Ashes And Spirit (Book 3) (12 page)

Sadira approached the border town of Basc slowly. The buzzing of flies hung heavy over the town, punctuated only by the flap of buzzard wings. Ranit followed behind, the tips of her wings leaving grooves in the dirt. Blood stained the street and several of the walls, and the stench of death, vomit, and bodies that had soiled themselves during their last throws of life clogged her airways. She held a small satchel of dried flowers to her nose. It didn’t help, only added a floral scent to the reek.

She found Kovan in the town center on a pile of bodies in front of a fountain. He sat with one leg up, his arm resting across his raised knee, and a roll of tobacco in his hand. Sadira examined the pile; it was just as she figured, all men. In fact, it looked as if every man and boy child in the village was in that pile.

To the side of the town square, the women and girls of the village cowered against a wall, their weeping an accompaniment to the tinkling of the fountain. Sadira eyed the man on the pile cautiously. “Kovan.”

He took a long drag off the tobacco roll and blew out the cloud of smoke, giving her a little nod. “Sadira.” He glanced at the roll in his hand. “These really are pretty good, you know. There are quite a few of them in this town. Apparently it’s something they make.” Kovan looked down at the pile of bodies and chuckled darkly. “Used to make.”

Sadira eyed the women and girl children. “And what of them?” He had certainly created a mess.

Kovan followed her look and sighed. “Regrettably, in spite of everything, I still find that I can’t kill them.” He shrugged.

“Why don’t you go back to the Kormai, and I will clean up here.” She glanced at the huddled women. “We need a few more servants.” Especially since the deranged idiot had killed some of them along with several of her mages. “Some of the younger girls would fill that gap nicely with some training.”

He jumped down off the pile. “Do what you wish. I find I’m tired now. Make sure those you choose bring as many as they can carry of the tobacco packets and the papers to wrap it in.” Kovan held the tobacco roll up for her to see.

“Whatever you want, Kovan.” Had the whole thing completely unhinged him? She looked around at all of the bodies again. He did have some nice handiwork here though. Either way, she didn’t really care other than the Kormai needed him and if he stayed here much longer, Guardians were sure to show up and they would likely kill him.

Kovan flipped the nub of tobacco roll on the ground and walked over to Quillan. Within moments, the black had lifted off and Jumped; back to the Kormai she hoped. With a sigh, she turned to the huddled women. “Now, what to do with you?”

Ignoring their pleas for mercy, Sadira looked them over. “You, you, you, and you.” She pointed to four young women, likely barely off their mother’s apron strings. “Go stand over there. If you try to run, my dragon will kill you. If you try to interfere, I will kill you.”

The women stood frozen. Sadira unleashed her shadows, letting each of the four feel their bite. “You will do as I say, always and without question.” With sobbing cries, they ran to stand by Ranit.

Pulling on her powers, she turned the full weight of her shadows on the remaining women and girls. It was quick and merciless. Not the way Sadira liked it, she preferred to draw out deaths. But she needed to be done with this and out of this town as soon as possible.

Turning her back on the huddled mass of blistered and rotting bodies, she walked toward Ranit and her new servants.

A
fter three days of searching, Azurynn found what she sought. Murynn landed right at the edge of their camp, her black wings whipping the sand up as the creatures ran. The females crowded back against the wall of the half-moon canyon while males lined up in front, their weapons at the ready.

Azurynn removed the safety straps and leaped lightly from the saddle. Her cloak billowed out in the cool wind sweeping across the desert. The sand reflected the light of the full moon, making each of the creatures easily visible to her eyes.

She walked across the intervening space with three separate weaves at the ready, coming to stop several paces from the big male that had placed himself ahead of the others. Raising her chin, she eyed him up and down. “My, you do look like a Kojen, don’t you? How strange that you are so different.”

The big male growled and shifted. Azurynn gave him a lazy smile. “Down boy, I didn’t say you
were
a Kojen. I said you
looked
like one.”

“What are you here for?” The male’s voice was deep and demanding.

She considered a moment before answering. “Tonight, that depends on you. I didn’t come here with the sole intention of killing you all, however, if you try to stop me I will do just that. Not even that dragon thing you have hiding in the shadows will be able to save you. I’m sure she is quite formidable against Kojen and even humans. Against my Murynn, she wouldn’t last more than a few a moments.”

The leader stared at her for several minutes. Azurynn sensed him weighing his options. Finally, with a sigh somewhere between frustration and defeat, he asked, “What is it you want?”

“The human babe you have within your camp.”

A gasp went up from the females and one young female clutched a tiny bundle to her breast. The leader shook his head. “What does someone like you wish with the babe?”

Azurynn looked him in the eye. “That is none of your concern. What is your concern is that his father searches for him. I have told him the child died hours after his birth; however, he doesn’t believe me and scours the area for it. When he finds the child, he will kill it and anyone who is caring for it. There will be no negotiation with him, no chance to plead your case. Are you truly willing to risk the lives of everyone in your camp down to the youngest babe for a single human child?” She raised an eyebrow. “Of course, his father will have no chance to even find you if you continue to stand in my way. One way or another, I will have the babe this night.”

