BlackWing: First Ordinance, Book 3 (3 page)

"Lafe, stop here," I said, patting my horse's shoulder and asking him to stop as well.

"Father, the horses trust her," the boy lifted his face to his father's.

"Welcome," the boy's father said. "Randl told me someone would come."

* * *

My second meal that day was much better than my first—I had eggs, bread and cheese while Lafe told Randl's father, Brandl, what we knew. Randl nodded as Lafe spoke—the boy was a clairvoyant—a powerful one.

His mother, unsurprisingly, was an abnormal from Gungl. She was also dead—of an unusual wasting disease when Randl was barely two years of age. Somehow, the talent she'd had was inherited—and strengthened—by her son.

Terrett sat beside me, eating and listening carefully while Lafe and Brandl spoke. I worried that anywhere these people went, they still wouldn't be safe from Cayetes' Storm. They weren't prepared to stand and fight, either—they had no weapons, no training and little time to prepare for the battle that would come should they choose to fight.

"There are sixteen other villages," Brandl told Lafe. "All scattered. Not much beyond that—the lands become low and marshy past that point. Except for sea plants, nothing grows in that water—it's too salty."

He was right—Vogeffa II was mostly marsh, with only a few high points of land dotting its surface. Gungl was the largest city on the highest ground. Everything around it was lower, sloping toward the sea, which covered ninety-eight percent of the planet's surface.

"Father, we have little time. I see Cayetes' army coming in three days," Randl said. "That will only give us time to reach Reed."

"Reed is next to the farthest village, before the land becomes too marshy to farm," Brandl said. "Once we reach that point, we may be trapped and unable to get away."

"I feel we should go anyway," Randl's voice was low.

"Lafe, there may be a way," I said. "Perhaps we should take all we find with us toward Reed, and then see whether someone will respond."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." I clamped wings against my back—Queen Lissa might be angry with me when I sent mindspeech, but I felt she'd hear me anyway. My revenge against Cayetes could wait—surely I could slip away sometime and make him pay for what he'd done.

* * *

Le-Ath Veronis

"I want you to go immediately," Kooper nodded to Justis, Berel and Kaldill. "We're getting unusual vibes from Vogeffa II, and we're worried that Vogeffa I may now be infected with the poison. There is still a thriving population on II, but I want feet on the ground and reliable reports," he added.

"Likely it won't take long—Gungl is populated with thieves and cutthroats. I'm concerned about the outlying areas. Send reports if any are worth saving. Lissa has her eye on the northern end of New Fyris—there's plenty of room for new farming communities there. The werewolves are begging for more meat and grain, and New Fyris can't supply all that's needed because the population still hasn't grown enough."

"It will take time for them to fully recover from what Fyris and Siriaa did to them," Kaldill said. "New blood is a very good idea and one I'd have suggested myself. Fyris was stagnant and inbred before its people were pulled away from Siriaa."

"Lissa said you'd see the sense in this," Kooper nodded. "Are you sure you want to go?" Kooper leveled a gaze on Berel.

"I am very sure," Berel shrugged.

"Very well. Kaldill, if you need assistance," Kooper turned back to the Elf King.

"I'll let you know immediately," Kaldill smiled. "This will give me purpose, which is a very good thing," he added.

* * *

Vogeffa II

Hay

"Randl kept us prepared," Brandl confessed. "We have food and supplies set aside, and our horses and wagons ready. It isn't far, but we'll have to collect the others on the way. I can send runners out and have them join us there," he added.

"Grassy won't come," Randl breathed a ragged sigh.

"Always stubborn," Brandl shook his head.

"Are they on the way to Reed?" Lafe asked.

"Yes—half a day's ride," Brandl confirmed. "Headman Widder is too stubborn. Doesn't think we're in any danger."

"We don't have any guarantee they'll hit here first," I said before I thought.

Randl swung his head in the direction of my voice as he considered my words. He shivered. "She's right," he began. "I wasn't thinking that way. I assumed they'd travel in a straight line from Gungl."

