Fire And Ice (Book 1) (24 page)

“You could leave Summerhall.  No one would stop you.  You could leave today if you wanted.
  You do not have to go to the East, or marry my sister,” she pointed out and he knew she was right. 

             
He could.  No one would stop him.  Stemis might be disappointed in him, and others too, but it would not be the end of the world.  His father would understand, and he was fairly sure Katelyn would, and Margery.  They would all forgive him eventually.
  But I cannot, can I
?

             
“But you will not,” she echoed his thoughts.  “I can see that.  And it will be for duty.”  She said it sadly as she looked down at the stone walk.

             
For duty? 
Is that all there is for me?  No, there must be more.  I know it is more than that.
  He was sure, and his own motives became clear.  “Not for duty alone.  I like to think it is more than that.  I love Summerhall and what it represents.  I love Tyelin and the people there.  I love my father, and your parents.  I love you like a sister.”

             
“And Katelyn?” she prompted.

             
There was no more denying it.  He could hide behind the ruse of duty no longer now that she had popped it like a bubble.  “I love her too.”  Once admitted, he felt a little better about things now.

             
“And do you love her like a sister too?” Margery asked with a small smile.

             
He couldn’t help but smile back.  “No.”

             
“Good.  Now all you have to do is tell her that,” she said sounding quite pleased with herself.

             
 Coran went in search of the King.  Now that things had become clearer he knew that he had to go.  He did not want to, but his gut was telling him that he had to no matter what he wanted.  He came across the stressed looking Stemis on his way to the King’s study.  Stemis was conversing with Martin and didn’t notice him until he was forced to stop, as Coran was standing in the way.  The King watched him uncertainly. 

             
“I am leaving in the morning,” Coran informed him coolly.  He did not like it, so Stemis should know that.  “I will go on your mission.”  Without waiting for a response he turned on his heel and walked away.  Coran did not return to his rooms, but passed by them until he reached Katelyn’s.  He hesitated at the door.  This was not going to be easy.  He started to knock, but the door opened and a startled Alys stepped out. 

             
“Is she in there?” he asked.  He didn’t think he needed to mention who he meant.

             
“Yes.  I was just going to see about having some dinner sent to her.  Would you like me to have some sent for you as well?”

             
Dinner?  His stomach was too unsettled to feel hungry.  “No, but thank you anyway.”

             
She must have sensed something in his voice, or on his face.  She took a closer look at him before speaking.  “I will leave you two alone for a while.”

             
“Thank you,” he said as she left.  He prepared himself for what was to come, and went in.

             
Her outer room was more spacious than his.  She had a couch as well as two chairs and a squat, round table stood between them.  Katelyn turned towards the door and let the curtains drop where she had been looking out the window.  She started to smile and stopped when she saw his features set.              

“What is it?” she asked.  He was saved from having to tell her.  She answered her own question.  “You are leaving.”  He nodded.  “Are you well enough to go so soon?” 

              “I think so.”

             
Her anxiety was clear.  “I wish you would not go.”  It was also clear that she meant that in more than one way.   

             
“I do not want to, but I have to,” he said regretfully, and he did regret leaving her.  He almost changed his mind, seeing her. 

             
“You will be gone so long.”

             
He hadn’t thought about that part.  He wasn’t sure how far he had to go, but he guessed it would take at least a couple of months, and that, only if he traveled by sea as much as possible.  “I should be back before winter.”  He hoped.

             
“You do not know that.  You might have to go all over the East to find the information my father needs.”

             
“A promise then,” he said with as much confidence as he could.  “I promise that I will be back by the first day of winter.”

             
She stared at him for a moment.  “You swear?”

             
“I swear.”

             
That settled things for the moment.  Despite his earlier denial to hunger he agreed to stay for dinner.  While she went to see Alys, and make the arrangements, he went to say good-bye to his father and to Anne.  He didn’t want to face any of the difficult good-byes that would surely occur in the morning.  That was also why Alys and Margery joined them for the meal.  Devon had left the day before.  He said he had already been gone too long from home and Coran told his friend that he understood.                

For some reason the conversation over dinner had turned to reminiscing about all the times they had spent together here in Summerhall.  Aware of Alys, they tried to include her as much as possible in the conversation.  It was difficult since calling on her to tell of her childhood was not exactly appropriate, considering who her father was.  They talked until long after dark.  It was Katelyn who finally ended the gathering, she told them that he had to leave early and she wanted a few words with him before he went to bed. 

              Margery stood beside him with a smile.  “Take care, and make sure that you come back.”

             
“I will try,” he replied, and they exchanged a long hug.  When they separated he spoke from his heart.  “Rob is a very lucky man.”

             
“Thank you,” she replied, and despite her smile, tears started to appear in her eyes.  “May the light shelter you in the dark places you must walk.”  She quoted an old saying people would tell someone who was leaving for a long or uncertain journey, it definitely fit the situation.  She left quickly after that.

