Incarnation: Wandering Stars Volume One (34 page)

Alt
hough
,
the paler ones
are
weaker in spirit
!

A second later,
Parnudel
dropped to the road behind the intruder, silent until the moment his feet touched the gravel.  Although he couldn’t see as well at night, his softer feathers and mottled brown coloring made him nearly undetectable by sight or sound, which had proven useful on many occasions.

Now they had the intruder surrounded.

“I apologize for my abrupt entrance
,” the intruder said
, a little too casually
. 
“
But your…hospitality was in question
.”

Azael
moved slowly forward, seeing that
Parnudel
was doing the same. 
“What is your name, soldier?”
he
demanded, instantly hating the stranger’s
attempt at
humor.

“Sariel.”

“Stand down
!
”
Semjaza
ordered, pushing through the
Anduar
guards.

Azael stopped, and relaxed his grip on the hilts of the
v
aepkir
attached to either side of his breastplate at the small of his back
. 
He didn’t understand his superior’s order, but reluctantly obeyed.

“
The
Sariel?”
Semjaza
asked.

“Yes,” came the simple response.

Azael took note of how the intruder stood with his body slightly turned, keeping
Parnudel
in his peripheral vision.

“What do you want?” Semjaza asked.

Azael could hear an unusual curiosity in the Pri
-
Rada’s voice.

“Just to talk,” the intruder replied.

Suddenly, they were interrupted by a rush of wind as five other
Iryllur
ym
passed overhead and doubled back, coming to a landing near Semjaza.  Then, the irregular beat of numerous footsteps was followed by the appearance of five more
Anduar
ym
, joining
Parnudel
on the south side of the intruder.

When the commotion subsided, Semjaza
’s
mouth curled upward at the corner.  “I hope, for your sake, that you have something very important to say.”

Azael watched Sariel hold up his hands in a gesture of peace
and
move to the side of the road so that he was in the best position for escape.  But there was no use.  If he chose to flee, he’d be cut down in seconds.

“I
think there has
been a misunderstanding,” Sariel began.
 
The smug humor was gone from his face.  Instead, he looked desperate.  “My woman was taken from her village
several
week
s
ago. 
Of course, you had no way of knowing that she was spoken for.  So, I came
to get her back.”

The fact that this
Iryllur
was standing here revealed that he knew, at least in part, what they were doing with the humans. 
Azael looked to Semjaza who was now fully smiling. 
H
e’
d
seen this look many times before and it wasn’t from joy
. 
It was from amusement
at someone’s stupidity
and usually precede
d
a violent outburst.

“
There are many women
,” Semjaza said calmly
.

“I would be glad to point her out,”
came the quick reply
.

“Yes
,
I’m sure you would.  Tell me.  What is a soldier with your reputation doing
in this realm
?” Semjaza probed
, changing the direction of the conversation
.

Azael saw the briefest flicker of Sariel’s frustration, then it disappeared behind a mask of control.  With every passing second, he hated this intruder more and more.

“The same as you, I assume,” Sariel replied.  “
There is more work yet to be done
here.
”

“Mmm,” Semjaza mumbled.  “…well said.
”

“So, I came to—
”

“I could use someone of your…considerable skills,” Semjaza interrupted.  “
There is
indeed
much to be done, and much that we could share.”

Azael could see
Sariel’s frustration mounting
, and he
was enjoying every
second of it
.

“I’m flattered.  But I think we are too much alike, you and I.  I can see by the results of your work
t
hat you’re someone who sets his mind to something and doesn’t turn back.”

Semjaza
nodded, but remained silent
.

“I came to this world to escape living under the rule of another.  And I’m sure the
Amatru
doesn’t approve of…all this.  So it seems you did
,
as well.”

Semjaza nodded once more, but kept his head in a downward position.  Azael could see the fury building behin
d
his eyes.

“So it would be wise, I think, not to mingle our ambitions
.
”

“I see,” Semjaza replied.  “Perhaps I’ve missed something,” he said, glancing quickly aside.  “Certainly
one
who has attained legendary status among the
Amatru
would possess an intellect superior to most.  Strength and skill as well.  And if my assumption is correct, as most are, I am confused by what terms you offer.”

“Terms?” Sariel
now
looked confused, but Azael didn’t buy it
.

“Yes
.  T
erms,” Semjaza said, his amusement all but gone now.  “If you are not offering your services to me, then what is it that you hope to exchange for the woman?”

“I didn’t come here to exchange anything.  I came here to speak with you, soldier to soldier.  And to tell you that you mistakenly took my woman.”

Finally, an honest statement,
Azael thought.

“Out of respect for your high position,
” Sariel continued, “
I came here directly to clear up the matter.”

