The Rogue Knight (3 page)

C
HAPTER

 3 

CARTHAGE

B
reezing through the night, leap after leap, Cole waited for Mira to tire out and stop, but instead she kept going. He hung back, keeping her in view. Cool air rushed by with every jump.

One of the moons glowed fairly bright tonight. Another, a slender crescent, was just rising. The night sky in the Outskirts changed without pattern. The inconstancy allowed Mira and her sisters to be marked by stars without anyone catching on. Ten or eleven different moons could show up on any given night, although Cole had never seen more than three at once. Many of the moons were similar to Earth's, though tonight's struck him as a bit more yellow.

Cole scanned the shadows beneath the trees at either side of the road. Anything could be lurking under the cover of that darkness. He glanced behind as well, braced to see a platoon of legionnaires or mysterious riders on ragbeasts.

One luxury of the autocoach was that it shut out the rest of the world, producing the comforting illusion that they were hidden and safe. Cole supposed that was wonderful until you ended up at the bottom of a ravine after an ambush. Without the coach, Cole felt more exposed, but that kept him more alert.

Mira's concerns about her sister caused Cole's thoughts to turn to his lost friends. He remembered when he last saw Jenna, caged in a wagon, still in her Cleopatra costume from Halloween. His last glimpse of his best friend, Dalton, had been of a sad, dusty clown, also in a cage. They had been on their way to be sold as slaves when Cole was selected to join the Sky Raiders.

The thought of Jenna behind bars enraged Cole. But she probably wasn't in a cage anymore. She was a slave somewhere. Was she working in a kitchen? Was she bringing meals to some lazy friend of the High King? Those thoughts didn't make him any less angry.

Jenna was smart and funny. She was pretty and nice. She didn't deserve this fate. Going into the wrong basement on Halloween had ripped her life away—and visiting the spook alley had been Cole's idea. Dalton was a great guy, too—the bestest friend Cole had ever had, and his life was destroyed as well.

Where were they tonight? Where were the dozens of other kids who were smuggled from Mesa to the Outskirts? Were they comfortable? Were they suffering? They could be in any of the five kingdoms. And they were in danger. The shapecrafter Quima had warned that the High Shaper intended to perform experiments on them involving their shaping powers. Kids from outside the five kingdoms tended to have shaping powers. The slaver Ansel had sold all the kids with the most potential to the High King.

Bounding along the moonlit road, Cole had to believe his friends were all right. He had to believe they were occupied with safer tasks than raiding sky castles. Cole had considered setting off on his own, with the sole purpose of finding his friends. But the trail was cold. He had no idea where to start. Jenna, Dalton, and the others could be anywhere.

Searching for them alone would put him at a serious disadvantage. Cole knew little about the Outskirts, and he would have no help. If he stuck with Mira, not only could he lean on her knowledge of the five kingdoms, he could also count on finding rebels like Joe who were willing to assist a princess in exile. Cole tried to renew his faith that, as he helped Mira and kept his eyes and ears open, eventually he would find his friends.

How many others did he need to find? Right now his main concern was saving Dalton and Jenna. But what about Jenna's friends Chelsea and Sarah? Or Blake? What about the rest of the victims? Cole knew most of them by face if not by name.

If he found Dalton and Jenna and learned of a way home, would he ditch the others? It was hard to say. If he was ever fortunate enough to be in that position, he'd decide then.

What about Mira? If he found a way home, would he abandon her? She had already become a real friend. Without her, he would probably still be stuck with the Sky Raiders, which meant his job as a scout would probably have gotten him killed by now.

Mira was always trying to excuse him from making her problems his own. But that only made Cole want to help her more. Without his aid, she probably wouldn't have made it this far. He had saved her bacon more than once.

Others would aid her if he left. Jace could be a jerk, but he was totally devoted to her. Twitch would help too. And as a member of the resistance, Joe seemed fully committed as well.

Cole watched Mira jumping along ahead of him. Deciding whether he would leave her was pointless at the moment. By the time something like that became an issue, the circumstances might be totally different. Hopefully, by then, Dalton and Jenna could help him choose.

Finally, Mira came to a halt and looked back at Cole. He aimed his next jump to the side of her and landed in an awkward stumble. Twitch fluttered to a stop nearby.

“Tired?” Cole asked.

“I could keep going,” Mira said. “I'm worried that Jace hasn't caught up yet.”

Cole looked back down the road. Jace could be a pain, but it would be tragic if anything happened to him. Jerk or not, he was a friend. And he was good in a fight, a survivor. “He's probably fine. I bet we're just going faster than him.”

“Right,” Mira agreed. “The trees have thinned out.”

Cole nodded. With brushy fields on either side of the lane, Jace wouldn't be able to slingshot himself off trees. It would make him even slower.

“If we've been stretching our lead this whole time,” Twitch said, “we may have a big wait ahead of us.”

“All the more reason to pause now instead of later,” Mira said. “We don't want to lose him. If he's in trouble, we have to go back.”

“If he's in trouble, it's probably more than we can handle,” Cole said. “He's not easy prey with that rope. If he doesn't show up, I'll go back. You and Twitch need to keep going.”

Twitch moved off the road and into the brush. “How about we wait behind those bushes?” he suggested. “We'll have a view of the road, but we can lay low if unexpected visitors show up.”

