Defiance (Rise of the Iliri Book 3) (10 page)

Roo sent a mental nod. 
And now that I've tasted you, I can find you easier.  With so many packs between us, it helps.  Sal has wonderful memories, you know,
Roo said as she slid out of the link, leaving Sal firmly in touch with the first officer of the Black Blades.

Arctic, I think things are going to be getting interesting up here.  Tell Blaec that the King was just assassinated by a Terran archer.

Not Cyno?

Well, yes, but only because the archer sucked.  She took the blame for it, though, and got caught.  She's dead.  We're holed up with the grauori,
and Sal sent him a mental image of her friends,
until coronation.  Going to be doing some prep work.

What was that, Sal?  Was that Roo?
  The vision of beasts was anything but what he'd expected.

Yeah.  I'm pretty sure that we were domesticated from them.  They tend to move like dogs.  Well, not exactly, but that's the closest I have.  But they have four hands with opposable thumbs on each.  They can stand up, but not as easily as we do.  They're as intelligent as any iliri, though.  Well, you just talked to one. 

And they're traveling with you?  You said she's a packmate?

Yep.  It's a very long story, but basically, the grauori are color biased, and not all iliri are as white as I am.  Risk's color is similar to Roo's.  The grauori rank themselves by color, with white being best, then grey, then gold.  Supposedly golds are weak in their talents, but I've seen nothing to prove that.  Roo and her mate, Hwa -

Those words sound like noises a fox would make.

Their whole language is a guttural, nearly animalistic, version of Iliran.  Jase can talk to them easily, but the dialects are very different.  Mind to mind, they speak as clearly as we are.  But the pair is mated, and that's not allowed.  I'm not sure the penalty they were facing, but they sought us out – again a long story – and begged to join us.  When they heard that the Blades are led by a rafrezzi -

A what?
he asked, barely keeping up.

A gold one.  Blaec has auburn hair and green eyes.  He's a gold like Risk.  But yeah, a pack led by not only the "lowest" color but also a male?  They want to be a part of that.  They're trying very hard to do everything to impress us.

Ok.  And you can trust them? 
His concern came across clearly.

Yeah.  Completely
, she answered.
Arctic, they want to join our pack.  They want to return to the Conglomerate with us and become Blades.  Tell Blaec that if he refuses them, I'll spend my first night home in your bed.

She felt him laugh. 
No way.  You know what happened the last time I touched you, and I'm not brave enough to take on Cyno for ya.  Sorry, little one.

Just tell him that, he'll know what I mean.

Ok, fair 'nough, but I'm telling him you said it.

Also, tell him the Baron will be ill soon, but you should have about a hundred men headed your way from him.  He wouldn't agree to a full alliance, but he did agree to send men to the front lines.

Well, that's something at least.  I'm making notes.

The Jonkheer met a very untimely demise.  It seems a group of enraged grauor-wolf-shape-shifter-things took out him and twenty of his guards in front of the town,
she added innocently.

Shit, Sal.  What'd ya do?

Just played on the similarities between iliri and grauori.  A simple swap in places, and well, our friends convinced them that the attack came from nothing human.

You do realize,
Arctic told her,
that this is going to be a bitch to explain to him, right?

Yep, that's why you get paid so much, Captain. 

Oh!
he broke in,
I have something interesting for you.  There's a very old custom up there in Anglia.  Before positions are announced by a new king, anyone able to make it through the guards to swear fealty at his feet can claim the title of Sergeant at Arms.  It's not a diplomatic position up there, either.

Tell me more,
she begged, hoping this would be the solution to their problem.

He did.  It was nearly an hour before he broke the link between them.  Jase was sitting beside her when she became aware of more than just what was in her mind, with his arm around her. 

"The mutts went ta bed already, kitten.  I take it ya reached Arctic?"

"Yeah.  Roo told you?"

He nodded.  "That's impressive, ya know.  I mean, if we have a link back home, we will na hafta deal with the damned mail and months before we get an answer.  Ayati, Sal, ya know what this means, right?"

"Yes, that Arctic found some old piece of lore about how to get control of the Anglian army," she answered, knowing that wasn't what he meant.

