, it seemed that her rods were growing agitated once more. She’d been so relieved to show Harpyn and Brugo the harpies before, but now she knew she’d have to keep them concealed from the soldiers until they reached the capital.
“Time’s a-wasting,” she announced as Brugo tucked the letter into his pocket. “Best be going now if we want to make good time.”
There was a general grumble of assent and she turned to lead away from Honeybarrow, striding purposefully forward.
“Wait! Before yer go, I have some provisions for ya,” the honey vendor said. “Just wait here a minute and I’ll run and grab them.”
He shuffled away as quick as his aged legs would carry him.
Anaya looked at the old man and then to Brugo. “They can wait if they want, but I’m leaving,” she said.
He nodded and Harpyn joined them. Together they started forward again, to the dismay of the soldiers.
“You’re not going anywhere without us! We are your royal escort, and Brugo is under arrest!”
She shrugged. “Then I suppose you should keep up. Leave one of your men to collect the supplies, and then he can catch up in his own time. But the longer we delay, the more dangerous the road gets.”
He scoffed. “As if anyone is going to mess with the likes of us!”
“Look, you may think you’re big and strong with that armor of yours, but I’m telling you, since we’ve had this sword in our possession, crazy things have happened. We need to be prepared for anything. The faster we get rid of it, the better.”
Anaya and her friends waited impatiently as the soldiers conferred, but eventually they split up. One of the Sarizians from Brugo’s guild headed back to the town to gather supplies, and the rest of the soldiers and butchers formed a scraggly line as they marched forward toward Yaal at last.
They walked a long time in silence, unsure of how to conduct themselves when being watched so closely. Anaya had the feeling that one wrong move would earn them a sword in the back, so she kept her thoughts to herself and kept her eyes on the ground as it passed beneath her feet.
The day passed slow and painful in this manner until the sun was just setting over the trees, casting a purplish light over the fields. At her side, the divining rods pulsed with warmth, ever reminding her of their presence. She let her hand slip inside the pouch, letting her fingers curl softly around the wooden handle of one. It was comforting, reminding her that there was a certain power at her disposal, and she could call upon it when needed. She was just biding her time, waiting until the perfect moment to rid her little traveling party of these intruders.
She let her mind wander, imagining the harpies chasing the soldiers across the fields at her request. If only she had so much control over them. Mostly she was just afraid that they would get her into more trouble and then leave her to her own devices. If they were on her side, they had yet to prove it.
“How many days to Yaal?” Brugo asked, trudging along beside her, breaking her out of her ruminations.
“Hard to say. We were moving faster before. I think we could’ve made it in four days. Now? Maybe six. And that’s if they don’t hold us up in any of these towns.”
Brugo grunted, giving the soldiers a disapproving look. “Sorry. You didn’t have to stay for me. You could’ve gone ahead.”
Anaya looked at him in surprise. “Yeah right. We’re a team. The three of us. And besides, it’s not like there’s anyone waiting for me in Yaal anyway. If my people are on the road, we’ll cross paths soon enough. If not, then the rumors are true.” Her heart clenched at the thought, but she pushed it away, lowering her voice. “We just need to find a way to lose them.”
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“That’ll be hard to do since they know where we’re headed,” he reasoned.
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. I don’t trust them, and I’m not going to let them call the shots.”
Brugo didn’t answer, only nodded sullenly beside her. She stayed quiet, too, wracking her brain for any way to escape their new escort. The sooner the better.
When the sun finally dropped beneath the tree line, the soldiers called for a halt. Their companion had caught up from Honeybarrow and had plenty of food and drink to go around. Begrudgingly, Anaya sat in a circle with the others, accepting the provisions while her mind still worked furiously on the problem at hand.
Their progress had been so slow with their new escort. Plus, they’d wasted time outside of Honeybarrow. She wasn’t ready to stop for the night, but they had light to travel by without her harpies to light the way. And that’s when it dawned on her.
Chewing slowly, she watched the Sarizians going about their business. With their leader dead, it seemed there was still a bit of conflict over who should take charge, even if no-one was saying it outright. But to her, it was obvious in the little ways they jostled one another. There was a definite division between the soldiers and the men from the butcher’s guild. They weren’t friendly with one another, and Anaya wondered if the Emperor had offered them different prizes for their help in this matter.
