The Lord Son's Travels (60 page)

Chapter 57

These
plans were changed the very next evening.
 
They were skimming along above the treetops.
 
The view had finally lost its terror for Adrien, who was
studying the passing landscape below Rufa’s wings.
 
A spot of light near the dark horizon caught his eye.
 
He tapped Elenna on the shoulder and
pointed to his discovery.
 
She came
to the same conclusion.

“A
fire?” she wondered out loud.
 
“I
didn’t think the area was inhabited.”

“Would
not be monsters.
 
They avoid open
camping,” he mused.
 
“Probably
Southland’s men on a scout.
 
Best
to fly south to avoid their attention.”
 
He asked Rufa to make the course correction.
 
Not long after they were out of view of the fire, a new
light source appeared towards the west.
 
And another.
 
Soon they were
amazed to find themselves flying towards what appeared to be a city at
night.
  
From the size of the
well-lit area, Elenna guessed that thousands of people called the patch of land
below them home.
 
Adrien agreed,
but he couldn’t imagine who they could be.
 
“This land was abandoned in the time of the firestorms,” he insisted,
though his expression lacked his previous confidence.
 
Elenna ignored him, too caught up in her own
observations.
 
The lights of the
city were very regularly spaced, she had noted with interest.
 
She guessed they were
streetlights.
 
But something about
them still bothered her.
 
“I want
to take a look,” she announced.

He
disagreed.
 
“Time…” he warned
darkly.
 
“While we dawdle, Roden
may fall.”

“You’re
right,” she agreed.
 
Her eyes still
remained locked on the well-lit settlement.
 
“Maybe on the way home.
 
But this place is …”
 
A hiss like a streaking rocket interrupted her.
 
Rufa floundered as something flew past
the tip of his nose.
 
Another
hiss.
 
This time Elenna could see a
slim cylinder whizz by within a few feet.
 
“Someone is shooting at us!” she exclaimed in bewilderment.

“Speed
on!” Adrien ordered their mount.

Rufa
tried to comply.
 
He twisted his
head side to side, seeking for the easiest escape away from the city.
 
He beat his wings furiously trying to
speed up his already furious rate, aiming for the western edge of the lighted
area.
 
His riders gripped tightly
to each other and his mane.
 
He
kept to his frantic velocity as he passed over the last of the lights.
 

Then
another hiss, and Rufa squealed in pain.
 
One of the projectiles had smashed into his hind right leg.
 
He strove to keep his wings beating,
but the agony of the injury weakened him.
 
They began to lose altitude.
 
Rufa moaned in his pain but kept thrashing his wings in an attempt to
regain the lost height and escape.
 
When they were only about ten feet about the ground his wings locked up,
and all three crashed to the ground.
 
Adrien landed with his back against a juniper bush.
 
He grimaced in agony, and waited a few
breaths for the pain to subside enough to raise his head and look around.
 
He could hear movements in the
distance; men’s voices calling directions to each other.
 
Then he heard Elenna whimper.
 
He crawled off of the bush in the
direction of her voice, anxiously whispering her name.
 
She lay on her side, curled into fetal
position clutching her leg.
 
He
gripped her arm, forgetting his own aches as he studied her expression.
 
She bit her lip to keep in the cry of
pain she knew would upset him.
 
“Ouch,” she muttered finally.
 
Her leg had come down hard on a large rock.
 
She hoped it wasn’t broken badly.
 
She tried to pull herself to a seated position.
 
He stopped her, already aware of her
difficulty.
 

“Tis
not broken, I think, thank the Lady of All."
 
She watched dazedly as he gently prodded at the injury.

“Where
is Rufa?” she asked.
 

He
paused.
 
“I have not seen,” he
answered briefly.
 
“We must move
away from here.
 
I have heard men
coming to find us.
 
Can you walk
with my help?”
 

Elenna
nodded in determination.
 
Tenderly
he helped her rise to her feet.
 
She limped heavily but was able to remain vertical after several test
steps.
 
She noted his stooped back
with a frown of worry.
 
She grabbed
their packs before he could and insisted on carrying them.
 
She worried more when he didn’t argue
for taking the extra weight.
 

Rufa
had managed to put them down in what looked like a grain field.
 
They began to hobble away to the
relative safety of a nearby copse of woods.
 
Now she could hear the voices of their pursuers.
 
A set of tiny faint lights now pierced
the darkness behind them, bouncing in the hands of their pursuers.
  
When they had crossed about ten
yards of field, they came across Rufa, unconscious and bleeding heavily in the
tall grains.
 
Elenna and Adrien
both scowled at their own guilt but passed by him without pausing in their race
to the sanctuary of the woods.
 

Before
they were in reach of the first welcoming outstretched branches of the trees
three men had them captured in the light of three lanterns.

“Halt!”
the middle man ordered.
 
He
approached them closely without any caution, holding his lantern high above his
head to study the bruised and bloodied couple.
 
“Who are you?
 
Speak!” he barked when neither answered.

Adrien
stepped forward, right hand ready to receive Aréal if needed.
 
“Why did you attack us?”