“Jump to the bushes,” Cole advised. “That way there won't be any tracks leading to our hiding spot.”

“Good thinking,” Twitch said, springing into the air, wings a shimmering blur.

Cole and Mira jumped to the bushes as well. Mira sat down, legs bent in front of her. She crossed her arms and put them on her knees, resting her head on her arms.

“I'll keep watch,” Twitch volunteered. “The grinaldi have sharp night vision.”

“What can't you guys do?” Cole asked.

Twitch shrugged. “My people aren't good swimmers. We avoid deep water.”

“You exhausted?” Cole asked Mira.

“My head aches,” she replied. “Could be worse. At least no evil shapers have caught up to us.”

“You two did well back there,” Twitch said. “Those Jumping Swords are effective weapons.”

“They're useful,” Cole said. “It stresses me out to attack with them, though. It's kind of like having a bow with only one arrow. And you're the arrow.”

Twitch and Mira both laughed at the description.

“Thanks, by the way,” Mira said. “You probably saved my life again. I was exposed to that monster cat.”

“Only because you helped Jace,” Cole said, trying not to show how pleased her gratitude made him. “He protected us too. No need to keep score.”

“Sorry I didn't get more involved,” Twitch said. “I hovered through the fight. I was watching for my moment. I'm more a rescuer than an attacker.”

“I'm glad,” Cole said. “You've rescued me before. Jace too.”

Twitch gave a small smile. “Like you said, no need to keep score.”

Something white and gray swooped down and landed beside Mira with a flurry of feathers. Cole recoiled and raised his sword, then recognized the cockatiel Liam had given them to serve as a scout.

“Mango!” Mira exclaimed. Extending her arm, she let the semblance perch on her wrist.

“Where is the autocoach?” the cockatiel inquired.

“Didn't you see?” Mira asked. “It crashed down into a ravine.”

“I don't belong to the coach,” the cockatiel said. “I return to you. How far back did it crash?”

“A good ways,” Mira said. “We were ambushed.”

The cockatiel whistled. “Sorry I missed warning you.”

“It was a small force,” Mira said. “Have you seen Jace?”

“No,” Mango replied. “I spent most of my time up ahead. The road from here to Carthage looks clear. We're not using the main route. This road is less direct and less traveled.”

“Is the city much farther?” Cole asked.

“If you hurry, you could get close by morning,” Mango said.

“Go find Jace,” Mira said. “He's catching up to us on the road. Then report back. Watch for anybody who might be following us. They could be in dark armor with strange mounts.”

“Will do,” Mango replied, taking flight.

They watched the bird disappear into the night in the direction they had come. Cole felt relieved to have avoided the responsibility of going back for Jace.

“I've never been to Carthage,” Twitch said.

“Me neither,” Mira said. “I've only heard stories. It's an old city. A big one. It straddles two kingdoms—the west side is in Sambria, the east in Elloweer.”

“Joe wants to meet us on the Elloweer side,” Cole reminded them.

“Which worries me,” Mira said. “On that side our renderings won't work anymore. No Jumping Swords. No golden rope.”

“Will they stop working right on the border?” Cole asked. “Won't they work a little while we're still close to Sambria?”

“They would work a little in Junction, between the kingdoms,” Mira said. “Once you cross into another kingdom, everything is different. The boundaries have existed since anyone can remember. In populated areas the border is usually marked. But marked or not, the effect is the same—the way shaping works changes. I guess there's a small chance some of our renderings might work a little in the other kingdom, but they'll work just as well a hundred miles into Elloweer as they will right after stepping out of Sambria.”

“My ring, for example,” Twitch said. “It reverts me to my Ellowine form even when I'm in another kingdom.”

“But items like Twitch's ring are rare,” Mira said.

“Here comes Jace,” Twitch said. “He made pretty good time. We never stopped until just now.”

Cole saw Jace propelling himself down the road, his golden rope coiling and uncoiling like a spring, first thrusting him forward, then cushioning his landing. The result had him moving almost as fast as they could with their Jumping Swords.

Twitch gave a whistle, and Jace came to a halt the next time his rope absorbed his landing. “Where are you?” Jace called in a hushed voice.

Twitch sprang over the bush toward the road. Cole helped Mira to her feet. They tromped to the road instead of jumping.

“How'd it go?” Cole asked.

“Mira's sidekick is well off the road,” Jace said. “Didn't take too long. No sign of pursuit yet. Should we keep going?”

“Yes,” Mira said.

“Are you sure you don't need a longer break?” Cole asked.

“I could use one,” Mira admitted. “But we can't afford it. If word is out about our location, we can't let our enemies catch up to us. We need to get to Carthage and find a place to hide out.”

Mango fluttered down. “Found Jace. Didn't take long.”

“Scout ahead and behind,” Mira said. “Let us know if danger approaches. After we get to Carthage, we'll cross into Elloweer. As a semblance, you can't go there, so find Joe and tell him where we went. Once Joe catches up to us, go back to Liam and let him know what we're doing. Then serve him until I return to Sambria.”

The cockatiel dipped her head. “As you desire.” She took flight, climbing swiftly.

Cole shook his head, realizing he barely even reacted now to a magically created talking bird helping out the group. It was amazing how quickly the totally bizarre could become normal when it was part of your everyday life.