She continued watching for some time, noting the way the men moved about one another until they all settled down to get ready for bed. She waited for the sounds of their snores to fill the night air, and then she tried something she’d never tried before.
Closing her eyes and letting her hand rest on the divining rods, she reached out for Iana and Iantha. She could picture the pair of harpies in her mind’s eye, fluttering about, and she willed them to join her.
She felt the brush of magic in her consciousness and she smiled. They were listening. This was the tricky part. She didn’t want them just fluttering about her, as they so often did. She wanted them to work at a distance.
Opening her eyes just a slit, she peered out into the night, across the dark lumps laying sprawled around their little cooking fire. At first, she couldn’t be sure. But then she saw the golden harpy, clearly formed in the little flickers of ash floating up into the night sky. It wasn’t the way a phoenix would form, rising out of the flames itself, but it was a good start.
The silver harpy shimmered into existence a moment later at its sister’s side. Then, they began to sing together.
It was a soft, quiet song at first, barely audible above the whisper of the winds. But they continued singing, growing more fervent as the song rang out until one of the soldiers sat up in confusion, looking around.
His eyes landed on the harpy and Anaya saw his mouth drop open in surprise. Before he could rouse the others, the harpy flew toward him, staring him down as she sang. He remained frozen in place, staring at her as if hypnotized.
Anaya acted quickly, digging her free hand down into the dirt at her side and curling her fingers through it until she could feel her connection with the land. She began singing her own song, one of the ones her grandmother had passed down to her years ago. She called on the ancient magic of the Makara to come to her rescue.
As she focused all of her energy on the men, the grasses around them began to twist and writhe, forming long braided columns as thick as her arm. They reached up toward the stars before growing together into one tight knot, forming a cage around the soldier and his men.
He was still so caught up in the harpy’s song, he didn’t even seem to notice that he was now cut off from his charges.
The second harpy continued to sing her song as well, flying from one sleeping man to the next, leaning down close to their ears before moving on to the next. Anaya did not understand how the harpy’s magic worked, but she hoped one day she would.
For now, she needed to wake Brugo and Harpyn, and get as far away from this place as possible.
“Psst! Wake up!” she begged, giving Brugo a shove.
His eyes shot open and he glared at her. “What now?”
She shuffled to the side, letting him take in the scene behind her. He sat up, gaping at structure that had sprung up out of nowhere around their enemies. It had continued to grow and knot itself as she readied her things. Now the walls were nearly solid. Anaya gave a little laugh, feeling rather proud, but she didn’t want to waste any time.
“We have to get Harpyn up and keep him quiet. I think they’re under some kind of sleeping spell, but I can’t be sure.”
Brugo just shook his head, as if he might clear the vision and then roll over and go back to bed. But when that didn’t work, he sighed and drew himself up to his feet, hoisting his bag onto his shoulder. He went to where Harpyn lay on the ground, still fidgiting in his sleep and mumbling something about old men like Geor.
In one swift movement, Brugo dropped a hand over Harpyn’s mouth and shook the mage roughly with his other hand. Harpyn came alive like a fish fighting a hook, flailing around wildly and emitting a muffled shriek of terror. Brugo remained steadfast, waiting for Harpyn to still before slowly releasing his hand and placing a finger over Harpyn’s lips to silence him.
Harpyn sat up, looked around, and nearly leaped to his feet in excitement. He moved toward the grassy prison, but Anaya intercepted him, blocking the way before he could take a step closer.
“Come on. This is our chance.”
With the sword wrapped neatly in his cloak, Harpyn straightened and followed them away from the light of the fire, barely flickering through the gaps in the grassy ropes.
“That was amazing! How did you do it?” he breathed when they were barely out of earshot.
Anaya shrugged, giving him a smile. “It wasn’t me. And I don’t know how long it’ll hold, so we need to make ourselves scarce.”
Brugo was marching along silently, only occasionally casting a glance in her direction. She couldn’t tell if he was angry or simply tired, but as long as he set their pace, they would make good time. But what they really needed was a hiding place for the day, somewhere they could rest and get off the main path.
Between the fire and their swords, those soldiers would eventually make a way out of their cage, and she knew they wouldn’t just give up and go home when they did.
They only have to outrun the soldiers for a couple more days and they will be in Yaal. She’s certain that the Sarizian soldiers won’t be allowed to march around the capital city making demands. And if they can get to the mage’s tower, they’ll have all the protection they need.
Just a few more days.