“Why
are you on our land?” the stranger retorted.
 
“You are not one of us.”
 
That was easy enough for him to tell from their accents.
 
They were very distinct from his own,
and intriguingly from each other's.
 

Adrien
answered, “We are travelers.
 
We come
from the east.
 
We only seek
passage through these lands.”
 
He
took a step forward.
 
The native
shook his head slightly in warning, gesturing to his henchmen on each
side.
 
They had pulled weapons from
holsters slung across their backs; what appeared to be similar in make to
muskets Elenna remembered from pictures in her school history books.

The
man smirked with some humor.
 
“You
seek it late.
 
Your vessel had passed
our border, and none heard you ask for permission.”

Adrien
nodded with diplomatic diffidence.
 
“We thought these lands were empty.
 
We ask your pardon and leave to continue our business.
 
We have great need of urgency.”

“You
have greater urgent business here,” the man announced.
 
He motioned for his companions to come
forward and take them in custody.
 
“You damaged my property.
 
You’ll stay with me until I decide how best to take my due.”
 
He ordered the other men to take lead
and following positions as they lined up to return to the main path from the
woods.
 
The men barely glanced at
the forlorn figure lying in the grass as they passed it by.
 
Suddenly Elenna burst from their line
towards the still figure.
 
She
grabbed at their other travel bag that had landed a few feet away from Rufa's
still body, earning a sharp snap of rebuke from their leader.
 
She fell back into line, glad their
captor hadn’t demanded the pack.
 
It contained her pistol and the talismans from Evendor they would need
if they could continue their travels.
 

They
continued in silence.
 
Her leg
throbbed with a constant dull ache, but after her first few steps she grew
confident it had only been bruised badly with no serious injury.
 
She was much more concerned about
Adrien, who walked holding his back at a stiff, unnatural angle.
 
If their captors noticed their injuries
they were unconcerned; they kept up a demanding pace along the rocky path.

   
“Where are you taking us?”
Adrien demanded suddenly.
 
His voice
held an archness Elenna hadn’t heard since Evendor.
 
He drew himself up the best he could with the spasms spiking
through his back and repeated his request.
 
“We travel on official business of Allé-dôn.”

   
Their leader turned around,
curiosity lighting up his features.
 
“Allé-dôn?
 
That is a name
I’ve not heard since childhood.
 
Such a place exists?”
 
His
companions reluctantly paused as well.
  
Apparently from their forbearing expressions the weary
men were far less interested then their friend in the travelers' story.

   
“Allé-dôn stands,” Adrien
confirmed.
 
“Our business is of the
highest importance.
 
We must not be
delayed any longer.”

   
Their leader clasped his
hands behind his back, amusement glinting in his eyes.
 
“Really?
 
And who are you who to make such claims of importance?”

   
Adrien leveled his eyes with
his captors.
 
“I am Adrien Lord
Son.”
 
Their captor blinked in
surprise then laughed heartedly as if Adrien had made quite a hilarious joke.
 
His exaggerated bow earned guffaws from
his buddies.

   
“What is my Lord doing in my
field?” he inquired lightly.
 
“Ah,
yes, important business.
 
Which
shall wait until my remittance is come for my damaged…”
 
Elenna had called Midiral and turned on
the henchman behind her with a snarl.
 
At the same time, Adrien swung Aréal in a smooth arc to stop just short
of their leader’s neck.
 
The
remaining guard finished drawing his pistol to find himself in the midst of a
standoff.

   
“Release us,” Adrien
ordered.
 
“I have no wish for a
fight with you, but we must continue our journey without delay.”

   
But their new captive had his
eyes on the woman, who had braced her blade against the chest of his
friend.
 
“Who has taught such a
lovely lady to fight?” he inquired in fascination.

   
“He did,” she nodded her head
towards Adrien.
 
“And he was a very
good teacher so don’t think about trying anything stupid.”

   
“Dear Lady!” he soothed.
 
The man’s eyes nearly danced in
entertainment at the turn of events.
 
If he felt any worry about the razor-sharp blade at his throat, he was
an excellent actor.
 
“I have no
wish to test your abilities.
 
It is
quite apparent your wit and talents match your beauty, surely beyond my paltry
skills.
 
Such a Lady would be a
great pleasure to entertain as my welcome guest.”

   
Elenna grinned as the blade
tightened against his neck.
 
“Be
careful,” she warned lightly.
 
“He
is also my husband.”

   
“No offense, good sir,” he
offered immediately over his shoulder.
 
He paused. “We appear to be at some sort of stop in the road so to
speak,” he admitted.
  
“Who is
whose captive is not easy now to say, and I see no way out of this except to
call ourselves all free and talk as men.
 
What say you?”

   
Adrien pulled away
Arèal
to allow the stranger to slip free.
 
He rubbed his neck gratefully waiting patiently as Elenna and Adrien
sent away their blades.
 
“I am
San,” he bowed politely.
 
“My
friends are Arn and Doet.
 
Your
weapons speak your introduction far better than you have.
 
The magical Allè-dônian swords are
remembered here in a number of our favorite tales.
 
Tis my day for wonders, I imagine.”