"Oh?"  He laughed. "Ok.  That might be better than what I was thinking.  I was just gonna say that we can have LT tell the grauori they can be Blades.  Now spill it."

"We're going to have to do some serious training.  I'm assuming you have no interest in leading an army?"

"Nah, na my thing.  Why?"

"Because the Sergeant at Arms is a position that can be won by combat, kinda.  And it's the position that commands the entire Anglian military.  One of us needs to make sure we get it."

Jase sighed.  "That's yers, kitten.  Ya know I do na do politics, and I do na do large-scale tactics."

"Fair 'nough.  And yes, I told Arctic to tell Blaec that if he doesn't let the grauori into the Blades, I'm spending my first night back in Arctic's bed."

Jase laughed at that.  "Yeh, I wish I could be there ta see that.  Damn, ya do na even play fair.  Well, I fig're that's 'bout as close ta a sure thing as our friends can get.  So, how do we get ya this position?"

Sal shifted to face him.  "It's not easy.  I'll have to make it from the Great Hall in the Palace, through the Petitioner's Hall, and to the feet of the King on his throne."

"K?"

"When court is in session, and with the entire pathway filled with guards.  Only if I lay my blades at his feet and swear to protect the King with my life, can I do it."

"Maast, kitten.  That's damned near a death sentence.  Even for ya."

"
We have a month, Jase.  Between you and Hwa, I'm going to need to drill my ass off
."

Chapter 11

Hwa leapt at her throat.  Sal ducked, hit the ground rolling, and turned to face him.  When he leapt at her again, she wrapped her fingers in his fur, and moved with him, slinging him away.  The grauori staggered as he landed.  Seeing another pale form at the corner of her eye, she jumped as Roo snapped at her leg.  Sal landed beside the bitch and swept her foot out, knocking Roo on her side.  With a glance to make sure her friend was unharmed, Sal turned to face the real threat, Hwa, and something solid collided with her head.

Pulling her face from the dirt, she said, "You're all too fast," looking at Jase as he stood over her.  "I can't dodge all of you, and if we do this right, I can't kill half the guards."

Less pretty, more forward,
Hwa said in her head. 
Stop worrying about what is behind you.  The faster you make it through the gauntlet, the sooner you will incapacitate them with the word of the King.

Jase just glared at her.  "Again."

Sal pulled herself to her feet and stepped back to the tree line as her pack moved away.  Across from her, a stump served as the throne.  She knew she would do this again and again until she could lay the swords on her back against the base of that stump.  When she could do that, they'd come up with something new. 

The gauntlet before her wasn't even half as long as the distance she'd need to travel for the real thing.  A shrub here, a sapling there – the debris prevented her from simply making a straight run.  Raising her eyes to the sky, she tried to think of this a different way.

"Less pretty, more forward," she whispered to herself.

A smile played at the corner of her lips as she began to run.  This time, Roo came at her first.  Sal jumped, grabbing Roo and pulling her back.  The momentum pushed Sal forward.  Her feet landed, and she only took one more step before a heavy stick swung at her head.  Jerking her legs up, she felt the wind as the branch passed just below her back.  Then she surged forward, making up for the speed she'd lost while her feet were off the ground, but heard a woosh of air behind her.  Dropping her head, she zigged, and the stone passed harmlessly.

A glimpse of pale grey was her only warning as Hwa dove at her from the tree.  Again, Sal wrapped her fingers in his fur.  As his massive teeth snapped at her face, she rolled them both on the ground, shoving her knee into where she thought his diaphragm should be.  The large male gasped and released her, so Sal let their momentum push her back to her feet, surging ever forward toward the stump.  When she was nearly there, she saw a flash of white and jumped as hard as she could.  Roo passed below her feet.  Pulling both swords from their sheaths, she landed on her knees at the stump, shoving her blades against the dirt, and gasped for air.

Sal?
Hwa said in her mind. 
That will definitely incapacitate.  Jase, I need a moment before we try again.

Hwa still lay in the dust, his tongue hanging from the side of his mouth, and Roo stood over him, whuffing.  She chewed the side of his face gently before whuffing again, amused that her mate had been bested be the Kaisae.

"Yeh, I think Sal gets a break fer that one," Jase said, before allowing a smile of pride to show.  "Truth be told, I'm gonna hafta come up with something new ta challenge her."