“And what will you do with the child?”

“Again, that is none of your concern.” She caught the edge of her cloak as a gust of wind tried to rip it away. “The child will be dealt with and your camp will be safe. For your cooperation, I will even give you a full moon to relocate far from here. If after that I fail to find you anywhere near here when I search, I will forget you even exist.”

The big male stared at the ground for several long minutes before heaving another sigh, his shoulders slumping. Azurynn smiled. She had presented him with an impossible situation. No matter which decision he made, it would run counter to his nature. Sacrifice a babe, or sacrifice his camp.

“Onatah, bring the babe.”

“Hakan, no!” one of the females cried.

Hakan shook his head and partially turned toward those behind him. “We have no choice. Onatah, bring the babe, I do not need to repeat myself.”

The young female, Onatah, slowly separated herself from the clutch of women and walked forward until she stood next to Hakan. The big male gestured toward Azurynn. “We have done all we can for him. Give the babe to her.” When Onatah hesitated, Hakan said, “Remember, you have an infant of your own. Would you forfeit her life so that this woman may still walk away with Marek?”

A tear slid down Onatah’s face as she crossed the distance and laid the child in Azurynn’s arms. Azurynn barely glanced at the sleeping infant. Instead, she looked at Onatah. “His name is Marek?”

The young female nodded.

Azurynn looked down at the thick black hair on the babe’s head. “A fitting name for him.” She looked up into the dark eyes of the purple-skinned female. “He doesn’t belong with you. Return now to the infant that does.” She shifted her look to Hakan. “Your camp is safe…for now. Leave in the morning and go far from here if you wish it to remain so.”

Azurynn turned and walked back to Murynn. Shifting the child to one arm, she climbed awkwardly into the saddle. She could only get one safety strap buckled. It would have to be enough. The baby stirred, and she tucked her cloak around him then touched one finger to his forehead, letting a small weave settle over his mind. It would keep him soundly asleep for several hours.

At her signal, Murynn rose into the air. A swirl of black filled the moon-washed night as the dragon opened a Jump.

They made several Jumps through the cold void, filled with only the whispers of the tortured souls trapped there. Just after the Galdar River, Murynn could Jump no more. Azurynn ground her teeth at the inconvenience of having to fly the rest of the way.

Even so, morning was no more than a mere hint of light along the eastern horizon when the black landed at the edge of Penendale, the eastern most city in Boromar. In that early hour before dawn broke the horizon, the silence was almost complete in the slumbering city. A quick weave on the city guards ensured they saw and heard nothing.

Azurynn resisted the urge to kill them while they stood there helpless. It wasn’t what she was here for this night. Where were the Guardians? Strange that none had sensed her, though she was thankful for it. Once inside the city, she got her bearings and started for one of the larger houses. Not the largest and richest, but one obviously well off.

She slipped through the door and up the stairs to the upper chambers where the sleeping quarters would be. Heavy snores led her to a room where a man and woman slept. Azurynn tossed a weave at them. “Wake.”

They both bolted upright in the bed, their eyes wide.

The man recovered first, his eyebrows drawing down as he scowled. “Who in the name of the Fates are you, and what are you doing in our house?”

Azurynn smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “I am Azurynn, and I am a Shadow Rider. I trust you have heard of us? I thought so.”

“Wha…What are you going to do to us?” A tremor ran through the woman’s voice.

“Why nothing of course.” Azurynn raised an eyebrow. “As long as you follow my commands.” She looked down at the infant in her arms and ran a finger over his soft cheek. “I’m broken, I know this. Darkness has taken my heart and soul.” Azurynn glanced up. “I wasn’t always this way. I was made into this, and I can no longer help what I am.” She looked back down into the face of Kovan’s son. “He isn’t evil though. He has a chance to be something different. Someone who is wanted.” Azurynn walked around the bed and lay the sleeping infant in the woman’s arms before backing away to stand at the foot of the bed again. “The child’s name is Marek. You will raise him as your own, love him as your own, and treat him as only loving parents would treat their child.”

“But…” The woman looked down at the infant in confusion then raised her eyes back to Azurynn. “I can’t feed him. I’ve not had a child of my own yet, I don’t know what to do.”

“Then hire someone who can. Tell your friends he’s the babe of a very distant cousin who died in childbirth, and he was sent to you to care for.” Azurynn turned and walked away, only pausing briefly to look back. “See to it that he goes to the weapons school in Ardien, he will need the experience later in life. And don’t think you can mistreat him, and I won’t find out. All of the Guardians in Galdrilene won’t be able to save you if you do.”

Azurynn left the house and the city quickly. The eastern sky had turned pearl gray, and her time was running out. She released the city guards as Murynn entered the long, single Jump back to the Kormai. It was done. The child was safe from Kovan and taken care of. He would be wanted.