The Castrofax (15 page)

She returned to the cottage with Gabriel, and
as soon as she closed the door, he transformed back. “If we travel
in a group back to Anatoly City, it would be safer than just the
two of us.”

“Like anywhere with you is unsafe,” she
replied and grabbed a pack. “Can we not just tell him no?”

“Not without revealing ourselves.”

“Do you know of any other Mages in these
woods?”

“You don’t think he’s looking for me, do
you?”

“No one knows about you—go grab something.”
She shoved what she would need for a week in a pack, and he stuffed
in a journal and a few trinkets. “So what? We ride with them for a
few days and break away? You could just tell them no.”

“I want to know who they’re looking for
first,” he replied. “That nobleman, he grabbed Air when I jumped
out. Something is amiss.”

“Is that all you’re packing?”

“I can make everything else I need. Did he
look familiar?”

“I cannot say. I’ve been out of Anatoly City
nearly ten years. Can you make soap?”

“That military man looks familiar,” Gabriel
whispered as he helped her shoulder the bags. “Men don’t need
soap.”

“You disgusting creature. What about that
General who took me out to Urima? I’m bringing soap.”

“Could be. Don’t bring the rose-scented one,”
he muttered, and transformed into his tiger.

“Lavender then. I will still be heading to
the City in a week, with or without these men.” She said with an
air of finality as she opened the door and threw her pack at the
noble. “Put these things on your pack horses. I’m not carrying
them.” The only thing she strapped to her frame was her
dark-skinned elk quiver that belted around her shoulder, full of
finely sharpened, metal-tipped arrows. Her recurve bow she kept in
one hand, not ready to unstring it just yet.

The noble looked taken aback and motioned for
a man to gather and secure her belongings. “You have a lot of
gumption talking to me like that.”

“Spare me your insulted pride,” she
snapped.

“Well I hope you enjoy walking then. I do not
think we have a horse for you.” The smug look slid off his face
when she vaulted onto Gabriel’s shoulders.

“I will hold you to your promise of safety,”
she stated as Gabriel turned to face the man. The fierce expression
on the tiger’s face made the noble consider the words on his lips
more thoroughly.

The hunting party moved east for a day and a
half before stopping by a small town. Gabriel made sure they set
their camp far enough away from the main cluster of men, especially
after the first night when a man tried to snatch Robyn. The man was
lucky to keep his arm if the wound did not fester. After the first
night, the military man set his tent a little closer to them.

Robyn gleaned little information from the
men. They did not know or would not say who they were looking for,
and they had no direction other than what the leader Mage gave
them. The Mage offered the name Cain, but Robyn did not believe
him. With Gabriel’s tiger ears, he could narrow in on
conversations, and the few he heard were either unhelpful or about
Robyn’s various assets. She patted his head several times during
the day, and he realized he laid his ears flat back in a
threatening expression.

The road was unkind to him. He was not meant
for slow lumbering, but fast spurts, jumps and swims. Robyn was
anything but heavy, but her weight began aching his shoulders. He
had agreed to join the party as to not cause a scene and refuse the
man, but after the second night he wondered if he should have.

He flopped down as she constructed the tent,
keeping an eye on the camp and periodically watching the military
man. He was certain the man was a General or a Commander, with as
beautiful horse as his destrier. The officer often looked at Robyn
as if trying to remember something. Gabriel wondered if his
suspicions were correct; if so it was only a matter of time before
he recognized her.

He raised his head as the officer walked
over, having already set up his tent a ways off from them. The man
walked with a little limp, favoring both knees.

“Would you like some help, my lady?” he asked
kindly, his eyes wrinkling as he smiled. He had a faded
crescent-shaped scar across his left cheek that gave him a
distinguished look to match the salted hair. His garb was simple
and worn, but Gabriel imagined he would fit an officer’s uniform
well.

When Gabriel put his head back down, Robyn
nodded. “I never have luck with these things.”

“I should hope a lady like yourself has a
proper feather bed every night.”

She chuckled. “It has been a while since I
slept in a tent that is true.”