Sal flopped into the dirt on her back.  "Arctic said there's over a hundred guards.  About half are archers.  The footmen are easy enough.  It's the damned arrows I'm worried about."

"Yeh, I think I might have that handled, kitten."

"Do tell, lover, because I still bleed when shot, and that sure sounds like a bad way to end a day." 

His shadow moved into her view, and he offered his hand.  She let him pull her up, her aching body wanting to do nothing more than rest. 

"Over here.  I was ta save it for a surprise – but this works, I think."  He gestured back toward their tent.

Once inside, Jase moved to his packs while Sal took a much needed break.  He dug under his clothing and pulled out a small bundle wrapped tightly in black cloth.  With a strange smile, he passed it across to her. 

"Open it."

She did.  The package was heavy.  Slowly, she unwrapped the black cloth, realizing it was a dense silk.  Underneath, she felt links of some strange material.  Lifting the last layer, she saw black ringmail, the links tiny and perfectly wrought in plasfiber.  Sal unrolled the gear, finding a full body suit.  When she glanced up, Jase handed her a black curiass that matched.

"Jase, how long have you been carrying this around?"

"Since two days b'fore we left and do na thank me.  Blaec did that fer ya.  He spent a small fortune on it, ya know.  It's near impervious ta arrows, it's light, and it's flexible.  He quizzed me on what my dream gear would be like, then had it made fer ya."

Sal looked up apologetically.  "I'm sorry, Jase," she said, aware of how this might make him feel.

"Nah, I'm jealous, sure, but na like that.  He got me a similar set ta match.  Not as fancy, mind ya.  I did na go fer the decorations.  I'as ta give it ta ya b'fore ya saw the King.  It's a ceremonial set, na something ya'll wanna use ever'day or anythan.  The blood'll be a bitch ta get outta it.  But it's a damned good set and meant fer a bodyguard – or an assassin.  The legs are lined with leather so ya can ride in it too, ya know.  Turn it over, kitten."

She did, laying it across their bed.  Woven into the links on the lower back was the symbol of the Black Blades.  Embroidered across every leather surface was Iliran writing.  "I can't read it all," she said.

"Is mostly decorative stuff.  These," and he pointed down the sides of the legs, "Are the names of our mates.  This," and he pointed across the ribs, "are wishes fer health and strength.  That or his comments on yer body, take yer pick.  I prefer ta think of it as wishes."  He smirked at her.

"Yeah, and the curiass goes over it, but won't that cover half the detail?"

"He planned fer that.  The curiass is only rib length, so don' take a hit in the gut with this on, but it'll make riding easier." 

She nodded.  "Ok, so that's one less thing to worry about.  And I should be able to move in this as well as I do in leathers.  I'll need to practice in it, you know."

"Yeh, that's why I showed ya t'day.  The cloak is silk, and yer ta wear this with it."  Jase held out his fist to her.  She reached up to take what was in his hand. 

Something small dropped onto her palm.  It was a matched set of blue and gold marbled stone bars, their surface well scuffed and dull.  Etched crudely by hand were the crossed swords of their unit.  Sal knew these well.  They were Blaec's old Lieutenant's bars.

"Maast," she whispered.

"He'd planned ta give 'em ta ya since Ran promoted ya, but kept chickening out.  He finally asked me what ta do, and I told him I'd give em to ya.  And Zep sent ya somethan, too.  I bet he did na know they'd be so useful."  Jase dug in his packs again.  This time, he brought out a small tube.  Sal recognized the case for their backup weapons.  He passed it to her.  "Go ahead, look inside."

She opened the case and tilted it.  Two small swords slid out, one with a black blade, the other white, their handles colored the reverse.  The weapons were perfectly balanced for her and slightly longer than the typical sabers she used.

"He had that crazy resinsmith in Prin make 'em up special.  Pissed the poor guy off, too, refusing a few attempts before he got these."

Sal giggled.  That was so like Zep.  The only things he truly loved were the iliri, his horse, and his weapons.  The blades were simple with no excessive decorations that would need to be cleaned later, just solid hilts and sharp edges.  These were made to be used. 

