Dragon Defense (Heirs to the Throne Book 3) (3 page)

Peshal swallowed to fend off another outbreak of emotion.  He must become the man Mikla once admired, the brave half-brother she idolized.  Peshal pushed straight dark hair out of his eyes.  “So why wait?  Let’s find that son of a jackal, Rabik, and help complete his task.  I’ll use every piece of gold to redeem your freedom.”

Mikla sighed with relief.  “His trail leads over the next ridge to a small village nestled at the foot of the pass.”

Peshal’s eyebrows arched.  “You rode alone from camp against orders?”

Mikla laughed.  “Rabik planned to return before the setting of yesterday’s sun. He’s dead or captured.”

“Then let’s flee!  If he’s dead, it solves our problem.  If he’s captured it’s much the same.”

Mikla frowned.  “I won’t spend the rest of my days waiting for Rabik or his brother to claim his property.”

“You always think with a clear mind, sister.  Your husband will gain a good advisor with his bride’s price.”

“Your words are kindly spoken,” Mikla answered with a mocking tone.

Her teases were a welcome relief to her scorn.  “Break camp,” he said.  

As they rode around the village and up a winding mountain path, Mikla said, “His trail is too easy to follow.  What an arrogant fool!” They found the cabin with the door open and the ground trampled by footprints.  As he slipped off his mount, Peshal motioned for Mikla to stay back.  He crept to the door with saber in hand and peeked inside.

“It’s empty,” he said.  “I see blood outside the door and the trail of his stallion.”  He pointed at the evidence.  “They left in that direction.”

“Check the grave.”  Mikla pointed at the fresh mound under the trees.

Peshal shuddered.  “I dislike disturbing the dead.”

“I’ll do it,” Mikla offered, but Peshal cast an angry glance at her.  He trudged to the mound and gasped.  Mikla slipped off her horse and joined her brother.  A sword with a note lay across the grave. 

Mikla read the note aloud, “This rider died sword in hand.  If you’re kin, take him home. If you follow, mark the sign of the wolf.”  At the tip of the blade they saw a clear paw print in the soft soil. 

A knot of fear formed in Mikla’s chest.  “The witch controls a wolf!” she whispered. 

“Rabik is dead so we’re free.”  Peshal glanced nervously into the dark woods.

Mikla ground her teeth.  “No! Your debt to Rabik was well known.  His brothers can claim you killed Rabik.”

Peshal’s eyes widened.  “They’d legally take you and kill me in revenge.  Oh what will we do?”

With a trembling hand she gently led him away from the grave.  “Let’s capture the girl and use the reward to repay your debt to Rabik’s family.”

“How can we capture a powerful witch?  That stallion never allowed anyone except Rabik to ride him.  She bewitched the horse and travels with a wolf.”

Mikla bit her lip.  “We must use surprise and overwhelm her.”

*****

At the edge of the village Shariel waited for Bess to deliver the cloth and buy supplies.  For a full day they rode hard across solid ground and trudged up streams to cover their tracks. 

Finally Aunt Bess stopped and climbed off the horse. “We’ll camp here and talk.”

Shariel hobbled the stallion in a grassy field.  “The horse must rest.  It’s hard to carry two riders.”

Bess shook her head. “That warhorse could continue for hours but my old bones slow our pace.” She walked toward a large fallen tree and sat, looking tired and worried.

“You’re doing fine,” Shariel said.

“If riders track us down, you must drop me and run!  The stallion goes faster with one rider.”

“I’ll never leave you behind!”

Bess gestured for Shariel to join her on the log.  “Riders won’t harm an old hag like me unless I get in their way.  If you’re captured, you’ll wish me dead.”

“How do you know?”

“It’s time to explain about my history,” Bess said and stared into the distance, like she could see into the past. “I came to Drako on the same spaceship that brought Donovan and Krystal.  We escaped from the Institute, needed to find a safe place to hide.  Trenton was born on this world, so he brought us here.  Donovan and a small group traveled to Havenshire, while the rest of us found places to live in the countryside.