             
Alys stood by awkwardly, unsure of what to say or do.  Coran ended her predicament by stepping close and hugging her almost as long as Margery.  When he let her go she had tears in her eyes too.  Without a word, she left them.

             
“She thinks very highly of you,” Katelyn commented, now that they were alone.

             
“And I her,” he said and stepped towards her until they were inches apart.  She started to move away and stopped herself, then looked up into his face.  Their eyes met again and he felt all the doubts melt away.  All the awkwardness that had been there since his return from Tyelin was gone because he now understood why it had been there.  He was sure of how he felt about her now, and he had to tell her before he left.                

“You will...” she began, but he stopped her by putting his finger to her lips.  He could hear her breath coming faster.  It seemed to match his own.

              “Shhh.  Nothing we say matters except for this.”  He removed the finger and looked deeply into her eyes.  There was no way he could ever describe the way he felt when he was with her.  Words could never be enough, but they were all he had.  “I love you.” 

             
Her eyes widened in surprise at his admission.  Then she returned the look with one just as intense.  “I love you.”  She pulled his head towards hers.  He ran his hand through her long, dark hair.  The world around them disappeared as they kissed for the first time.

              The curtains were pushed aside to allow what moonlight there was to filter into the bed chamber.  Stemis stood staring out at the night, not really seeing anything.  He heard a rustling of bed covers.

             
“Can you not sleep?” his wife asked him sleepily.

             
“I am sorry.  I did not mean to wake you,” he replied, crossing over to the bed and sitting next to his wife.

             
“Are you worried about Coran?  I know I am, but he can take care of himself.  He proved that at Westhaven.”

             
“I know,” Stemis sighed.  He reached out and took her hand.  It was a little wrinkled from the years, but so was his.  “But I am still worried.”

              He checked the cinches and straps that held the packs onto the gray mare one last time.  The horse would carry him to Ostis where he would then travel by ship across the Ithan Sea.  The Black he had ridden from Westland would stay here and be well cared for until he returned.  He grabbed the reins, put a foot in the stirrup, and swung into the saddle.  Torches lighted the courtyard in the pre-dawn night.  Leaving so early was the final precaution against any final farewells.  They were difficult enough without prolonging them. 

             
Two guards opened the steel gates and he booted the mount forward.  

              Katelyn looked down on the courtyard from the small, iron-railed balcony.  The light robe she wore was pulled tight about her.  The chill she felt was not for the night alone.  The figure in the dark cloak stopped the gray horse at the gate’s threshold.  He turned sideways and then looked back.  Lifting his chin he looked up towards her.  She raised a hand in farewell, and in love.  He gave a deep bow from the saddle in return, before turning away and riding out into the night.  She watched until he was lost from view as he disappeared into the streets of the city.  Then she turned away with a sad heart.     

Chapter 15

Arencia

              With the overcast sky he had to guess at the time of day from the ship’s deck.  He thought it to be late afternoon or early evening.  He had waited two days in Ostis before arranging passage on a ship bound for Arencia.  He knew he would be gone for quite some time, so a delay so early in his journey was not a good way to start. 

             
As the ship lined up to one of the docks, crewmen jumped across to the dock carrying coils of rope and began tying off the lines.  Once the ship was securely attached, a plank was run out from the deck to the wooden dock.  Coran passed busy crewmen who hurried about their tasks as he headed for the opening in the railing.  The sooner the cargo was offloaded the sooner the crew could go ashore.  With a quick nod for the Captain, who had tried to find out who he was and why he was here the entire trip, Coran crossed the gangplank and headed up a slight incline away from the harbor. 

             
He passed a gray stone building with a sign out front proclaiming it to be the customs house.  Further on was a less well-tended establishment.  Coran could hear men singing in discordant tones from inside.  He followed his father’s directions and turned right off the main street before it opened into the central square where his father said was the city’s main market.  He noticed some of the white stone buildings around the city.  They were all becoming run down from a combination of age and sloth.  Some of the buildings dated from Imperial times when Arencia was an important point of trade.  It still was in a way, but the problem was that no one wanted to invest energy in a place they did not control.  The Ithanians were supposed to be running the city from a political view, but the truth was the traders actually ran things.  Ithanians, Midians, and Karands, all had a say on the council.  It sounded like a good idea to have different people represented on the council, but they were traders.  Their interest was in trade and taxes, not the welfare of the people.                

As he thought about the people, he looked around and noticed some in long, flowing robes, and others in
Western style cloaks.  Western dress did not always mean the wearer was Midian.  Ithanians tended to imitate Midians in their attire and many of the local Karands did as well.  The place was a hodge-podge of cultures. 