"You know now they won't come on foot or horseback, don't you?" I asked. I was reading him just as easily as I could anyone. His gift was hampered on occasion by his limited experience—as well as his environment.

"What about those from Gungl?" Lafe turned to me and asked.

"They'll allow that army to take the first few villages. Rather than risk the rest of the population, they'll send airchoppers to get them before they have time to run. Remember, they're looking to take healthy bodies. Everybody else dies. It may be that they'll kill those from Gungl at the last, just for the fun of it."

What do you have planned?
Terrett asked.

Getting all of them in one place; it'll be easier to move them if we do that
, I replied.

You're thinking of contacting Queen Lissa, aren't you?

Yes. I hope you don't mind.

Why should I? I was happy the short time I spent on Avendor. She didn't punish me for being owned by criminals, and many would have
.

She wouldn't
, I said.
She's so much better than that
.

I wouldn't believe that if it came from anyone else. You made sure I was treated with respect instead of like a slave
.

Because you're just as good as anyone else
, I pointed out.
Better than most,
I added with a small smile.

He bumped his shoulder against mine and smiled back.

There was a question I wanted answered, too. I knew, just by reading Terrett, that most of his kind could do what Kaldill and others could do—fold space. He knew that, but didn't know why he couldn't. I had suspicions as to why that was, but didn't want to voice my speculations. He'd been hurt badly enough by his mother already.

Pulling away from that thought, I leaned my head on Terrett's shoulder. We had people to save and little time in which to do it.

* * *

Le-Ath Veronis

"Vogeffa II is mostly water and marshland," Kaldill said as he presented the dimensional map to Justis and Berel. "Here is where Gungl is located, on the highest ground. Here," he pointed to another portion of the map not far from the capital city, "is where the farms are. The land is high enough to grow crops and raise animals. Beyond this point," he turned his hand sideways to indicate a demarcation farther south, "is where the marshland begins. The land is too spongy and the water turns salty past that."

"The farmlands are where we'll do our research?" Berel asked.

"Yes. That's all Lissa and Kooper want from us—to study the people and determine whether any are worthy of moving. They are worried about that part of the population, therefore, we will go."

"Did they receive word of some threat or danger?" Justis asked.

"In a way. Lissa and Kooper were visited by a Shining One, who'd received a vague message from the Three."

"I wish I understood what you just said," Justis grumbled.

"Not to worry—I understand it," Kaldill smiled at Justis. "We have a job to do. My plan is to leave tomorrow at sixteen bells. That will place us on Vogeffa II an hour after sunrise. A good time to start, I believe. Kooper says the people there are used to the unusual, so you won't have to hide your wings this time—or hold back from flying."

* * *

Vogeffa II

Quin

Hay was organized and on the road quickly. I worried about the villages farther south, though, and how long it might take them to do the same. Whatever Randl and Brandl had done to prepare the population was working, however, as the second and third places we stopped were ready to go in a short amount of time.

I couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching, however, and Randl was clearly upset. He and his father dropped back to ride next to Terrett and me. Lafe rode at the front, both blades strapped firmly to his back.

"Something knows," Randl whispered softly.

"I feel the same," I agreed.

Can you call people—like you can call animals?
Terrett asked.

"Huh?" I swung around to stare at Terrett.

"They're coming," Randl wailed.

For the first time, I sent a call—for humanoids.

* * *

Le-Ath Veronis

Lissa

I knew something was wrong, although I fought through the shock of hearing Quin's voice in my mind. She sounded terrified.

Without hesitation, I shouted mentally at Kaldill; he, Berel and Justis had left moments earlier. I should have known that Conner's warning, in her guise as a Shining One, was more urgent than I thought.

Kaldill, if you need me
, I added to the message, but it was a moot suggestion—Vogeffa II was under attack. I folded space, shouting for my Falchani twins as I did so.

* * *

Vogeffa II

Quin

We heard the whine of the faster air vehicles first, with the chop-chop whirring of the airchoppers next. I was terrified, while some of the animals broke away from their herders and ran.

I didn't blame them—I wanted to run, too.