“No one knew that the assassin infiltrated the crew of our ship.  Jarrack had orders to kill Dr. Alexander and Donovan but failed.  Donovan destroyed the spaceship and hid our equipment behind force fields at the spaceport. Jarrack swore revenge and fled into the desert.  He joined the riders.”  Bess stood, brushed flecks of bark from her clothes, and paced in front of Shariel.  The girl sat silent, praying that Bess would finally tell her the things she’d longed to hear.

“After living on spaceships, Drako seemed like paradise.  I loved it here.  An old woman in the village taught me to weave, and I married a good man.  I hoped to spend the rest of my life raising kids, but I couldn’t get pregnant.  The Institute tampered with our cloned bodies, made it impossible for spacer women to bear children.”

Shariel saw the pain of the memory in her aunt’s face and curled her own fists tight.  Bess continued, “Desert riders raided our village and kidnapped women for Jarrack’s breeding program.  They killed my husband and dragged me off to live in the desert.  I became a servant in the harem and met Ronda.”

Shariel held her breath.  Bess struggled to keep her composure, her eyes brimmed with tears and her face turned red.  “As an unwilling consort, Ronda bore Jarrack one daughter. We became fast friends. I loved her daughter like my own and felt relieved that Jarrack only cared about sons.  He planned to use them to extend his life.”

“How can he extend his life with sons?”  Shariel asked.

“The Institute had machines to transfer minds into cloned bodies but our ship’s technology was destroyed. Jarrack developed the power of mind control.  He planned to send his mind into the body of a son and live forever.  I guess he decided that talented daughters might bear grandsons for his scheme, so he gave orders to find daughters like you.”

The information made Shariel’s stomach clench.  Bess scuffed her toe into the dirt, and Shariel saw tears trickle down her face.  “Jarrack enjoyed making people suffer.  He tormented his wives and drove a few mad.  Ronda used her hatred of Jarrack to survive.  She hated him so much that…”

Shariel interrupted.  “She hated me because I’m his daughter.”

Aunt Bess sighed and sat back down on the log.  She wrapped an arm around Shariel’s shoulder and spoke in soothing tones.  “Ronda didn’t really hate you.  After all, she saved your life.  Some of the women who escaped the harem murdered their own children to make sure Jarrack couldn’t control their minds.  When Dr. Alexander helped us escape, Ronda made sure we brought you along. When she decided to train as a warrior, she placed you in my care.”

“Why go find her now?  She never cared enough to send for me.”

Bess squeezed Shariel’s shoulder and stroked the girl’s dark hair. “Ronda’s one of Marasuta’s best warriors, a trained Samurai.  I taught you unarmed defense, but she can teach you the sword.  With riders searching for you, we must seek sanctuary with the Samurai.  Until that rider came the wolves were enough.”

Shariel stared at Chacka.  “The wolves kept me safe?”

We
watch Jarrack’s children,
Chacka said,
and protect them from the evil one.

You spied on me!  You wanted to be sure Jarrack’s evil didn’t live in my mind!
  Shariel jumped up and ran into the forest, blinded by tears.  She ran until her chest ached and plopped down onto a carpet of dried leaves.  The forest fell quiet as small creatures watched from their hiding places.  Soft footsteps padded up to the human.

Do not howl at a dark moon, little one.  You are like a cub of our pack,
Chacka said.
We guard you by choice.
 
Warmth and friendship radiated from Chacka’s mind. 

If you were my friend, why didn’t we talk before?  

Cubs hear mind speech when the time is right.  We watched in silence until the time to learn arrived.

Shariel’s fingers sank into Chacka’s thick ruff
. 
I felt so lonely and needed a friend. 
He licked her wet face.
 
I’m afraid of my power.  I forced the horse and his rider to obey my commands.  Is my blood tainted by Jarrack’s evil?

If your mind was evil, we’d know
.
  Chacka rested his chin on her hand. 
We will keep you safe.

I’m glad you’re my friend.             

Chacka suddenly jerked his head up, listening.  A growl rumbled through his body and his ridge hair bristled.  He ran ahead and barked at Shariel.
 