Semjaza
straightened his stance, which had become increasingly forward-leaning as the conversation had progressed. 
“This is most unfortunate for you.  For this matter will not be
cleared up
.  You see, I am no longer one of the
Amatru
.  I’ve
…
given up on their archaic ways.  I’ve liberated myself from the shackles of holiness.  I’
m
a new creation now
.  You see,
I’ve learned that there is only one thing which produces effective results in
both realms
—leverage.  This is what the
Amatru
refuses to see and why they will ultimately lose.  But this place, the realm that they
’ve
abandoned, it’s mine. 
I have authority over it now.  And when I see something I want in my own world, I take it.  So, when you come to me and demand that I give back something that is rightfully mine, what am I to say?”

“So, you
admit you
know the woman I speak of,” Sariel
stated
, now clenching his fists.

Azael
slowly rotated the hilts of
his
v
aepkir
,
unhooking
them from the
ir
scabbards, but keeping them sheathed.

“O
F COURSE I KNOW!
” Semjaza
shout
ed
.  “I know everything in my world.  And now that you’ve displeased me, I will keep her for myself whether you have something to trade or not.”

Sariel looked to the ground and his arms
began to shake
, muscles bulging beneath his pale skin.  He inhaled slowly and when his gaze returned to Semjaza,
there was hatred in his eyes.

“I
will
give you one chance to release her.  And if you do
not
,
I swear to you that
I will bring an end to your kingdom and your life in this realm.”

Azael now saw why Semjaza
had
tried to gain the soldier’s service.

The Pri-Rada’s
eyes narrowed.  “Because of your reputation, I will give you one chance to leave unharmed
.
”

It would be a
waste of a
potential resource, but
Azael unsheathed his
vaepkir
, their ringing sound echoed
off the stone hills on either side of the road.  Following his lead, the other
Iryllur
ym
did the same, while the
Anduar
ym
gripped their
vandrekt
in a ready position.

Sariel’s quick eyes darted from
left to right.  He wasn’t assessing the situation, for he had clearly already done that.  But it appeared that he was
now
actually considering fighting.  Now it was Azael’
s turn to be amused. 
The intruder was unarmed and t
he odds were ridiculous
.

Sariel’s
jaw was clenched and his body tense. 
Slowly, he extended wings.

Azael and his
Iryllur
ym
did likewise.

I
n the blink of an eye, something pass
ed
across the face of the intruder.  The reckless abandonment behind his gaze, gave way to reason.  Instead of attacking, he lifted his wings.  Then, as he
leaped
from the ground, he brought his wings quickly downward and propelled himself into the sky.

The
guards all looked up and watched the intruder go.  But Azael turned to his superior, biting back the insubordinate question on his tongue.

Semjaza met the look with his own furious gaze.
“
He’s working with the Myndarym. 
Take your
soldiers
and track him.  If he leads you to the Shapers, come back and report their location to me.  If he doesn’t
,
kill him.”

“As you wish
,
my Rada,” Azael replied.

Sariel kept low
to the earth
,
moving southwest between
Khanok and
Murakszhug
.  As he ascended the portion of the range that protruded to the northwest, he glanced over his shoulder.  He couldn’t see any movement in the skies, but he knew he was being followed.  After
cresting the peak, he slowed and dropped into a sparse stand of trees on the western slope.  Hidden by
the
vegetation, he watched the skies and waited.

Sooner than expected, two
Iryllur
ym
passed quickly overhead. 
T
heir silhouettes
revealed
long and narrow wings
with
pointed ends
. 
By design t
hey were capable of faster flight, which would explain how they had managed to catch up so quickly.

When the skies were clear, Sariel took to the air again and turned southeast.  Minutes later
, he reached the southern slopes of the mountain and
noticed two more shapes
approaching from the
east
.
  Quickly, he banked to the
right
and dropped into a narrow gorge that led away from
the peak
.  Once again, he
pass
ed
between
jagged boulders,
banking constantly to avoid
them.  With the descending altitude, the
gradual
presence of trees also helped conceal him, but added more obstacles to his already dangerous flight.  When he reached a straight and smooth section of the canyon, he risked a glance over his shoulder
.

The two Iryllurym had followed him into the canyon.

Beating his wings
harder
, Sa
riel tried to gain some speed, but his pursuers were gaining on him.  Up ahead, the ravine bent sharply to the west and
an idea came to him. 
Diving into the turn, Sariel
waited until the sheer walls blocked the line of sight between
them,
then he
p
ulled up and out of the
canyon
. 
He skimmed low over the lip of the ravine and shot through a stand of trees.  Without a second’s hesitation, he doubled back to the north and
dropped into
another gorge that paralleled the previous one.