"I got ya somethan too, kitten," Jase said, glancing down, "but ya can na use 'em this time."  He flicked his glance up to her quickly, then looked away as he held out a small box no longer than her forearm.

Opening it, she saw a set of bracers that matched the armor perfectly.  They were made from hardened resin.  Each had two small wings on the outside edge and sharp hooks above the wrists.

"Jase..." she whispered, in awe.  "These are iliri gladiator bracers?"

"Yeh.  I paid attention when ya liked them and thought ya could make good use a the edges.  I had LT's guy whip 'em up ta match.  It's just one more weapon fer ya, kitten."  He looked up at her with an embarrassed smile.  "I fig're'd ya'd end up in the middle of shit on this mission, and well," he smiled sweetly at her, "I kinna like watching ya cut things, ya know."

She pulled him to her and kissed him.  "Thank you, lover.  It's all perfect.  I'll not only have the gear I need to make it through this run, I'll also look damned good doing it.  But why?  Why all the gifts?"

"The guys, they all knew they'd miss ya.  That and we like ta pretend that we protect ya a bit.  It's from our human sides, ya know."  Jase shrugged, "Plus most of 'em celebrate the New Year.  I mean, I'm giving these ta ya early an' all, but, yeh.  I think they just did na want ya ta forget 'em is all.  And we
all
know the way ta yer heart is with an edge."

Sal smiled and nodded.  "Ya know, I've never celebrated the New Year before.  I mean, not with a family at least.  Jase, I can't believe it hasn't even been a year since I've been a Blade."

"I know.  Ya kinna feel like ya've always been one a us."  He laughed, lightening the mood.  "C'mon, let's find something ta eat then try it on.  Ya need a break b'fore ya run through that again, and poor Hwa is gonna be feeling it by now."

That evening she tried on her new armor.  The entire pack commented on how terrifying she looked in it before she had to run the gauntlet again.  Each time it got easier.  Soon, she began to practice with Hwa each morning, learning the combat styles of the grauori, and spent her evenings watching for her packmates to make random attempts to knock her off her feet.  She improved each day, but none of them would let her stop, knowing that her life depended on being better than any assassin had been before.  Every meal became a tactical session and every evening Sal treated as her last. 

The night before the coronation – the day she planned to run the gauntlet – she lay awake in Jase's arms.  She was sure he'd long since passed out, but her thoughts refused to let her do the same.  Tomorrow might be her last.  If she failed, the guards wouldn't allow her to simply apologize and return to the Conglomerate.  They all knew it.  None of them had spoken it aloud, yet she'd seen it in their eyes as she left the fire that night.  She'd felt it in the desperation of Jase's touch as he'd made love to her.

She'd grown so close to him in these last few months.  They understood each other in a way she'd never thought possible, and he smiled now – a lot.  The grauori had changed him like nothing else seemed to, not even Sal. 

She wondered if that could be why he'd allowed himself to finally open up.  Jase had always been a skilled fighter and a born assassin, but only recently had he begun to assert himself.  Cyno, as the Black Blades knew him, had kept himself reserved and at the edges of society.  Her fellow Blades often commented on their fear of him – and their respect – easily acknowledging how lethal he could be, but he'd only ever let Zep close.  In the past month, he'd grown into a leader as the grauori looked to him for answers.  She couldn't get enough of his newfound confidence. 

In many ways, she regretted that she hadn't just run to him when Blaec had cast her away.  That was another week that she could've had with him.  But one thought lead to another, and she found herself thinking of Blaec.  He had an exterior of steel but inside he was as fragile as glass.  His men were all there for him, but until she'd joined their ranks, he'd refused to take the support they offered, keeping his regrets bottled inside until he was near breaking.  She knew it was his own fears of failure that had caused the rift between them.  That's why she'd waited, why she never resented him.  At least that's what she told herself.

She sighed again and watched the canvas of their ceiling billow gently in the winter wind.

"You know, Roo's still awake," Jase whispered softly beside her, startling her with his voice.

Sal flicked her ears at him, unable to follow his thoughts.  "No, I didn't."

"Yeh, I can hear her outside.  Ask her ta get Arctic, kitten.  Ya will na sleep until ya talk ta them, and we both know yer gonna need it."