Anything to get away from the gunships Cayetes had sent after us. Lafe shouted at everyone to get down as the weapons of every ship fired in our direction. A dual line of bullets rained across the ground, heading straight for us.

Half the people around us screamed. For a moment, I felt weightless, before I recognized the sensation; Queen Lissa—and her power—had arrived.

* * *

New Fyris

Lissa

"Kaldill?" I approached him carefully. He, Berel and Justis stood in a knot, gazing at the crowd of people and animals they'd pulled away from the marshy lands just before the seas of Vogeffa II began.

Drake and Drew, my twin Falchani mates, escorted me as we walked toward the Elf King. I'd made the mistake of sending him swift information—not only to get as many people away from Vogeffa II as he could, but that Quin had alerted me to their danger.

"We have to find out why she hasn't contacted us before," I held up a hand. "There has to be a reason."

Kaldill is always so calm. Even tempered. There was an expression on his face I'd never seen before.
Daragar
, I sent,
we may need you
.

That's when Kaldill threw back his head and bellowed. Yes, I understood the word—
why
was shouted in the elvish language as he dropped to his knees.

Daragar appeared nearby, but he also looked stricken.

If my sister hadn't arrived to do what she could, I'm not sure I could have done anything at all. It took a tremendous exertion of the power of Love to calm everyone down well enough to speak and behave in a rational manner.

Chapter 3

New Fyris

Quin

The people of Vogeffa II blinked and stared; animals wandered or ran—all of them were terrified on some level. We'd landed in a new place, scattered in the same way we'd been lifted away from Vogeffa II. Fields stretching as far as we could see surrounded us.

Somehow, too, my call hadn't been interrupted.

In only minutes, people from other villages began to arrive. Altogether, it took the better part of two days for all to arrive, but eventually they did.

I wasn't there to see it, although it made it easier for those who greeted the displaced farming population of Vogeffa II. They understood the danger they'd been in, but had no idea how they'd been pulled away from that danger.

I wanted to weep for any innocent lives remaining on Vogeffa II—they'd likely be cut to pieces by Vardil Cayetes' flying army, once he learned his quarry had escaped.

* * *

New Fyris

Lissa

"What do you mean, she's only been there for a few months?" At least Kaldill was calmer, now.

"We've been studying the problem," Breanne sighed. I hadn't seen my sister in several years, yet here she was, attempting to sort a conundrum we hadn't known existed.

"What problem is that?" Berel worked to keep his voice calm.

"The Orb problem," Bree explained. "Quin is connected to the Orb, in ways I can't begin to describe. For whatever reason, it flung her five years into the future. We've had to search continuously just to find her, and then carefully put things in place just to keep her alive and protected. That's why LaFranza was there, with the mute Sirenali. Five years have passed for you—you've lived them. For Quin, only a few months have gone by and some of you—well, she thinks you're dead."

"Where is the Orb now?" Kaldill's voice was soft. Deadly.

"Kaldill, if we destroy the Orb, we'll destroy Quin with it. Now do you begin to understand?"

Kaldill cursed. Daragar, who hadn't spoken, placed a calming hand on Kaldill's shoulder.

"Whatever and however Liron planned all this, I think his intention was to protect Siriaa and its people. When Cayetes fired his weapon at Siriaa, the Orb reacted. I believe it's sending Quin on a suicide mission to take him down, now. If we attempt to circumvent that directive, it may appear and fling her into the future again. We had a hard enough time dealing with this the first time. I don't want to work that hard to thwart the Orb a second time."

"So the Orb is still working to obey a dead god's commands?" Daragar spoke for the first time.

"It looks that way. Unless we find a way to disconnect her from that thing, we may never be able to protect her properly."

"What do we do in the meantime?" I asked.

"First, we have to find her. Second, I have to do a similar attachment to anyone who wants to stay with her—it means you'll be connected to her as she's connected to the Orb, but the difference will be that I can perform a disconnect if it's desired. Quin has no choice, until we can figure this mess out."

"You mean that if she's flung somewhere by that infernal Orb, then we'll be flung with her?" Kaldill asked. I was surprised he hadn't punctuated his words with more cursing.