They attack the camp!  Come!

“Bess is all alone!”  Shariel ran back to the camp.

Two riders circled Bess, who sat astride the stallion.  She fought with a short sword in one hand and taut reins in the other, while the stallion slashed his front hooves at the other steeds. 

Horses reared and hooves stomped as a snarling wolf charged into the melee.  One rider pointed at Shariel.  She planted her feet and drew her belt knife as the rider thundered toward her, a rope curled in one hand. 

“Not this time,” Shariel whispered and lunged at the rider.  The impact knocked air from her lungs, but Shariel grabbed a hunk of mane with one hand and slashed at the rider.

Chacka hit the same rider from the other side. 

Unbalanced, the rider screamed and fell.  Shariel released her grip on the horse as the rider tumbled on top of her.  The rider whimpered, holding her leg as she rolled from side to side. 

“You’re a woman?”  Shariel gasped. 

Distracted by his companion’s cries, the second rider allowed Aunt Bess the opening she needed.  She thrust the sword into his chest and the rider slipped from the horse holding his chest. 

He shouted, “Forgive me, Mikla!”  

“Peshal!”  The girl screamed and limped to his body.  “Don’t leave me alone, brother!” 

Shariel watched Mikla sob while Bess collected their horses. 

“Let me tend your wound,” Shariel volunteered.  She gently led Mikla away from the body.

“He’s dead!  My brother’s dead.”

“Did you think you’d capture us without a fight?” Shariel asked.

“What can I do without him?” Mikla moaned.

Aunt Bess tied the horses to a tree limb.  “How many more are coming?” she demanded.

“None.  We’re the servants of Rabik, the man you killed at the cabin.”

“There must be more than you three,” Bess scoffed.

“Rabik was a scout.  His orders were to find the girl and report back, but he sought the glory of her capture.”

Bess touched Mikla’s throat with sharp steel.  “If you lie, I’ll cut out your tongue and serve it to the wolves,” she hissed.

“I don’t lie.  Peshal is dead, so I’ll live my life as a slave.” 

“Slave?”  Shariel bandaged Mikla’s wound.

“We planned to buy my freedom with the reward, but we bring shame to our father.”

“Who is your father?” Bess asked.

“I’m the eldest daughter of Pasha Terralt from Sudran province.  Peshal was my half brother.”

Bess frowned.  “We killed the son of a pasha and brought more trouble on our heads.”

“Who will know?”  Shariel asked.

Mikla cringed.  “You mean to kill me?”

Bess shook her head.  “You’ll come with us to the Samurai and they’ll decide your fate.”

“Is it true Samurai women live as warriors and haters of men?”

Bess chuckled.  “My sisters enjoy men well enough but treasure freedom more.  Some live as warriors, others tend the camp.”

“A slave to men or a slave to women, what difference does it make?  I’d rather return to the desert.”

“Samurai don’t take slaves!  If they judge you innocent, you’ll be free to choose your own life.”

“And if I’m judged guilty?” the girl asked. 

“You’ll die a swift death.” 

Mikla studied the ground. “My freedom is out of my control.”

Aunt Bess frowned and climbed onto a horse and the girls followed her lead. 

Traveling was faster with horses for everyone. Mikla looked somber.  Her gray eyes and pale skin added a ghost-like demeanor to her mourning.  Shariel studied their companion critically, wondering how the girl could brandish a sword and act with defiance, yet meekly consign herself to slavery.  Could family honor be worth so much?

Shariel wondered if Ronda would accept her as a grown woman.  Could she prove she wasn’t evil like her father and find safety among the Samurai?  As if summoned by her thoughts, three Samurai women emerged from the woods. 

Bess shouted, “Ronda!  Bless my soul, I’ve been wishing you’d appear.  Have you taken up conjuring?”

Ronda grinned.  “Not on my best day.”  She nodded at Chacka.  “The wolf sent a telepathic message along the wolf relay.  We were sent to take you safely to the camp at Bear Rock.”