             
The clouds darkened and thunder boomed in the distance as he reached his destination.  He stopped before a small, squat building.  This one was well kept and showed that the owner, here at least, took pride in himself.  A light was on inside.  He could see it through a small barred window.  He tried the door and found it unlocked.  It opened inward. 

             
The entry room was not very large, maybe ten feet by ten.  A waist high counter separated the rear third of the room from the front.  Counters ran along the walls in the front area. Each one held an assortment of goods.  Coran surmised that these were samples of the goods in which the owner of the establishment dealt.  On one side there were silks and linens and woolens of several varieties, from the expensive and high quality to the cheap and serviceable.  Another wall held jars and bottles.  Spices and preserved foodstuffs.  The third wall was arrayed in crystal glasses and vases from Ithan.  Coran only looked at the items in passing as he stepped up to the counter.

             
An oil fed lantern provided light for the man who glanced up from the leather bound ledger he had been studying.  The man had the slightly darker skin that marked most Karands, as well as the dark hair.  At least what was left of it on his mostly bald head.  He wore a thin mustache on his round, pudgy face which described the rest of him as well.

             
“Ah. You would be Coran?” the man asked in accented Midian.  Actually, the speech was considered Western.  It came about in the time of Mon Vusaar, a mixture of Midian and Ithanian, and was first adopted by Arryvestra and then by the Ithanians and even the North.  It was the major language in the West.  “I have been staying late each night in case you came.  I expected you sooner though.”

             
“I am sorry.  I was delayed in Ostia,” Coran explained.  “You would be Miko?”

             
The man smiled.  “Yes.  I am Miko.”  Miko grabbed the lantern and closed the ledger.  He ushered Coran towards the door.  Outside he stopped and locked the door behind him with a large iron key.  “This way.” 

             
He led the way through the city until they came to a large, wooden building on the edge of the city just as it started to rain.  Apparently, Arencia did not have any walls.  Miko opened the large double doors revealing the interior of a stable.  The stalls were all empty of horses.  Bales of hay were stacked against the back wall and a wagon with a broken wheel was nearby. 

             
“Bigger than I need at most times,” Miko commented.  “In the winter though, all my wagons need to be somewhere.  I contract ships as well, but trade by wagon is much cheaper.  Easier too.  I just have family to worry about.  They make the runs and all I have to do is provide a few guards.  Much better than dealing with a whole crew.”  The man talked quickly as if he was nervous.

             
“Is there a problem?” Coran questioned.  “It is just that you seem to be in a hurry.”

             
“What?  Oh yes.  A ship is leaving tonight and we can be on it.”  He looked at Coran, “unless you wish to remain until morning?  I would not recommend that.”  When Coran shook his head the man ducked into one of the stalls and came out with a large Karandi robe.  “Put this on.  I have some other clothes you can change into later.  You are dressed fine for Arencia, normally, but where the ship is landing you do not want to be recognized for a Midian.  Not if you wish to go as far as you do and come back again.” 

             
Coran took the offered robe.  “Why did you say normally?”              

Miko went back into the stall and this time came out carrying a cloth sack tied closed at the top.  “Because your
presence will have been reported by now.”  Miko stopped moving about to stare at him.  “Did your father not tell you about Shevren?”

             
“No,” he said confused, and started to put on the thin robe when he noticed several men appear at the stable doors.  The robe fell from his hands to the dirt floor.  Coran made a quick count of thirteen.  Most were dressed in the loose fitting robes favored by Karands, but a few wore Western shirts and pants.  Some wielded Midian long swords and others the wider, curved, Karandi forged blades.  One stood out from the rest.  Instead of the other’s rumpled browns and tans, he wore clean and neat robes in purple and red.  Rings decorated one hand and the other was hidden in its sleeve.  The men arranged themselves in a circle around the richly dressed one.  The formation also cut off any chance at escape.

             
There was a tension in the air that he could clearly feel.  It was a tension that announced approaching violence.  Apparently, Miko’s concern was justified.  He prepared himself to not go down without a fight.  He started to reach for his sword.

             
“I wouldn’t do that,” the richly dressed one told him.  His accent was even harder to understand than Miko’s.  One of the Karands produced a bow.  An arrow was leveled at the sweating Miko.  “Drop your sword belt.”

             
Coran saw no alternative at the moment.  He watched Miko, but the man was clearly surprised at the new development.  Hopefully that meant he had not betrayed his father by setting up his son.  Coran unbuckled the black leather belt and let his sword fall to the ground.  One of the Karands closed in and grabbed the belt.  The man unsheathed the blade for about a foot of its length and looked at it with a pleased smile.               “When someone came to me and told me that a tall Midian had disembarked a ship from Ostis I was naturally curious.  When I was told he was heading for your shop, Miko, I had to come see who it was,” the rich man said.  “He is not Oran, but there is something of him in the face.  A son, perhaps, or a nephew?  A close relation in any case.”  Coran did not answer and neither did Miko.  “Too bad he did not come himself, but this is probably better.  He took my hand and now I will take something from him.”  Coran saw a hook protruding from the sleeve of the robe. 