"That's what I mean. It won't alter your power; it'll only ensure that you travel with her, wherever the Orb takes her."

"Mighty Heart," Daragar inclined his head, "I believe we will accept that assignment."

"Everyone here agrees?" Bree studied each of them.

"Yes," Justis hissed.

"All right. Let's go find her."

* * *

New Fyris

Quin

At least the ones who'd come to greet the new arrivals came in a more conventional manner—driving up in solar vehicles. They brought food and water in larger vehicles behind them. Lafe and Terrett stood beside me as Brandl, with Randl standing beside his father, spoke with the interpreters.

Randl had already assured his father that these people only wished to help, and I was grateful for his perception and guidance.

"Quin?" Lafe took my arm and pulled me away from the crowd. It was the first time he'd used my real name when speaking to me.

"What is it?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Wherever you go, Terrett and I will be with you," he said. "I will demand it."

"What do you mean?" I asked, as Terrett nodded his agreement.

"It means he'll go with you," Queen Lissa said behind me.

I whirled to see her, discovering others at her back. Blinking back immediate tears, I stared in disbelief at Justis and Berel.

* * *

Lissa

Justis had her in his arms quickly, with Berel and the others right behind. Quin sobbed against Justis' shoulder—I understood, then, that she really had believed him dead.

"I told you," Breanne placed an arm around my shoulders.

"I missed you," I sighed, slipping an arm around her waist.

"We've been doing cleanup. You wouldn't believe how many booby-traps those idiots left behind, just waiting for somebody to trip over them and set an apocalypse in motion."

"Speaking of an apocalypse, what are we going to do about those creatures—the ones poisoning everything?" I asked.

"We have to get Quin disconnected from that Orb, first," she said. "Then we'll work on that problem."

"If you say so," I shook my head. "All we can do is put a bandage on it for now."

"I know. You'll have to trust us on this."

"All right."

"I'm going to change her eye and wing color, too—temporarily. LaFranza is correct—she'll stand out less with brown eyes, black wings and hair. This way, he won't have to keep dyeing them."

"That's a shame," I mumbled.

"It won't be forever. Just while she's still connected to the Orb."

"I understood that the Orb couldn't travel beyond Avii Castle," I said.

"That was on Siriaa. It can go anywhere it wants—now that Siriaa no longer exists."

"That's frightening."

"To me, too."

* * *

Quin

Eventually, when I couldn't stop crying, Daragar stepped in, lifted me from Justis' arms and began his soothing hum. I was asleep quickly.

* * *

Lissa

"I can take you back to Le-Ath Veronis," I said. "But I can't guarantee the Orb will allow you to stay there."

"I think we understand that, now," Kaldill shook his head. While Quin slept peacefully in Daragar's arms, Breanne had performed the link with each of them, LaFranza and Terrett included, because they refused to be separated from Quin.

"I'm hoping it'll give her time to rest before it shows up again," I said. "Is everybody ready? I'll take you to my palace and find beds. I hope you get to use them."

* * *

Vogeffa I

Vardil cursed, still. Everything in his suite was destroyed already. Even his warlocks cowered, and that was unusual. If anyone other than Bleek had brought the news, they'd have been killed—at Vardil's command.

The four-armed giant stood near the door, his stance stoic, all four arms crossed over his massive chest. It had taken all his skill to deliver a killing blow to LaFranza, and he'd been rewarded by Cayetes himself for that act.

In truth, Cayetes was afraid of Bleek. Bleek wanted to smile at the thought, but held back; Vardil was still too upset to see any humor in the situation.

The fact that every farmer, wagon and animal had suddenly disappeared was unusual in the extreme. Bleek had images of the disappearance—every gunship was equipped with vid-recorders.

Vardil had even witnessed the disappearance firsthand, as he'd watched a live feed from the lead ships. He merely couldn't believe it, or understand how it had happened. He'd been cursing for half a click about it, too.

"Find out where they went," Vardil said. Bleek kept his face expressionless as Cayetes uttered the first coherent words since the mass disappearance. "I want them back and the ones responsible for this outrage killed."