“I have spent many a night on the cold ground
beneath one of these,” the man replied and pulled the center
support tight around a tree.

“Military?”

“I serve in the Queen’s army,” he replied.
“My name is Arden, by the way.”

“Please call me Zodie.”

Gabriel flicked his tail, wanting more
information.

“Does your cat have a name?” Arden asked as
he stamped a peg into a corner. “I’ve never seen an animal like him
in all my days. What is he?”

“Arrow is a golden tiger from Shalaban. A
relative of mine brought him over when he was just a cub.”

“I never thought I would see a tiger. Never
ventured to Shalaban, not with the communism. Wouldn’t be safe for
me.” He stamped the last peg in and turned to look at Gabriel who
met his eyes. “Do they all have blue eyes?”

“I couldn’t tell you. What rank did you say
you were?” she asked.

“I didn’t, my lady,” he smiled and turned to
go.

“Who are we searching for?”

He stopped. “Don’t rightly know. I know as
much as you do, actually. His lordship keeps information to
himself.” He gave a little bow. “Shall I save you a bit of stew for
supper?”

“I would like that, yes,” she gave a polite
nod. When he turned to leave, she slipped inside the tent. Gabriel
remained outside, listening to the camp as he closed his eyes for a
few moments.

“Did you want a massage or not?” he heard
Robyn ask before he dozed off. Pulling himself up with a sigh, he
stepped inside and let her button the flaps. She threw a blanket
over his back, and he sank into the floor returning to his human
form with a guttural groan. She dug into his shoulders with expert
hands, and he did his best to keep his sighs to himself.

“How are you holding together?”

“I’ll tell you after a solid pint and cider
chaser,” he replied.

“That well?” she smiled as his spine cracked.
“We’ll get some hot food in you.” She worked on him until he
drifted off. He slept until the noise from the fire announced
supper was ready. Two scouts had shot a boar, so they would eat
well tonight. Gabriel knew Robyn would save him a haunch, so he
returned to tiger form and followed her to the camp.

The night was chilly, even with his fur coat.
He followed Robyn to the edge of the fire and waited as she cut a
fat hind leg off the carcass. When a man made to object, he saw
Gabriel standing in the shadows and shut his mouth. As promised,
Arden saved her a bowl of stew, apparently from his own pot, and it
looked far better than anything the men ate.

“May I pet him?” Arden asked after awhile.
Gabriel kept his eyes away, careful not to make too much eye
contact when important things were said. Robyn must have shrugged,
because a moment later the man scratched him across the head. Not
wanting to ruin any alliance with the only person to show them
kindness, Gabriel chewed on the haunch between his paws and paid
him no mind. Being an animal brought out primal instincts allowing
him to abandon use of social forays, and he liked the idea of
eating without utensils, plates, or manners. He licked back his
whiskers at the thought and felt very masculine.

“I am going into town before the sun sets
much lower. Will you be safe until then?”

Robyn smiled her pretty smile, the one that
flashed her white teeth. “I will be fine.” Arden stood and bade
them farewell, patting Gabriel’s head as he left.

The next day was much the same; endless
plodding north-east, finding a small hamlet to exchange
information, and camping down before the sun vanished. Gabriel
could not help but notice the Mage watching him now and again.
Despite passing able bodied hunters in the hamlet, Cain did not ask
for more people to join the party, which made Gabriel wonder how
badly he erred in joining him.

“I think Cain knows who you are,” Gabriel
said once the tent was up. “I don’t think he’s after a Mage at all.
He knew right where you were, how to get you to join him, and has
asked no one else’s help in the quest. I think he already has what
he wants.”

“How do you know he’s not after you?” she
argued.

He raised a brow. “No one knows I exist.”

General Calsifer’s last pigeon offered little
help, but Lady Aisling read it over several times before deciding
there was no reason to send instructions. She continued her work:
making sure Miranda read and signed the necessary reports; listened
to her spies’ information; reviewed the palace’s purchases, and
counted the ever-dwindling vault tallies. She hated to admit, but
they were dangerously low on silver squares.