             
“Shevren,” Miko spoke up finally, “you do not want to do this.”

             
“I don’t?  Just stay out of it Miko.  I have forgotten your part in it.  Leave it that way,” Shevren told him.  He fingered the iron hook with his other hand.  The pounding of the rain on the roof intensified into a dull roar.  Lightning flashed from the sky outside and peals of thunder followed.  Shevren spoke directly to Coran.  “Now what should I do with you?”

             
“Leave him to me!” a voice boomed from the doorway.  Everyone turned and Coran felt a shock of recognition that quickly faded.  The figure was cloaked and hooded, but the voice was not as deep or as strong.  It did not fill him with the same sense of foreboding as the one from his dream.  

             
“Leave while you still can, whoever you are,”  Shevren dismissed the intruder.

             
The man was not so easily dismissed.  He pulled back his hood to reveal a pale, shaved head.  The man was taller than the Karands, and a malicious smile appeared on his face.  “I think you should be the one to leave.  While you still can.” 

             
“Get that fool out of here,” Shevren ordered, and two of his men moved to obey.

             
The newcomer did not appear concerned by the two Karands approaching with drawn weapons.  He raised his fingers to his mouth and blew a high pitched whistle.  Everyone waited to see what would happen next.  No one could have imagined what did.  Through the open doors stomped a monstrosity, half again as tall as the cloaked man before it.  Bony ridges protruded from the thing’s forehead and along each side of its jaw.  It stood on oddly crooked legs that seemed too thin to support such a large creature.  It was covered with gray and brown skin pulled tightly over bone and muscle.  As it entered, two bat-like wings folded together behind the thing’s back. 

             
One of the Karands tried to make a run for it.  The creature reached out with astonishing speed, and grabbed the fleeing man’s throat with a sickening crunch.  The body was flung away and crashed in a heap against an upright beam that supported the structure.  Another man, maybe thinking to save himself by killing the one who had summoned such a thing, lunged towards the cloaked figure.  The pale man raised a hand, palm up.  A flame danced above it, and he threw it at his attacker, who screamed as he was engulfed in fire.  The figure spotted Coran and threw another ball of pure fire.  Coran ducked, the flame hit the stacked bales of hay behind him which immediately burst into flame. 

             
It was either stay and burn, or attack and hope some of them might escape.  Shevren made his decision and ordered his men to attack.  They charged the beast with terror dancing in their eyes.  For the most part, they tried to get around it, but the thing proved an efficient guard.  Its clawed hands ripped through the offered flesh.  The bowmen fired several arrows at the monster, but they did little to hinder the thing.  The wizard threw another fireball and someone with a curved blade went up like a torch. 

             
Coran knew if he was to have a chance, he had to take advantage of the confusion.  He grabbed the closest Karand, who was frozen in terror, and wrenched the long sword from his grip.  Then he struck the Karand down.  He saw that a knife was tucked in the man’s belt. Coran picked it up and in one smooth motion threw it at the wizard.  The cloaked man never saw it coming.  He stiffened as the blade hit its mark. He looked down and was surprised to find the hilt of a dagger sticking out of his chest before he collapsed. 

             
That left the beast to deal with.  Only three of the Karands remained to face it.  One struck at the long arms and half-severed a clawed hand.  The creature swung his other hand and ripped the man’s face off, sending blood and flesh flying in an arc.  Shevren was the last of the Karands to fall.  The creature picked him up and looked at its struggling captive; then it opened its jaws wide, revealing sharpened fangs, and bit into Shevren’s head.  It chewed loudly as it threw down its victim.  Its large eyes spotted Coran and it shambled towards him.

             
The fire had spread up the back wall and onto the ceiling as the back of the stable creaked and groaned.  Smoke was filling the barn now and Coran knew he had to get out quickly.  He looked around desperately for something to use on the closing beast.  There was nothing by the wagon except Miko, who was using it for cover.  Then Coran saw the lantern by the man’s feet.  Coran picked it up, turned towards the beast, and tossed the burning oil at the creature’s chest.  The lantern exploded in flame, causing the creature to shriek in pain.  Coran grabbed for Miko and together, they ran past the monster and out into the rain. 

             
The fire continued to consume the barn’s interior and one of the support beams cracked.  The monster was turning in circles, trying to beat out the flames as the ceiling collapsed on top of it.  The thing gave off a high pitched screech as it was buried under burning timbers.  Coran didn’t wait to watch the thing’s demise.  Despite the rain there would be people arriving soon, to see what was making all that noise if not for the fire.  He didn’t want to try and answer questions for which he had few answers.  It would be far better if no one knew he had been there at all.