"As you command," Bleek dipped his head and turned to leave. He'd had enough of Cayetes for the moment, and hoped his search took him far away from Vogeffa I. He had no desire to stay on a dying world. If Cayetes had any sense, he'd leave now. Bodies could be found elsewhere.

Once the poison infiltrated your system, no matter how strong you were, you'd die. Not everyone had Cayetes' resources to move into a clean body once that happened. He'd seen Cayetes' continual dependence on new flesh and had no desire to be caught up in that unstable vortex. The poison and Cayetes weren't the only reasons Bleek had for getting away, either. He had no desire to discuss that with anyone; it would make him vulnerable.

"Get everything ready to move. Immediately," Vardil shouted.

"Get information," Bleek snarled at his First Lieutenant after shutting Cayetes' suite door behind him. "Find out who just increased their population by several thousand farmers."

"Yes, Commander Bleek."

* * *

Le-Ath Veronis

Quin

"Time to eat."

I knew that voice. It merely belonged to someone older, now.

I blinked my eyes open while Berel's image swam into focus. A wide grin split his face when he saw I was awake.

"Berel," I lifted a hand.

"I'm here, love," he took my hand and kissed it.

"Let me touch your face," I pulled my hand away from his. "You look so handsome." I ran fingers down his cheek. "So much like your father. How is he?"

"Father is fine. He was overjoyed to hear you're alive. Come, now. Dinner is waiting."

My stomach rumbled at his words. My most recent meal, after all, had been on Vogeffa II. "I'll get up," I said. Berel helped.

* * *

"Sit here," Kaldill smiled and beckoned for me to sit between him and Justis. Berel took the seat next to Kaldill's, while Terrett and Lafe sat on Justis' other side.

I'm sorry
, I apologized mentally to Kaldill. I knew he'd suffered at my absence.

You're here now. My heart is singing
, he replied.
Eat. You look too thin
.

I ate while the others talked around me—LaFranza was more than happy to find other Falchani at the table. I understood that he was meeting very old friends there, and he hadn't expected that. They spoke in his native language, telling stories of Lafe's experiences as a warrior and tattoo artist on Falchan in the distant past.

I wasn't the only one brought forward in time in an attempt to thwart Cayetes and his Storm. Terrett, too, had experienced much the same as I.

I'm glad you're here
, I sent to him.

Leaning in so I could see, he gave me a smile and a wink.

"Quin, we've changed your wing and hair color so LaFranza won't have to dye it," Lissa said. "It's temporary—when we get this Cayetes mess sorted, it'll be changed back."

"That's fine." I rustled my feathers. I'd noticed that they looked much like Justis' feathers, now. At least I understood the reason for it.

"My love, it will be all right," Justis placed a hand on the back of my neck. "Black wings aren't so terrible."

"Why would I think that?" I asked. "Your wings are beautiful." He surprised me by leaning in to kiss me.

"I almost died," Lafe said, covering the hush that had fallen when Justis kissed me. "I had no idea Quin could bring me back from a mortal wound."

"Quin has brought all of us back, I think," Kaldill replied. Terrett nodded emphatically. It made me giggle.

* * *

Lissa

"Terrett, I understand you have mindspeech," I said. I'd sent for him after dinner; we'd met in my arboretum at the top level of the palace.

I do
, he agreed.
Quin pointed it out
.

That's what I wished to speak with you about
, I said.
Are you sure you want to be connected like the others? I can return you to Avendor if you want
.

I will stay with Quin
, he said.
I love her, and I've never loved anyone, before. I am loyal to LaFranza, too—he treats me as a brother instead of a mute imbecile
.

The others are prepared to accept you as such, too. I merely wanted to confirm your feelings on the matter
.

Quin said you were so much better than I could imagine
, he said.
She was right. None other would ask for my opinion or place value on my feelings, except for her.

Then you've been hanging out with the wrong people
, I said and smiled.

Most certainly I have, Lady
, he returned with a grin.

* * *

Quin

"Any idea where on Vogeffa I the bastard's hiding?" Kooper Griff sat across from me in Queen Lissa's library.