She had not taken the Head Mage’s advice and
traveled to Jaden; instead, she warded her quarters and took care
to travel with others around the palace. Word of the Arch Mage’s
escape had not yet spread through the kingdom.

Aisling was just about to write a report when
a spy gave the secret knock on her door. A simple-looking maid
rushed in.

“The Air Guard is mobilizing, my Lady,” she
said.

Aisling rose immediately. The Air Guard would
not move unless Nolen commanded. He must have found something.

“Retrieve Prince Balien for me,” she said and
waited as the maid rushed thus. The Prince came running in minutes
later.

“Have you heard?” he asked, breathing
heavily.

“Sit, there is something you must know,” she
said, “I have reason to believe Prince Nolen is hunting Mage
Gabriel.”

Balien’s face brightened at the name, and
then darkened. “Why? Why would Nolen want Gabriel? It must be Robyn
he’s after.”

“Gabriel is very special to Castle Jaden,”
she whispered.

“As a Class Six?”

She bit her lips. “He is a Class Ten. He lied
to keep it secret.”

Balien blinked and folded his arms. “That old
dog fooled me. Lady Aisling, how would Nolen know where I do
not?”

“Do not underestimate the Prince. Now, I want
you to travel with the Air Guard and be my eyes.”

He grinned a crooked smile. “That is what I
wanted to hear.”

“If he is after Gabriel, stall him. If he is
after your sister, protect her. Either way, keep me informed.”

“Of course, my Lady,” he said and gave a
proper bow.

He hurried out, and she rushed to her desk to
pen General Calsifer a note to warn him.

The journey had been hard on Calsifer’s
knees, and he was glad to finally stretch them out before the fire.
Araybiatt was a sturdy steed, but a man still used his knees when
riding. After seeing the girl Zodie had her tent fastened properly,
he gathered a few foodstuffs and mixed them in a cauldron for the
men. It was not long before supper was ready.

Zodie had shot a brace of rabbits and already
skinned them as she joined the group. She roasted them beside the
fire and pulled out a bag of apples she gathered during the day.
She and the tiger had taken to riding in the forests to keep the
horses from balking and always found better food than he. The first
fruits of fall were a little tart on Calsifer’s tongue, but years
of scant soldier food taught him to appreciate every bite.

He watched the girl converse with a man on
her right as Arrow lay with his head in his paws to her left. She
subconsciously scratched behind his ear, and he looked as though he
may contentedly drift off. Calsifer thought the brown in her hair
made her face a little too pale, as if nature gave her the wrong
color, but she was a pretty lass nevertheless.

Prince Nolen joined them and sat to Zodie’s
left. He tried to start a conversation with her, but she politely
steered the conversation away. Arrow suddenly seemed quite alert
with his ears turned back. Zodie looked back to her food, meeting
Calsifer’s eyes for a brief moment. It was her look of uncertainty
that gave her away.

The bread in his mouth turned stale, and the
bowl in his hands nearly slipped loose.
‘How is it she could be
before my eyes all this time, and I not see her?’
He knew
Princess Robyn as a little angry girl whose look of uncertainty and
mute terror betrayed her training in nobility; as the pretty thing
on her brother’s arm, shown off at parties, and forced to dance
with the lordling boys of noble houses; as the articulate child
with eyes too old for her age and a charm that bent the highest
nobles. He never expected the girl to have blood on her hands, dust
on her thighs, or riding a tiger with a band of marauders.

His sudden realization must have been
apparent to her, for she pulled Arrow up and left quickly. He
realized he alarmed her, so he followed.

“Wait,” he called before she could slip
inside her tent. His knees ached as he limped along and he held out
a hand. No wonder her brown hair looked so against nature. “I mean
you no harm.”

“Believe me Arden, if I felt threatened, you
would be dead.”

“You may know me better as General Calsifer,”
he said and stopped, eyeing the tiger that stood with his ears
back.

“I knew it,” she said to the tiger who gave a
flick of his tail.

“Where have you been these two years? Lady
Mage Aisling and Prince Balien had their spies out looking for you.
I even returned to Urima Manor to seek you out. Do you know what
turmoil the Lady and your brother have been through because of
you?”